Pawn Endgames

"Pawns are the soul of chess" (Danican Andre Philidor 1726-1795). Centuries later, his words still ring true. The ultimate goal in pawn endgames is to promote a pawn. It is here that the foot soldier can realize its ultimate promotion to power as a "social climber" sufficient to support checkmate. It is interesting that these endgames present the lowest draw rate and the lowest number of important theoretical positions.

King activity is extremely important in pawn endings and it is for this very reason that the king takes center stage as a fighting entity.

According to de la Villa, king and two pawns vs. king and pawn is the most common scenario in pawn endings. A population of over 4 million games revealed that 0.46% or a little over 18,000 games involved this ending. Therefore it is of great practical interest to the tournament player and will be the primary focus of our study involving pawn endgames.

On the other hand, king vs. king and pawn endgames are relatively uncommon and therefore not covered in the present work. However, it is essential that the reader be fully acquainted with such concepts as the opposition, critical squares, square of the pawn, and the theory of corresponding squares, which embody the fundamental cornerstones characterizing the exclusive domain of monarchical combat. If you have any doubt in your knowledge or technique concerning these areas, I strongly suggest you consult additional endgame sources of which there are many in order to avoid unnecessary frustration in solving these examples.

We begin our study of pawn endings with king and pawn vs. king and pawn which occur quite frequently and are likely to crop up in your games.

King and Pawn vs. King and Pawn

Aside from simple pawn races brought about by both pawns being passed, the real question surrounding this ending is whether or not a pawn can be won. If a pawn drops, the assessment of the resulting position, which has now transposed into one of king and pawn vs. king, hinges upon who owns the opposition. If one side gives up his pawn but can take the opposition, the position is always drawn unless the stronger side's pawn is on the 5th rank. In fact, a blocked pawn on the 5th rank or greater wins if the enemy pawn can be captured, unless the blocked pawns are rook pawns.

Blocked Pawns and the Acquisition of Key Squares

When two pawns block each other, the key squares of each pawn are on the same rank as the pawn; three squares on either side of it. The king who manages to occupy one of the key squares of the enemy pawn will capture it but not necessarily win the game since that depends on who owns the opposition. This is a very important point to remember. Resist the temptation to resign just because your pawn will be lost since by taking the opposition in return for the pawn you salvage a draw.

1. Kg3! Kb7 2. Kf4 Kc7 3. Ke5 Kd7 4. Kd5 Kc7 5. Ke6 Kc8 6. Kd6 Kb7 7. Kd7 Kb8 8. Kc6 Ka7 9. Kc7 Ka8 10. Kxb6 wins.

1. Ka5! (1. Kb5? Kb7 is equal) 1…Kb7 2. Kb5 Kc7 3. Kc5 Kd7 4. Kd5 Ke7 5. Ke5 (5. Kc6?? Ke6!) 5…Kf7 6. Kd6 and the pawn will promote shortly.

Our next example introduces the concept of trebuchet:

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Both kings need to approach the pawns, but the path to pawn prey is quite treacherous. 1. Kd7! (1. Kd6? Kf5 and now white's compulsion to move courts fatality) 1…Kf5 2. Kd6 setting up a favorable trebuchet and forcing the move on black. 2…Kg6 3. Kxe6 Kg7 4. Kd7 Kf7 5. e6+ Kf8 6. e7+ Kf7 7. e8=Q+ and black can resign.

I promise you that before the end of this book, the name Nikolai Dmitrievich Grigoriev will be forever indelibly etched in your mind. And, for good reason. His work and ideas on many different types of endgames have become enchanting masterpieces of chess art. The next example, which harkens back to 1931, is one of my personal favorites and a cornerstone in the understanding of blocked pawn endgames:

1. Kg3!! White cannot directly capture the black pawn and begins an indirect path to it. Even if he makes it to c7, black has ... Ka6 setting up a trebuchet.

If 1. Kg4? Kc2! and now there are two courses the game could take:

a) 2. Kf3 Kd3! 3. Kf2 Kc4 4. Kd6 Kb5! 5. Kc7 Ka6!;

b) 2. Kf4 Kd3! 3. Ke5 Kc4 4. Kd6 Kb5 5. Kc7 Ka6.

1 ... Kc2 2. Kf2 Kd2 3. Kf1 Kd1 4. Kf2 Kd2 5. Kf1 Kd3 6. Ke1 Kc4 7. Kd2 Kb5 8. Kc3 Kc5 9. Kb3 Kxb6 10. Kb4 drawn.

Always remember that the loss of a pawn may be disguised as a sacrifice in consideration for taking the opposition, which often becomes a saving grace.

