In chess and chess-like games, the endgame (or end game or ending) refers to the stage of the game when there are few pieces left on the board.
The endgame, however, tends to have different characteristics from the middlegame, and the players have correspondingly different strategic concerns. In particular, pawns become more important; endgames often revolve around attempting to promote a pawn by advancing it to the eighth rank. The king, which has to be protected in the middlegame owing to the threat of checkmate, becomes a strong piece in the endgame. It can be brought to the center of the board and be a useful attacking piece.
Many people have composed endgame studies, endgame positions which are solved by finding a win for White when there is no obvious way of winning, or a draw when it seems White must lose.
Usually in the endgame, the stronger side should try to exchange pieces (knights, bishops, rooks, and queens), while avoiding the exchange of pawns. This generally makes it easier for him to convert his advantage into a won game. The defending side should strive for the opposite.
How to Finish Off Your Opponent in Chess
If you have a winning position in a game of chess, you'd expect to finish it off in a couple of moves, expecting your opponent to resign sometime soon. But, if your opponent wants to test your chess abilities i.e. endgame technique, then you better pass the test because that could be the difference between a win and a loss.
Many a time have players tried to find ways to remedy this deficit. Some say you have to force yourself to read through Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual or buy the Convekta Total Chess Training software to fully understand the endgame. This in itself, is not true, because number 1: you'd have to be a machine to memorise the 1000s of variations and key positions of the endgame and number 2: you'd be stupid to even try.
No doubt, the above mentioned materials are of great use to understanding the endgame but learning things from theory is different from doing it in practice. It's best if you understood the basic endgame concepts such as opposition, triangulation, Philidor's position etc. since these situations occur much more often and is therefore more useful in understanding the endgame.
And also too, odds are that you may not even reach the endgame phase, since you may play sharp openings such as the Sicilian Najdorf Poisoned Pawn Variation or the King's Indian Defence Bayonet Attack and finish off (or be finished) within 30-40 moves. Nevertheless, endgame chess theory is essential in developing a solid chess playing ability and at the same time also enriching your "chess culture", as Dvoretsky puts it.
The endgame, however, tends to have different characteristics from the middlegame, and the players have correspondingly different strategic concerns. In particular, pawns become more important; endgames often revolve around attempting to promote a pawn by advancing it to the eighth rank. The king, which has to be protected in the middlegame owing to the threat of checkmate, becomes a strong piece in the endgame. It can be brought to the center of the board and be a useful attacking piece.
Many people have composed endgame studies, endgame positions which are solved by finding a win for White when there is no obvious way of winning, or a draw when it seems White must lose.
Usually in the endgame, the stronger side should try to exchange pieces (knights, bishops, rooks, and queens), while avoiding the exchange of pawns. This generally makes it easier for him to convert his advantage into a won game. The defending side should strive for the opposite.
How to Finish Off Your Opponent in Chess
If you have a winning position in a game of chess, you'd expect to finish it off in a couple of moves, expecting your opponent to resign sometime soon. But, if your opponent wants to test your chess abilities i.e. endgame technique, then you better pass the test because that could be the difference between a win and a loss.
Many a time have players tried to find ways to remedy this deficit. Some say you have to force yourself to read through Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual or buy the Convekta Total Chess Training software to fully understand the endgame. This in itself, is not true, because number 1: you'd have to be a machine to memorise the 1000s of variations and key positions of the endgame and number 2: you'd be stupid to even try.
No doubt, the above mentioned materials are of great use to understanding the endgame but learning things from theory is different from doing it in practice. It's best if you understood the basic endgame concepts such as opposition, triangulation, Philidor's position etc. since these situations occur much more often and is therefore more useful in understanding the endgame.
And also too, odds are that you may not even reach the endgame phase, since you may play sharp openings such as the Sicilian Najdorf Poisoned Pawn Variation or the King's Indian Defence Bayonet Attack and finish off (or be finished) within 30-40 moves. Nevertheless, endgame chess theory is essential in developing a solid chess playing ability and at the same time also enriching your "chess culture", as Dvoretsky puts it.
0 comments:
Post a Comment