CHESS ENDGAME PRINCIPLES

                                      CHESS ENDGAME PRINCIPLES

Here are some of the best endgame principles that each and every aspiring chess player must adhere to if he/she wants to prosper in this white collar sport. Although these ideas are not ideally etched in concrete and are subject to the situations in place, they prove to be the equilibrium of modern chess endgame play.

Caveat: You must always cast an eye on the game situation before blindly taking an action.

1.ACTIVATE YOUR KING.

Ironic to the chess principle: KING SAFETY. You must activate your king in the endgame. This is due to the fact that your king is your best attacking piece and your opponent has no substantial pieces to attack your king. This is a very important endgame strategy since it might be the only principle that can help you win a lot of games in your endgame. First, improving your king’s position creates chances to grab opposition and secondly the king proves to be the best attacking piece in the endgame.

2.GAIN OPPOSITION.

With respect to activating your king earlier on in the endgame, the king will enable you to gain an advantage by gaining opposition in the position. Gaining opposition in the endgame is basically restricting your opponent’s king from advancing towards your pieces by using the fact that two kings cannot get near each other. This technique enables you to gain both space and the initiative to advance toward your opponent’s camp.

3.PAWN VALUE.

Pawns are normally the weakest pieces in the board by somehow they become the most valuable pieces in the endgame due to the fact that they can be promoted to stronger pieces once they reach the 8th and 1st rank. Apparently, mastering the art of pawn promotion is one basic advantage in an endgame.as Aaron Nimzomwitch once coined “A passed pawn is a criminal that has to be put under lock and key” This shows how pawns are very crucial pieces that could make your opponent resign at the spot.

Here are some things to consider while dealing with pawns in the endgame.

Always block passed pawns before attacking it-This ideally will enable you to stop the pawn from advancing and offer you more time to bring other pieces to round up the pawn. Caveat: it’s advised that you block passed pawns using knights.
Avoid double pawns as much as you can. Why? Doubled pawns are hard to advance since they block each other’s advancement. And they cannot protect each other
In bishop endgames, you should always place your pawns in the opposite squares of your bishop colour.
Always avoid pawn islands. Pawn island is a great weakness since they are hard to defend them
 

4.POWER OF THE TWO BISHOPS.

This is an important idea that most players are ignorant about. Two bishops at the endgame position prove to be lethal since often the endgame position has open positions. Coincidentally bishops work best on open positions and the two bishops could be the weapon you need to crush your opponent technically. Simultaneously, the two bishops work best by restricting your opponent’s pieces thus enabling you to put your pieces into action while your opponent continues to play passively.

5.FORCE YOUR OPPONENT TO PLAY PASSIVELY.

Once you gain opposition, your opponent will be forced to play passively while you pieces become active and thus making you have the advantage in the endgame position. By playing actively in the endgame you have the advantage of using the initiative to promote your passed pawns while your opponent has no option but to play waiting moves while you are advancing towards winning positions.

6.ROOKS BEHIND PASSED PAWNS.

This principle applies whether you are the one with the past pawn or the one defending against a passed pawn. No matter what you do in the endgame you have to place your rooks behind a passed pawn otherwise you have got no better chance to make a passed pawn successfully or defend against one.

            7.PRINCIPLE OF DOUBLE WEAKNESS.

Sometimes a single weakness is not enough to provide enough winning chances, so you have to create two weaknesses in your opponent's position. You will force your opponent to defend two weaknesses at the same time, while defending two weaknesses is a hard task to execute. Your opponent will be torn between the two problems and finally he/she is going to let go of one weakness. This is basically enough to provide a clear winning chance.