1. f4! forcing the black king to capture the pawn which is not on a critical square. (1. Kf2? f4! the black pawn now occupies the 5th rank. Hence, when the king captures the white pawn he will already occupy one of the critical squares.) 1 ... Ke4 2. Kg2! Kxf4 3. Kf2 Ke4 4. Ke2 f4 5. Kf2 f3 6. Kf1 Ke3

7. Ke1 f2+ 8. Kf1 Kf3 drawn. This concept can be applied to situations where there are more pawns on the board. Whenever the base of a pawn chain is blocked by an enemy pawn, the king can capture it if he occupies any one of the key squares of that pawn. When both kings can occupy key squares for their enemy pawn, a mutual zugzwang may arise. However, bear in mind that the first king to attack the enemy pawn must reserve a tempo in order to capture it.

Pawns on Adjacent Files

The concept here is to sacrifice your pawn in order to change the critical squares reaching a drawn king vs. king and pawn ending.

1 ... Kb4! Since black's pawn can no longer be defended, he correctly decides to attack. (If 1 ... Kb6? 2. Kd6! Kb5 3. Ke7! wins for white) 2. Kd6 (2. Kd4 Kb3 is equal) 2 ... Kc4 3. Ke7 Kd5 4. Kf6 Ke4 5. Kxf7 Kxe5.

1. d6! (1. Kb3? Kc5! 2. d6 Kxd6! [2 ... cxd6? 3. Kc3!] 3. Kc4 Kc6! or 2. Kc3 Kxd5!) 1 ... cxd6 2. Kb3! Kc5 3. Kc3!

1. e5! By sacrificing the pawn, white manages to change the key squares to d3, e3, and f3. Since black cannot reach the key squares, the result is a draw : 1 ... fxe5 2. Kg2 Kf4 3. Kf2 drawn.

Passed Pawns – Dual-Purpose King Maneuvers

The concept in this situation is to support your own pawn and simultaneously step into the square of the enemy pawn. The two famous compositions by Duras (1905) and Reti (1921) clearly illustrate this concept:

1. Kc5! White has two objectives: the white king must remain inside the square of the enemy pawn and at the same time shoulder the enemy king away from his own pawn. 1 ... Kg6. Although the king blocks his own pawn, the black king must also remain in the square of the enemy pawn (1.g5 2. b4 g4 3. Kd4 and white wins since the black king cannot enter the square of the pawn, while the white king has managed to do so). 2. b4 Kf7 3. b5 Ke7 4. Kc6! The consequence of white's first move is now apparent: the white king is able to shoulder the black king away from the white pawn. 4 ... Kd8 5. Kb7! g5 6. b6 g4 7. Ka7 g3 8. b7 g2 9. b8=Q+ The tempo white lost obstructing his pawn with 5. Kb7! is regained by queening with check.

1. Kg7! Once again, the white king has two objectives: to enter the square of the enemy pawn and to support his own pawn. 1 ... h4 2. Kf6 Kb6 (2 ... h3 3. Ke7! h2 4. c7 with an equal position) 3. Ke5! Kxc6 4. Kf4 reaching equality. With this study we can discern that black required two tempi to stop the white pawn from promoting which is the same exact number white required to step into the square of the pawn.

King and Two Pawns vs. King and Pawn

The first concept we will address is triangulation, which is actually a manifestation of the theory of corresponding squares. If these concepts are unfamiliar to you, please consult additional sources for clarification prior to studying this section. Essentially, the idea is to recreate the exact position with your opponent to move which forces some concession in his position by either allowing your king to penetrate or rewarding you with the opposition.

I think it is most important that you first develop the ability to recognize when the concept of triangulation applies in a given position and only secondarily the exact moves required to win. Even if your triangulation pattern is not exactly accurate, the worst that can happen—blunders excepted, of course—is that the position will be repeated, at which point you can modify your triangulation pattern accordingly and try again.

Let's look at a few positions, the first of which is a classic example:

1. Kc4 (1. Kd4 also wins but is less direct) 1 ... Kb8 2. Kd4 Kc8 3. Kd5 Kd8 4. Kd6 (white has reached the original position with his opponent to move by tracing a triangle over the squares c4, d4, and d5) 4 ... Kc8 5. c7 Kb7 6. Kd7 Ka7 7. Kc6 Ka8 8. c8=Q+ Ka7 9. Qb7 checkmate.

1 ... Ke5! 2. Kg1 Kf5 3. Kf1 Ke4 and black controls the opposition earning him the full point.

