Chess terms: Endgames
60 terms about endgames, each with a plain definition and links to related terms.
An active rook controls open lines, attacks enemy pawns or the king from behind or the side, and cannot easily be attacked, which makes it far stronger than a rook that merely sits and defends.
Bishop and knight checkmate is the ending in which a king, a bishop and a knight force mate against a lone king, which must be driven into a corner of the bishop's color.
A bishop versus knight endgame is an ending in which one side keeps a bishop and the other a knight, usually with pawns, where the bishop tends to shine in open positions and the knight in closed ones.
Checking distance is the space a defending rook keeps from the enemy king, usually a long way off, so it can give a series of checks from the side or behind without being attacked.
Connected passed pawns are two passed pawns on adjacent files that support each other and can advance together, so the enemy cannot stop them one at a time and they often decide an endgame.
Corresponding squares form a map for blocked pawn endings: each square the attacking king might use is paired with the square the defending king must occupy in reply, and missing a pair lets the attacker break through.
Cutting off the king means placing a rook on a file or rank so that the enemy king cannot cross it, which keeps the king away from the pawns and often makes a rook ending easy to win.
Diagonal opposition is the standoff in which the two kings sit on the same diagonal with exactly one empty square between them, so the king that has to move must give ground.
Distant opposition is the long-range form of the kings' standoff: the kings share a line with an odd number of empty squares between them, and the side not on move can keep that count odd until the kings meet.
The endgame is the stage that follows heavy trading, when too little material remains for mating attacks to dominate, so the kings join the fight and the struggle turns on promoting pawns and exact technique.
A fortress is a position the weaker side can hold indefinitely: its king, pieces and pawns cover every entry route, so the side with extra material has nothing to aim at and the game ends in a draw.
Frontal checks are rook checks given from in front of the enemy king, facing the direction in which it is moving, as opposed to checks given from behind.
Insufficient material is the situation where the pieces left on the board could not produce checkmate for either side even if the opponent cooperated fully, so the position is dead and the game ends drawn.
Key squares are the target squares for the attacking king in a pawn ending: once it reaches one while its pawn is safe, the pawn promotes by force, no matter whose move it is.
King activity describes how freely a king can take part in the endgame, by centralizing, attacking enemy pawns and supporting its own, and the more active king frequently decides otherwise equal positions.
A king and pawn endgame is an ending in which only kings and pawns remain, so the result depends on promotion races, king placement, opposition, and exact counting of moves.
King and queen checkmate is the basic ending in which a king and queen force mate against a lone king, using the queen to confine it and the king to help deliver the final check.
King and rook checkmate is the basic ending in which a king and rook force mate against a lone king, by pushing it to an edge with the help of the opposition.
A knight endgame is an ending in which each side has a knight and pawns, where king activity and the pawn count usually decide the result, and where the slow, short-range knight makes the plan harder than in a bishop ending.
The long side is the side of a pawn's file with more files between it and the edge of the board, giving a rook more room to check from far away.
The Lucena position is the key winning setup in rook and pawn against rook: the pawn stands on the seventh rank, its king sits on the promotion square, the enemy king is cut off, and building a bridge with the rook wins.
A minor piece endgame is an ending in which each side has only bishops or knights besides the kings and pawns, so the fight turns on piece activity, pawn structure and king position rather than on heavy pieces.
A mutual zugzwang is a position in which whichever player has to move is worse off, so each side would gladly pass, and the result depends entirely on whose turn it is.
Opposite-colored bishops are bishops that run on different shades of squares, so neither side can attack or exchange the other's bishop, which makes endings with them notoriously drawish even when one side is a pawn or two ahead.
Opposition is a standoff between the two kings on one file or rank with a single empty square between them; whoever does not have to move holds it, because the other king must give up ground.
An outside passed pawn is a passer on a distant wing that works as a decoy: the defending king has to go and stop it, and the moves this takes let the other king win pawns elsewhere.
A passed pawn has a clear road to promotion as far as enemy pawns are concerned: none stands ahead of it on its own file or the two neighboring files, so the opponent must spend a piece or the king to stop it.
A passive rook is stuck guarding a pawn or a square, often on its back rank or in front of its own pawn, with little scope to attack, so the opponent's pieces gain time and room.
A pawn breakthrough is a sacrifice of one or more pawns that tears open the opposing pawn chain so that a remaining pawn can run through and promote.
A pawn promotion race is a position where both sides push passed pawns toward promotion, and the result depends on who queens first and what the new queen can do.
