Even if you don't have an ending, endgame study may create ideas useful for middlegame, especially positional ideas. Because you have so few pieces, placement of the pieces becomes all that more important.
More importantly, you will know what endings to AIM for. In many games between good players, one or both players has had option to exchange into ending at some point, but may not have because it was unfavourable. If your ending understanding is weak, how will you know when to exchange and when not to?
Playing for an ending, is sometimes the best way to exploit a positional advantage in pawn structure. With fewer pieces on, active piece play is less likely to compensate for weak squares and weak pawns.
The idea that endings are boring is a British Junior myth. Some of the greatest brillancies are in endings. You only need to look at Chernev's Practical Chess Endings to confirm this.
Endings should be learned backwards, knowledge will be built from earlier knowledge. Capablanca said endings should be learned first, then middlegames with respect to the endings, then the openings with respect to middlegame and endgame.
eg/(1) Learn the basic mates, k+q versus k, k+r v k, These are the only mates versus lone king worth learning, king and 2 bishops versus king is easy for a strong player even without having specifically studied it. Knight and bishop versus king is so rare its not worth learning, except perhaps, if you are very strong. Many older beginners text books include these, but without good reason.
(2) k+p v k An essential endgame. (3) other pawn endings, with increasing number of pawns (4) other endings. Essential endings for tournament players would include Piece versus one or two pawns and piece+1 or 2 pawns versus piece would be worth knowing something about as well.
Endings are the ultimate test, as they are the most removed from the initial position. Positions in this phase are more the result of what you created, than earlier phases, and are the most removed from the start position and memorized opening moves.
Study in the ending tends to be more rewarding than studying other phases of the game. In 20 hours you could cover an awful lot on ALL endings, but in the same time you would be lucky to absorb one opening variation.
Strength in the endgame, gives you great chance to come back from earlier reverses and good endgame players are good endgame swindlers. To get stronger as the game goes on, is a good feeling. To be a strong player you MUST be good at endgames.
ENDGAME METHOD The main difference between middlegame and endgame is King activation and the importance of passed pawns. An endgame is reached when material is so reduced that a direct attack on the king is unlikely to be successful and emphasis shifts to pawn promotion.
More calculation tends to be needed than the middlegame and often more moves need to be seen ahead. It may be harder to pick moves through intuition.
Many fine books have been written on the endings and many endings have been thoroughly classified, there is even an ending database which includes all endings fewer than 6 pieces. So there is no attempt to reinvent the wheel here. Instead, I will cover some important general principles and some useful tips.
REPETITION Triple repetition occurs if the same position occurs, with the SAME player to move. The positions DO NOT have to occur in order. A position may be repeated 3 times, by forced moves which are not check. This is a draw by perpetual repetition. To avoid accidental triple repetition, I suggest not to repeat the position twice in the first place.
PERPETUAL CHECK This can enable one side to draw a weaker position. The best piece for perpetual check is the queen. Perpetual checks tend to be simpler and much fewer in type than mates. Sometimes a sacrifice can lead to perpetual check, to save a worse position.
STALEMATE Stalemate patterns form the basis of stalemate combinations. Many stalemates occur with the king in a corner.
STALEMATE BY WEAKER SIDE In a few rare cases, the weaker side can draw by creating stalemate. An important example is K + RP versus K.
STALEMATE COMBINATIONS Sometimes the weaker side can stalemate themselves by sacrificing their last piece or pieces. If one side has no possible pawn moves, beware of stalemate.
JUGGERNAUT Sometimes the last piece left can threaten to sacrifice itself. A rook is the most common example of this. It is difficult to force a sacrifice of a knight or bishop.
MATING MATERIAL When there are no pawns left, a margin of 5 points (a rook) or more is usually enough to force checkmate against a lone king. The main exception is queen versus rook. The 50 move rule is important in this endings.
A pawn is always enough if it can be promoted to a queen or rook. 2 knights is unusual, checkmate can be set up, but not forced with correct defence. A lone bishop or knight is insufficient to mate. Sometimes a draw can be made by reducing the opponents material below the minimum needed. To mate a lone king, drive it to the corner or the side, where it has little mobility. Move the piece that is doing LEAST to help mate.
QUEENING Pawn promotion (or the threat of) may create a large material gain. Generally, a pawn up in an ending is a win, and even material is a draw. If you can't use your extra pawn to create a passed pawn, then it may not be enough to win.