White must reach the original position with black to move. 1. Ke5! Kc6 (1 ... Ke7 2. c6!) 2. Kd4 Kd7 3. Kd5 (white reaches the initial position but with black to move and wins because he seizes the opposition) 3 ... Kd8 4. Kd6 Kc8 5. Ke7 Kb8 6. Kd7 Ka8 7. c6 bxc6 8. Kc7 and white will promote his pawn.

Let us conclude this section with two more examples. The first position is from a famous study by Grigoriev (1930):

1. Kd6! Kf7 2. Kd7 Kg6 (2 ... Kg7 3. Ke7 Kg6 4. Ke6) 3. Ke6 Kg7 4. Kf5 Kf7 (4 ... Kh7 5. Kf6) 5. g6+ Kg7 6. Kg5 and the pawn will run for a touchdown. 1. Kc3 Kd7 2. Kb4 Kc6 3. Ka5 Kb7 4. Kb5 Kc7 5. Ka6 Kc6 6. d5+! Kc7 7. Ka7 Kc8 8. Kb6 Kd7 9. Kb7 wins.

Blocked Rook Pawns and an Extra Passed Pawn

This ending is very common in practice and represents the most difficult case in king and two pawns vs. king and pawn endings. When the blocked pawns are not rook pawns, the ending is usually won and the winning plan quite simple: cough up your passed pawn in order to capture the enemy pawn and reach a won king and pawn vs. king ending. Silman refers to this idea as "The fox in the chicken coop." However, you choose to remember it, be advised that the following five scenarios involving rook pawns present exceptions. Observe that the closer the stronger side's pawns are, the farther back the rook pawn must be in order to improve winning chances. If the passed pawn is central and far or greater, the rook pawn is ideally situated on the 5th rank or greater.

A. Blocked Rook Pawns and a Distant (far bishop file or greater) Passed Pawn

As a general rule, if the stronger side has his rook pawn on the 5th rank or greater, the ending is always won. Both players must try to advance their rook pawns as far as possible—if they are not yet blocked or fixed—and such advances should be the first moves in the ending. If the stronger side's blocked rook pawn is less advanced (2nd, 3rd or 4th rank) the passed pawn is best held back, as far from promotion as possible. In this case, there is a simple rule to calculate whether this ending is won or drawn. The technique is known as Bahr's Drawing Lines. We must first begin by asking: What do the two kings have to do? The weaker king must capture the passed pawn and then return to the bishop file nearest to the rook pawn in order to stop it from promoting. Therefore, draw a diagonal line from the capture square of the passed pawn to the far bishop file. The stronger king wants to sacrifice his passed pawn, capture the enemy pawn and reach a won king and pawn vs. king ending. Therefore, draw a diagonal line from the capture square of the enemy rook pawn to the near bishop file. If the weaker king's route is higher the stronger king's route the weaker king can successfully capture the pawn and still reach the critical bishop file to defend and draw. Otherwise, the pawn promotes.

Our next example clearly illustrates these principles:

In this position, white knows that if his rook pawn was ideally placed on h5, he would have a theoretically won game. However, since it is not, holding back his passed b-pawn benefits him. White has only to apply Bahr's formula to discover that the position is still won for him since black's b3–f7 line is not above white's h5–f7 line: 1. Kd4! Kb4 2. Ke5 Kxb3 3. Kf5 Kc4 4. Kg5 Kd5 5. Kxh5 Ke6 6. Kg6! and white wins. However, note that if white advances his b-pawn with 1 b4?, black's b4–f8 diagonal would now be higher than white's h5–f7 diagonal, resulting in a drawn position.

In comparison with our last example, here white's pawn sits on the 4th rank. However, this feature is sufficient to change the result since we can see that the black king's route b4–f8 is higher than the white king's route h5–f7:

1. Kb3 Kb6 2. Kc4 Kc6 3. Kd4 Kb5 4. Ke4 Kxb4 5. Kf5 Kc5 6. Kg5 Kd6 7. Kxh5 Ke7 8. Kg6 Kf8 drawn.

B. Blocked Rook Pawns and a Central and Far Passed Pawn

If the stronger side has his rook pawn on the 5th rank or greater, the ending is always won:

1. Kd4 Kd7 2. Ke5 Ke7 3. Kf5 Kd6 4. Kg6 Kxd5 5. Kxh6 Ke6 6. Kg7 wins.

C. Blocked Rook Pawns and a Central and Near Passed Pawn

When the stronger side's pawn is blocked on the 6th rank, the stronger side's king has no room to attack the enemy rook pawn, and the position is drawn as illustrated by our next example:

1. Kc1 Kd4 2. Kc2 Kc4 3. d3+ Kd4 4. Kd2 Kd5 5. Kc3 Kc5! 6. d4+ Kd5 7. Kd3 Kd6 8. Kc4 Kc6 9. d5+ Kd6 10. Kd4 Kd7 11. Kc5 Kc7 12. d6+ Kd7 13. Kd5 Kd8 14. Kc6 Kc8 15. d7+ Kd8 drawn.