The Philidor position is the textbook draw for the side with the lone rook: the king blocks the pawn, the rook guards its own third rank, and once the pawn steps onto that rank the rook drops back to check from behind.
Piece domination is a position in which an enemy piece cannot move without being captured, because your pieces control every square it could go to, so it is stuck and out of play.
A queen endgame is an ending in which each side still has a queen, usually with a few pawns, where checks, perpetual check and passed pawns tend to decide the result.
Queen versus pawn is an endgame in which a queen faces an enemy pawn that is about to promote, and the queen usually wins except against a bishop or rook pawn defended by a nearby king.
Queen versus rook is an endgame in which one side has a queen and the other a rook, with no other pieces, and the queen wins in general but only after patient, precise technique.
A reserve tempo is a spare, harmless move, usually a pawn move, that one side can make without damaging its position, passing the obligation to move across to the opponent.
The Reti maneuver is a king walk that heads for two goals at once, usually stopping a distant passed pawn while also supporting the king's own pawn, so the opponent cannot defend against both threats.
Rook and pawn versus rook is the ending where one side has a rook and a single pawn against a lone rook, a common practical ending whose result usually turns on where the defending king stands.
A rook endgame is an ending in which each side has a rook and some pawns and no other pieces, and it is the most common type of endgame, so its main ideas are worth learning early.
A rook pawn is a pawn on the a-file or the h-file, the edge of the board, which has fewer capture options and gives the attacker less room to maneuver.
Rook versus minor piece is an ending or imbalance in which one side has a rook and the other a bishop or knight, so the result depends on the pawns and on how active the pieces are.
Rook versus pawn is an ending in which a rook faces a single pawn, usually a win for the rook, although an advanced pawn supported by its king can save the game.
The rule of the square is a shortcut for a lone pawn racing an enemy king: draw a square from the pawn's square up to its promotion square, and the king catches the pawn only if it stands inside or can step in.
Same-colored bishops are bishops that move on the same shade of squares, so they can challenge, exchange and defend against each other, and an extra pawn is usually much easier to convert than with opposite colors.
Second rank defense is a rook-ending method in which the defender keeps the rook on its own second rank to stop the enemy king stepping up and to keep checking options open.
The short side is the side of a pawn's file that has fewer files between it and the edge of the board, the opposite of the long side where more room is available.
Shouldering is a king maneuver in which one king steps into a square that cuts the opposing king off from a pawn or from the route toward it, so the opponent cannot approach.
Stalemate is a draw that occurs when the side on move has no legal move at all while its king is not attacked, so the game ends on the spot with half a point to each player.
The Tarrasch rule holds that a rook usually belongs behind a passed pawn, whether the pawn is its own or the enemy's, because from the rear the rook gains squares as the pawn moves up instead of losing them.
A theoretical draw is a position in which perfect play by both sides leads to a draw, so neither player can force a win no matter how many moves are left.
A theoretical win is a position in which one side can force victory against any defense, so the result is settled and only correct technique is needed to convert it.
The trebuchet is a mutual zugzwang in which two kings stand on either side of a pair of locked pawns, each beside the enemy pawn, so whoever must move loses a pawn and the game.
Triangulation is a way for a king to hand the move to the opponent: it makes a three-move loop over neighboring squares and returns to its starting square, while the enemy king, with less room, cannot copy the loop.
Two bishops checkmate is the ending in which a king and two bishops, one on light squares and one on dark squares, force mate against a lone king, usually in a corner, with the king helping.
The two knights endgame is the ending with a king and two knights against a bare king, in which checkmate cannot be forced although it can sometimes arise by mistake.
The Vancura position is a drawing setup against a rook pawn on the sixth rank with its rook in front: the defending rook attacks the pawn from the side, and the defending king waits on the far side of the board.
A waiting move keeps your position exactly as strong as before and simply hands the opponent the obligation to move, which helps whenever every reply they have makes their position worse.
A wrong rook pawn is an a-pawn or h-pawn whose promotion square is the opposite color to its side's bishop, so king, bishop and pawn cannot win once the defending king reaches the corner in front of it.
A wrong-colored bishop runs on the opposite color to the queening square of its side's rook pawn, so it can never cover that corner or drive out a defending king sitting there, and the ending is drawn.
Zugzwang is the bind of having to move when standing still would be best: the player on move has only moves that weaken the position, and since passing is not allowed, the duty to move itself costs something.
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