UNDERPROMOTION Underpromotion is when a pawn does not promote to a queen, but promotes to a rook, bishop or knight, for tactical reasons. Underpromotion to a knight might create an immediate knight fork.
PASSED PAWN A passed pawn is one which has no opposing pawns in front of it, either on the same file or any adjacent file. A passed pawn can queen unaided unless stopped by pieces. Passed pawns must be pushed. Passed pawns get stronger as they approach the queening square.
SUPPORTED PASSED PAWN This is a passed pawn which is defended by another pawn. This can create a long term threat for the opponent. A critical point is when the pawn advances and no longer becomes supported.
CONNECTED PASSED PAWNS Two passed pawns on adjacent files are connected. These are especially strong as they can advance with the support of the other.
DISTANT PASSED PAWN A distant passed pawn is one which is farthest from the rest of the action. While the defending king is diverted to stop the outside pawn, the attacking king attacks on the other side of the board.
PATH OF THE PAWN The squares a pawn passes through as it advances to queen.
SPARE PAWN MOVE A spare pawn move is a pawn move which can be used as a waiting move.
WAITING MOVE A waiting move is a move which essential does nothing, but forces your opponent to run out or moves or even into zugswang. It may be a piece or pawn move.
PAWN BREAKTHROUGH Sometimes one or more pawns may be sacrificed in order to create a dangerous passed pawn.
PIECE SACRIFICE Sometimes one or more pieces may be sacrificed in order to create a dangerous passed pawn.
ACTIVATING THE KING In many endgames the kings are safe from immediate checkmate and are safe to take an active role. In some positions the kings rush forward as fast as possible. The value of the king is about 4 which is better than a bishop or a knight.
ZUGSWANG Zugswang is a situation in which any move makes your position worse than if you did not move at all. Zugswang is a method of winning many endgames and even some middlegames. Gradually tying your opponent up increases your chances of creating zugswang. Did you know that K+RVR cannot be won if the defending side could pass? i.e. It can only be won by zugswang.
OPPOSITION The opposition is a form of zugswang in which the moving king must give ground to the opposing king. The strongest form of the opposition is when the 2 kings are orthogonally opposed. If the 2 kings are on the same colour, then half the squares will be in opposition
PIECES V PIECES (NO PAWNS) Here are some of the more common ones.
ROOK AND BISHOP V ROOK A draw with best play, but often the play is very complicated. The attacker should drive the defending king to the edge, and move his king into opposition.
ROOK AND KNIGHT V ROOK A much easier draw than r+b v r, both there is still some play.
QUEEN V ROOK This endgame is an exception to the principle that without pawns, a 5 point margin is needed to win.
ROOK V BISHOP The defending king should retreat to the corner which is the OPPOSITE colour of his bishop. He should also try and prevent the kings from getting into direct opposition. Usually a draw, but can be a win if the defending king is in a bad position.
ROOK V KNIGHT The knight should stay near the king, when the game is usually drawn.
QUEEN V QUEEN Nearly always drawn, of course, but sometimes one side can mate when the defending king is in a bad position. This usually happens after both sides have promoted.
PAWN ENDINGS King and pawn endings are the most common and the easiest to win when you are ahead. Generally, if you are one or more pawns ahead you should exchange into a pawn ending.
SQUARE OF THE PAWN A square can be formed by using the queening path of the pawn as one side. If the opponent king can get within this square, it is said to be in the square of the pawn, else it will not be able to catch the pawn.
COUNTING AND QUEENING When racing a pawn against a king, comparing how many moves it takes for the pawn to queen with how long it takes the defending square to reach the queening square can be very useful.
KING AND PAWN V KING It is drawn if the defending king can block the pawn BEFORE the pawn is on the seventh. If the king blocks the pawn and the pawn is on the seventh, then it depends whose move it is. A bishop pawn or a centre pawn is best to have, while a rook pawn is the worst.
ROOK PAWN A single rook pawn is very hard to queen as the defender can't be zugzwanged and can also stalemate the attacker.
KING AND PAWN V KING AND PAWN The position of the kings will be crucial.
OUTFLANKING If the 2 pawns block each other, then the attacker may sometimes win the pawn by the outflanking method.
THE TREBUCHET A mutual zugswang. Whoever moves first, loses their pawn and the game. The defender will try and take the opposition after losing their pawn, if not they will lose.
