It’s Never Too Late to Win, As Long as Your King Is Safe

Your goal in chess is not to mate the enemy king but to avoid being mated first.

Take the most famous example: according to the Lichess database, over 341,000 games allowed the simple Qf7# mate. The real number across history is probably 100 times bigger.

Why does this happen? Simple: beginners ignore their king’s safety. They just want to keep taking pieces and pushing their own plan forward. The result is obvious: mate comes out of nowhere.

All strong players understand one thing: king safety comes first. Once you grasp this, it’s your first real step toward becoming stronger. That’s why as the level rises, the number of draws increases. Pros always check their king and have built solid defensive habits. Even with a powerful attack, they make sure their king is safe before striking.

Kasparov loved this idea: before launching his attack, he would first put his king on a safer square. The most famous example is 31.Kg1–h2!! from the 1986 World Championship match. Karpov went wrong immediately afterward.

Like many attacking players, I’ve used Kasparov’s idea in my own games. The most recent memorable example for me is the one below.

Objectively, the move I played after a long thought Kg8!? , was losing according to the engine. But it had a psychological impact. My opponent quickly went wrong after that. I truly believe that without Kg8, the game would have ended in a draw.

Coaches often say about resignation: it’s never too late to resign. I think something similar applies to king safety:

As long as you keep your king safe, it’s never too late to win.