Of Pawn Endgames

The most interesting part of endgame play is pawn endings. Knowledge of these endings is all the more indispensable to the chess player as the vast majority of all games finally resolve themselves into pawn endings. The best course will be first to study how to turn a material superiority in pawns to decisive advantage, after which we shall note particular positions in which a win is possible with an equality or even an inferiority in pawns.

The ending of king and pawn against king is one of the simplest albeit one of the most important of elementary cases. The stronger side will evidently try to queen the pawn. But generally this is not possible if the adverse king has command of the queening square.

A rash advance of the pawn would be the wrong thing. The right way of playing is indicated by a simple calculation. In the diagram below, the pawn needs four moves to reach the queening square. But the black king arrives there in the same number of moves, so that he can capture the pawn the moment he queens. Consequently White will only be able to enforce the safe queening of his pawn if he can gain control of the queening square with his own king, thus protecting the pawn at the time of queening.

To sum up the investigation of this pawn ending: The deciding factor is the opposition of the kings on the 6th and 8th ranks. If the weaker party succeeds in obtaining that opposition with the pawn on the 6th rank he draws the game.

If the pawn is not yet advanced to the 6th rank the opposition of the kings is of no avail to the weaker party as the pawn advancing would force the opposing king out of opposition again. Suppose, for instance, White has the king on e6 and the pawn on e5 while Black's king stands on e8 with White on the move.

So, when the pawn has not yet played to his sixth square, the weaker side must try to keep away the opposing king from the sixth rank. This is possible in positions such as that below, where the stronger king is not more than one rank ahead of his pawn, and the weaker king can assume the opposition.

If the king is more than one rank ahead of his pawn, the end-game can always be won, for if Black takes the opposition White deprives him of it again.

This settles all typical end-games of king and pawn against king. There is, however, one exception to the rules set out, namely, when a rook's pawn is concerned. Here the isolated king always succeeds in drawing if he can reach the corner where the pawn has to queen, for he cannot be driven out again. The rook's pawn affords another opportunity for the weaker side to draw. The diagram below will illustrate this, and similar positions are of frequent occurrence in practice.

The ending king and pawn against king is one of the most important for every chess player to know, not only because a great number of positions can be reduced to this ending by the exchange of all the other men left on the board, but also because it gives the first insight into the peculiar maneuvers of the king which have to be carried out in connection with gaining or giving up the opposition, and which, as will be seen later on, constitute the essence of the most frequent pawn endings.

End-games with a majority of one pawn, when both sides still have pawns, are much more simple to manipulate.

Such games result in positions of which the diagram below is a typical instance. Here White does not even need to queen his passed pawn. The mere threat forces the win. For the pawn at g4 reduces the mobility of the black king, in so far as the latter must at all times be ready to reach the queening square in as few moves as the pawn, or else the pawn would queen unmolested. The white king can therefore capture the opposing C-pawn in peace and then queen his own.

Such positions as above are also reached when there are several pawns on each wing. The stronger side exchanges pawns on the wing where there is a majority until the extra pawn is passed.

The winning process is not quite so simple when all the pawns are on the same wing, because exchanges are of no use unless the king can assume the opposition in front of the last remaining pawn.

Below, for instance, White must not play c4. Therefore he can only win by gaining the B-pawn, that is, by bringing his king to c5.

This position, being of frequent occurrence, is most important, and I recommend it as a valuable study in the use of the opposition.

Before I discuss positions of greater complexity, in which the only way to win is by sacrificing the extra pawn, I shall treat of endgames in which positional advantages ensure the victory although the pawns are equal. Here we shall find simple cases in which pawn maneuvers bring about the win, and more intricate ones in which king moves are the deciding factor.

Of the former the most important type is the endgame with the "distant passed pawn." A typical example is the position below, in which Black wins. The king's moves are outlined by the necessity of capturing the opposing passed pawn, after which the black king is two files nearer the battle-field (on the queen's side), so that the White pawns must fall.

For similar reasons the position below is lost for Black. White obtains a passed pawn on the opposite wing to that of the king. He forces the black king to abandon his king's side pawns, and these are lost. I give the moves in full, because this is another important example characteristic of the ever recurring necessity of applying our arithmetical rule. By simply enumerating the moves necessary for either player to queen his pawn -- separately for White and Black -- we can see the result of our intended maneuvers, however far ahead we have to extend our calculations.

Now the following calculations show that Black is lost. White needs ten moves in order to queen on the king's side, namely, five to capture the black king's side pawns (Ke4-f5-g6-h6-g5), one to free the way for his pawn, and four moves with the pawn. After ten moves, Black only gets his pawn to c3. He requires six moves to capture the white queen's side pawns, one to make room for his pawn at c6, and after three moves the pawn only gets to c3. White then wins by means of many checks, forcing the black king to block the way of his own pawn, thus gaining time for his king to approach. As we shall see later on, if the pawn had already reached c2, whilst under protection by his king, the game would be drawn.