A PASSED PAWN EACH The attacker queens first and wins the opposing queen with a skewer.
THE FEINT The defender gains a tempo by threatening to support their own pawn, and gets into the square.
KING AND 2 PAWNS V KING AND PAWN If the defenders pawn is passed, then the 2 pawns will usually win if it can be stopped.
DOUBLED PAWNS The attacker has useful waiting moves.
SUPPORTED PASSED PAWN The defender attempts to outflank on the side opposite to where the blocked pawns are.
PIECES V PAWNS Pieces vary greatly in their ability to stop several passed pawns.
QUEEN V PAWN Queen beats any pawn on 6th rank or less. Queen beats any pawn on 7th rank except sometimes a bishop or rook pawn will draw because of a stalemate defence. Against a knight or centre pawn, the method is to force the king to block his own pawn then advance the king one square at a time.
QUEEN V 2 PAWNS+ The queen often has more winning chances than against one pawn, because there usually is less stalemate possibility.
ROOK V PAWN Rook versus pawn is the most difficult piece versus pawn ending. The side with the rook needs to control the queening square with both the rook and the king. The defender needs to move the king and the pawn, so the attacker may have time to get the king back. The defender will sometimes hold the attackers king off with his king.
ROOK V 2 PAWNS 2 connected passed pawns on the 6th rank beat a rook. A rook can hold 2 connected passed pawns if they are not yet on the 6th and win both.
ROOK V 3+ PAWNS The rook's king should try and get in front of the pawns.
BISHOP V PAWN It is usually easy to tell if the bishop can stop the pawn or not.
BISHOP V 2 PAWNS+ A bishop can only defend on one diagonal. Defending on more than one diagonal loses.
KNIGHT V PAWN A knight can always sacrifice itself for any pawn except a rook pawn. The knight sometimes loses against a rook pawn. The knight can hold if the rook pawn is not yet on the seventh.
WNh2, BKf4, BPh3 The knight just holds the pawn by moving in a circle (h2-f1-e3-g4-h2). 1...Kg3 2.Nf1+ Kg2 3.Ne3+ Kf2 4.Ng4+ Kg3 5.Ne3! (h2 6.Nf1+)
KNIGHT V 2 PAWNS+ A knight can hold 2 pawns if it can block one and control the next square of the other. A knight has trouble against separated pawns.
KING V PAWN A king can catch a passed pawn if it can get inside its square.
KING V 2 PAWNS+ A king can hold 2 connected pawns. A king can hold 3 connected pawns, but not move. A king can hold 2 pawns one file apart, but not move.
ROOK ENDINGS These are the second most common kind of ending.
ROOK ON SEVENTH RANK A rook on its 7th rank may tie the opponent king to the 8th rank and can easily attack pawns from the side or the rear.
ESCAPING SEVENTH RANK The king can sometimes escape by moving behind pawns.
NOT ESCAPING SEVENTH RANK (absolute seventh) A rook pawn is not enough for the king to escape the seventh rank.
ROOK DEFENDS SEVENTH RANK A second rank defence may defend the seventh rank.
ROOK BEHIND PASSED PAWN Rook behind passed pawns A rook behind a friendly passed pawn supports each step of its advance, while a rook in front will obstruct it. Also a rook behind the pawn (whether attacking or defending) increases its mobility as the pawn advances.
ROOK AND PAWN V ROOK These are a lot different than minor piece +pawn v minor piece as the rook cannot sacrifice itself for the pawn as K+R v K is mate. A rook pawn is the worst to have while a centre pawn is best.
ROOK AND 2 PAWNS V ROOK If the 2 pawns are connected they usually win. The defender sometimes draws by blockade or by cutting off the attackers king.
ROOK AND 2 PAWNS V ROOK AND PAWN This ending is often drawn, especially if neither side has a passed pawn. The stronger side may be able to exchange into a rook+pawn v rook ending. If the 2 pawns are connected they usually win.
MINOR PIECE ENDINGS Minor piece endings include knight v bishop, knight v knight and bishop v bishop.
KNIGHT V BISHOP Knights tend to be stronger on one side of the board and in blocked positions. The bishop is worse again, if it is a bad bishop. Bishops tend to be stronger in open positions with unbalanced and mobile pawn majorities on both sides of the board.
KNIGHTS Knight endings tend to play in a similar way to king and pawn endings and are the most winnish ending after king and pawn endings. This is because knights can never gain or lose a move. Themes such as the opposition and zugswang become important.
