5/27/2023 0 Comments Chess kingSo far, white is dictating the play in this endgame! Only now does white outflank the black King with 3. Black moves his King to e7 (2…Ke7) to prevent white from placing his King on e6. It is too soon for the white King to outflank the black King so white keeps the Kings in opposition with 2. However, getting the white pawn will prove difficult. The black King moves to d7 (1…d7) in an effort to protect his pawn and go after the white pawn on f5. It’s black to move, so white has the opposition. f8=Q * your web browser and/or your host do not support iframes as required to display the chessboard alternatively your wordpress theme might suppress the html iframe tag from articles or excerpts Now let’s see these ideas employed in an endgame situation in which both players have their Kings and a pawn each. This becomes a critical idea when using your King to aid in the promotion of a pawn. This means that you’ll want to use your King to control squares you want to keep the opposition King off of. A key point beginners should embrace is the idea that the opposition King can never move to squares controlled by their King. Outflanking means getting past something by moving around its side. He can move to f4, maintaining the opposition, or he can move to d5, outflanking the black King. Kf4) * your web browser and/or your host do not support iframes as required to display the chessboard alternatively your wordpress theme might suppress the html iframe tag from articles or excerpts When the black King moves, he gives the white King the right of way so to speak. In other words, if you’re playing the white pieces in such a position and it’s black’s turn to move, you have the opposition. What do I mean by having the opposition? You have the opposition when the other King has to move. You’ll want to have the opposition to gain the advantage. King opposition is a key factor in endgame play! Simply put, Kings in opposition are Kings facing one another on a rank, file or diagonal with a single square separating them. Again, you have to get your King into the game if you’re going to deliver a successful checkmate! If their opponent’s King is active and their King is not, the opposition has better opportunities to win. If the position is equal, material-wise, I look at King activity. If they have a superior force that can corral opposition pawns while helping to promote one of their own pawns, they’ve got the opportunity to win. When students ask me to analyze their endgame, asking who has the better chance of winning, I first look at the balance of material. When the majority of you and your opponent’s material is off the board, you need to employ the power of the King! However, they often do so without the assistance of their King. Then, if they reach the endgame, the beginner often attempts to advance pawns across the board to their promotion squares. During the middle-game, our beginner keeps a watchful eye out for opposition attacks on their King while launching their own attacks on the enemy King. During the opening, the beginner castles his King to safety and develops his or her pieces actively. The beginner who has gained a small modicum of experience knows to defend their King in the game’s first two phases, the opening and middle-game. King activity is absolutely a must in King and pawn endgames! Beginners tend to leave their Kings sitting inactively on their starting ranks. However, one problem beginner’s face when they do end up in an endgame, in which Kings and pawns are the only material left on the board, is the use of their Kings. Of course, most beginner’s games end well before a proper endgame so I can’t fault them for lacking practical experience. As I’ve said in previous articles about the endgame, beginners seldom know what to do when in this game phase.
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