WPP #2 - Playing the Endgame Like a Beginner

"The average western amateur plays the opening like a grandmaster, the middlegame like an expert and the endgame like a beginner." - old Soviet quip

Strangely I couldn't find this quote on the internet, since when you search "chess endgame quotes western amateur" as an image SafeSearch kicks in and blocks you. I really wonder what exactly is objectionable about those search terms and what exactly turns up if you turn SafeSearch off, but it's all good. I don't really need that quote that badly anyway.

Quotes by Russian chess players... Wouldn't want that!

The quote still rings true today, though, as even decent 1500-1600 players can look like buffoons in the endgame, losing dead drawn positions and drawing winning ones, dropping half-points like madmen at a 70%, 80% or even 90% clip. Trust me, I know. Here's a few of my uglier efforts.

These games all share some key aspects that might help shed some light on why I suck at endgames so much. Here`s my list:

Failure to let go of aesthetics. I had several opportunities to force a draw by playing ... e4 in the first game, but I never played it because the move itself was just so ugly.
The urge to do something. This was what caused the ugly 38. Qd5 in the first game, among others.
Trading pieces for no good reason. This is the most blatantly obvious one, and it can easily turn a better endgame into a worse one or a worse one into a losing one.
Just accepting my opponent`s ``activity``. This is what leads to stupid piece trades like 20... Qa8 and 27... Rc8 in the first game.

I`m not really sure how to characterize the ending of this story, because a western amateur`s struggle with endgame technique never really ends. Take a look at the following game where I was completely outplayed:

As always, once the queens were traded, I was absolutely destroyed. But it's nice to get a half-point out of it.