BISHOPS OF SAME COLOURS In bishop of the same coloured endings it is very useful to have your pawns placed on the opposite colour of your bishop. Your pawns cannot be attacked by his bishop. Your bishop and pawns may cooperate to keep his king out. This fixes your opponents pawns on the same colour as the bishops. Your bishop can attack his pawns and his bishop is blocked by them. They can be drawish, if there are only a few pawns left, as a blockading king on the opposite colour to your bishop cannot be driven off.
BISHOPS OF OPPOSITE COLOURS These have a reputation for being drawish, but winning chances are often underestimated by many players. The side trying to win should keep threats on both sides of the board. It is unlikely that the bishops will ever be exchanged.
MINOR PIECE AND PAWN V MINOR PIECE These are a lot different than rook +pawn v rook as the rook cannot sacrifice itself for the pawn. A rook pawn is the best to have while a centre pawn is worst.
ROOK VERSUS MINOR PIECE A bishop generally is better against a rook than a knight, because of its better defensive ability.
ROOK AND PAWN V MINOR PIECE Nearly always a win, but there are a couple of positions where the stronger side cannot make progress.
ROOK AND PAWN V MINOR PIECE AND PAWN Usually a win, but there are a couple of positions where the stronger side cannot make progress. This is often because they are tied down defending their own pawn.
ROOK AND PAWN V BISHOP AND PAWN If the pawns block each other, then progress may take many moves. Sometimes the attacker can combine mate threats with threats of exchanging into a won pawn ending.
QUEEN ENDINGS CENTRALISE THE QUEEN Placing your queen on a central square gives it maximum mobility and may deny a central square to your opponents queen. A queen in the centre controls just under half the board.
PASSED PAWNS Passed pawns are very powerful as a queen can force a passed pawn through against a queen.
PERPETUAL CHECK The threat of perpetual check is often the defender's best chance.
KING SAFETY An unmoved king bishop pawn can be an asset in a queen ending. With 3 pawns on the kingside, a king will often be safe from checks. If there is no f pawn, an unmoved knight pawn can be helpful.
ESCAPING CHECKS Ways in which checks may be escaped include: (1) Not capturing pawns (2) Meeting a check with a check
NOT CAPTURING PAWNS Sometimes a king can escape checks by not taking opponent pawns and hiding behind them.
CHECK WITH A CHECK Sometimes a king can escape checks by meeting a check with a check by: (1) Interposing the queen with check (2) Moving the king with discovered check (3) Interposing the queen with a pin (4) Moving the king with a pin
2 PIECES V ROOK The most likely equivalent here is ROOK + 1 or 2 pawns versus 2 minor pieces. Rooks and pawns get stronger as the game approaches the endgame so the player with these should aim for this phase of the game. The player with the 2 pieces should keep the queens on and play for an attack on the king.
QUEEN V MINOR PIECE The queen should have no trouble.
QUEEN V ROOK With pawns on the board, the rook might be able to set up a fortress against the queen. Usually, though the queen can win.
QUEEN V ROOK AND PAWNS With pawns on the board, the rook might be able to set up a fortress against the queen. The rook may also draw if the pawn is very advanced.
QUEEN V SEVERAL PIECES The queen is best at giving check and attacking or forking unprotected pieces. The pieces are best when their own king is safe and units of their own side are protected.
QUEEN V ROOK+PIECE The queen is usually too string for the rook and piece, though sometimes the rook and piece can combine effectively to match the queen. Rook and bishop tend to better against a queen than rook and knight.
QUEEN V ROOK+PIECE+P In theory equal, but depends a lot on king safety and well protected the pieces are.
QUEEN V 2 ROOKS If the side with the rooks, king is safe ,then the 2 rooks are worth about a pawn more than the queen. The 2 rooks can defend each other and easily combine to attack defended pawns. Exchanging 2 rooks for queen and pawn will leave that side with a pawn up in the pawn ending.
2 ROOKS V 3 MINOR PIECES An unusual situation that happens when one side sacs the exchange then wins 2 pieces or a rook.
GENERAL TIPS If trying to win, have threats on a broad front as possible. The more the defender has to worry about, the more likely they are to give priority to the wrong threat. Sometimes you can win by TACKING from one side to another. Destroy counterplay, tie your opponent down, and avoid creating a race situation unless you have to.