It is necessary to make it a rule to examine positions in which each side has a passed pawn, by counting the moves in the way first shown. It is just because end-games can be calculated to a nicety, there being no moves of which the consequences cannot be foreseen, that we note in contemporary master play a tendency to simplify the middle-game by exchanging pieces, as soon as there is an infinitesimal advantage in the pawn position.

We will now turn our attention to positions in which the pawns opposed on each wing are of equal number and no passed pawn can be forced through. Everything depends on the relative position of the kings. The deciding factor in valuing the king's position is whether pawn moves are possible, or whether they are already entirely or nearly exhausted, so that only maneuvers by the king are possible. The following illustrations make the position clear. We shall see that the importance of getting the opposition is paramount. The diagram below shows a simple instance in which there are no more pawn moves. Whoever has the move wins by assuming the opposition. The opposing king must then give the way free to one of the pawns.

The state of affairs in the diagram below is similar to that above. Having the move, White plays into opposition and forces his way to d5, after which Black's C-pawn is lost.

If Black has the move he can only draw, because the white C-pawn is covered even though Black gains the square at d4.

I shall take this opportunity of explaining what is called "distant opposition." In the diagram below, White with the move wins by 1. Ke2, thus assuming "distant opposition" (squares of the same color!).

In this position, too, there is ample scope for the study of the opposition.

If the pawns are still standing behind, the king who has the most advanced position has always the advantage, because he threatens to attack the opposing pawns should they leave their base. White has more pawn moves at his disposal, and will nearly always succeed in assuming the opposition. For instance, in the diagram below, White, having the move, wins because his king gets first into the center of the board.

If the king stood at d7 instead of c8, he could just manage to draw. White takes eleven moves to capture the black king's side pawns, and to queen one of his own, as can be easily seen. In eleven moves Black captures the opposing C-pawn and queens his own. We see here how the king's position can be counterbalanced by the weakness of a pawn, and lead to a draw. If the White C-pawn was not isolated but standing, for instance, at b2, Black would be lost, as calculation easily shows.

The strength or weakness of a pawn position, which, as we saw, had so deciding an influence in the end-game position just treated, is one of the most important factors in a game of chess, and should have full consideration in the middle game. A pawn, when isolated, is naturally weaker than when it is or can be protected by another. It may easily lead to the loss of a game, as the mobility of the king or a piece is reduced by having to protect the pawn.

It is frequently and erroneously thought that doubled pawns as such are a weakness. Doubled pawns are weak when isolated, for they cannot support each other. But if doubled pawns can be supported by a pawn on the next file they need not by any means be at a disadvantage against three united single pawns on the opposite side. For instance, in the diagram below, if Black had a pawn at b6 instead of a7, White would have no winning chances. He could not attack the pawns, nor would any kind of maneuvers force a passed pawn through.

In this particular case the win is made easy by the fact that the white king is able to attack the black pawn at once. But even without this advantage, the weakness of doubled pawns usually entails the loss of the game. The following diagram may serve as an example.

Doubled pawns are a drawback, even when not isolated, should there be no way of obtaining a passed pawn by exchanging them against a smaller number of single pawns. This is illustrated below, in which Black wins because the three pawns on the king's side hold up the four white pawns and the black king can assail the white pawns from the rear, the white king being fettered by the necessity of capturing the C-pawn.

The proper formation for the black pawns would be at f6, g7, h6, after which White cannot force a pawn through by playing f4 and g5, as Black can refrain from making any exchange. Black could not afford to leave the pawns where they are, because even if there were no white pawn at f2, White would threaten to win in the following way.

In this particular case Black could have made the position secure by obtaining the ideal position of f6 g7 h6 for his pawns earlier, before the White pawns could advance so far.

To conclude the study of pawn endings with an equal number of pawns on either side, we will discuss the position below, which illustrates a curious situation occurring from time to time in practice. Whoever has the move wins by moving into distant opposition.

We have still to consider end-games in which a draw results in spite of a majority of pawns, or where a win can only be achieved by the sacrifice of an extra pawn.

The diagram below shows the latter case.

A counterpart to this position is found below, which shows one of the few cases in which the possession of an extra pawn does not force a win.

We come now to those end-games in which the object to queen a pawn has been realized. The pawn position is of the same importance as in pawn endings, just as the command of as many squares as possible is essential for the king.

The queen wins against an advanced pawn, even when the latter is supported by the king; only the A- or H-pawn or the C- or F-pawn can draw sometimes, when the pawn is on the second or seventh rank supported by the king, and the opposing queen cannot move to the queening square.

This end-game can only be won if the stronger king can assume the opposition in two moves. Therefore, if in the above example the black king was standing at d4 ...

If the pawn is on the C- or F-file ...

If the pawn is on any other file ...

And if no more pawns are present, the correct way of maneuvering for White will be to confine Black's king to a smaller and smaller territory until he finally has to back up against a side or a corner of the board. This consideration indicates the following line of play ...

After understanding the winning maneuvers in pawn endings the beginner can readily see the fundamental principle underlying every game.

-- Edward Lasker, 1915, 1918