Therefore, winning chances increase with the rook pawn held back one square, and now with a rook pawn on the 5th rank, the stronger side uses a "Reverse Fox in the Chicken Coop" plan: the stronger side's king must advance on the long side of his passed pawn, allowing the enemy king to capture his rook pawn, and then hinder the king from leaving the edge of the board while promoting his own center pawn.

Consider the next example:

1. Ke2! Kc5 2. Ke3 Kb5 3. Kd4! Kxa5 4. Kc5! Ka4 5. d4 a5 6. d5 Kb3 7. d6 a4 8. d7 a3 9. d8=Q a2 10. Qd4 and white wins.

A blocked rook pawn on the 4th rank is usually won for the stronger side:

1. Ke1! Kc4 2. Ke2! Kb4 3. Kd3! Kxa4 4. Kc4! Ka3 5. d4 a4 6. d5 Kb2 7. d6 a3 8. d7 a2 9. d8=Q a1=Q 10. Qd2+! Kb1 11. Kb3 and white earns the full point.

D. Blocked Rook Pawns and a Passed Bishop Pawn on the Same Wing

The stronger side always wins when his rook pawn is on the 2nd rank by simply pushing his passed bishop pawn to the 7th rank at which point the enemy pawn will be forced to move, creating zugzwang. It is for this very reason that both players should keep their rook pawn on its original square (h2 and h7)—the defending side because the pawn is easier to defend, the stronger side in order to leave open the possibility of pushing his rook pawn one or two squares. If the stronger side has moved his rook pawn (h3 or h4) the ending is still won if the weaker side has already moved his.

1. Kf6. Now black can only move his h-pawn. If he moves it one square (1 ... h6), white does the opposite (2. h4), but if black moves it two squares (1 ... h5), white plays 2. h3. Both situations win for white.

However, note that if white's pawn were on h3, the position is drawn after 1. Kf6 h5! Therefore, we may draw the conclusion that the ending with two blocked rook pawns and an extra bishop pawn on the same wing is always won if the defending rook pawn has moved and stronger side's rook pawn has not.

E. Blocked Rook Pawns and a Knight Pawn

This situation represents the most difficult case in this section and arises quite often.

This specific ending requires the application of a four part test. The stronger side must (1) ensure that one of the two pawns remains unmoved on the second rank; (2) first post the king on its ideal h6/a6 square; (3) advance only one of the two pawns to its 5th rank; and (4) apply Bird's Color Rule: If the unmoved pawn is a rook pawn, move it to the same colored square occupied by the enemy king. If the unmoved pawn is a knight pawn, move it to a different colored square than that of the enemy king. Just remember: "Rook's pawn plays the same; knight's pawn a different game."

Before taking a look at some practical examples, let us consider a few theoretical positions necessary to our understanding of the application of these rules.

1 ... Kg7! Since white has not left an unmoved pawn on his second rank, violating the first element, black must not move his pawn (1 ... h6 2. g6+ Kg7 with an equal position). 2. Ke6 Kg8 3. Kf6 Kh8 4. g6 (4. Kf7 h6 5. g6 with an equal position) 4 ... Kg8! (4 ... hxg6?? 5. hxg6 Kg8 6. g7 white is better) 5. g7 h6 drawn.

Now we observe the same position moved one rank south. Black's pawn has advanced one square, and since it is his move he will have to concede the 5th rank. 1 ... Ke6 (1 ... h5 2. g5+ and now the position with the protected passer on g5 wins: 2 ... Kg6 3. Ke4 Kf7 4. Ke5 Kg6 5. Ke6 white is better) 2. Ke4 Kf6 3. Kd5 Kg6 4. Ke5 Kg7 5. Kf5 Kf7 6. h5 wins.

Same position with white to move. Now the position is drawn, since white cannot break the opposition. 1. Ke4 Ke6 2. h5 Kf6 3. Kf4 Ke6 drawn.

1 ... Ke4 2. Ke2 Kf4 3. Kd3 h3! (this is black's drawing resource) 4. g3+ Kf3 5. Kd4 Kg2 6. g4 Kxh2 7. g5 Kg2 8. g6 h2 9. g7 drawn.