Pawn endgame

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Avatar of melzerh

Which pawn is best to have in the endgame?

Avatar of RetiFan

I think c, d, e and f pawns are all good but b and g has some problems in some endgames. a and h pawns are totally bad because there is a bigger chance of draw! That's all I know, correct me if I'm wrong...

Of course I'm talking about a passed pawn!

Avatar of Loomis

It all depends on the particular endgame.

 

If you have a K+P against K, all non-rook pawns are the same and rook pawns are often not as good.

 

If you have K+Q against K+P where the pawn is on the seventh rank, rook and bishop pawns are a draw and the other pawns lose.

 

In an endgame where both sides have pawns, the side with a passed pawn usually has some advantage. A passed pawn further to the outside (away from the center) is better because it takes the opponent's king further from the action.

Avatar of Scarblac
melzerh wrote:

Which pawn is best to have in the endgame?


 The passed pawn :-)

 

Seriously, many very elementary end games are more drawish in the case of a rook pawn than with other pawns. But you can't really take about it in any less general terms than that, depends on the rest of the position...

Avatar of normajeanyates
yavuz1990 wrote:

I think c, d, e and f pawns are all good but b and g has some problems in some endgames. a and h pawns are totally bad because there is a bigger chance of draw! That's all I know, correct me if I'm wrong...

Of course I'm talking about a passed pawn!


Some two-P-endings are won *except* if one of your pawns is a BP or RP :) . In algebraic, that translates to: sometimes c/f pawns are *also* bad...

I play correspondence chess on www.ficgs.com [correspondence chess = by definition everything including programs and tablebases are allowed] -- in one of the games there I just decided my *9th* move (between two options) as white on the basis of the pawn-endgame it will reach...

[after 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 g6 4. f3 Bg7 5. Be3 Qb6 6. Qd2 dxe4 7. fxe4 Qxb2 8.Rb1 Qa3 I have decided on 9.e5 on the above basis...]

yavuz - thats why I am too exhausted to concentrate on our game today... corr chess i.e. *with* engines allowed - is much more tiring! [engines being no good at endgames until they are frequently hitting tablebases..]