Trouble in the endgame

In my chess games, one of my greatest weaknesses is playing in the endgame. I feel like I can play decent moves in the opening and middlegame, but when the endgame comes the game slips through my fingers. How can I improve my endgame play? 

Take this game for example. I played an opening and middlegame free of mistakes, but I fumbled the game in the endgame (The time control was 30 min rapid)

Well, I make blunders in all three phases!

Thanks, but currently not seeking coaching. Good luck with it though.

You honestly didn't play that bad in the endgame (which looks like a late middlegame to me). It appears your opponent got a +1 advantage after you played 31...Qb7 and 33...Ra8, which were both marked as mistakes by the engine. The moves themselves aren't that bad; I think Qb7 was a mistake because you could have played b4 or e4, which gives your queen/rook an open file and the eval bar shows 0.00. Ra8 was probably not the best idea since you move the rook to a very passive square and offer a trade of rooks in a position where you have a terrible pawn structure. The computer seems to recommend moves such as b4, Qc4, or Qd6, which both make use of the half-open files you control.

But aside from those moves (which I would call "inaccuracies"), you played pretty well, and since it's a 30 minute game, your opponent played like a 2000 who punished every mistake you made. I mean the moves 17. Ng6 and 19. Bd6 by your opponent were both marked as brilliant and 37. Qc5, 40. fxe4, and 45. Kh2 were both "great moves" according to the engine

I would suggest that you try to make use of the positional advantages you have (e.g, open files/diagonals) when you have positional disadvantages like doubled/isolated pawns

Hi,

I understand if you don’t want to meet up, I just like endgames and have fun sharing chess information. However if you’re looking for resources then ChessAble has some great interactive courses and Jeremy Silman has a good Endgame Course book (though not “complete” as the title of it claims) which I found helpful. There’s some other Endgame books out there that are good too, though I haven’t personally read them yet. I think many find the interactive courses much more engaging and useful these days. Have fun with your chess!

-Jordan

Yeah he was 1800 in 30 minute chess so that pretty much equals instant death

Lazy knows how good I am at throwing in endgames

In order to win, you must throw the endgame - Sun Tzu

Nah man I'm 1800, and im trash lol

I see a few things in the game you posted that might point you in the right direction. 

In general, you need to be aware of the fact that there are 2 different ways of studying the endgame: theoretical endgames (pawn and king vs king; how to win rook and pawn vs rook) and how to play endgames in a practical game (each side has a king, a rook and 6 pawns, now what?). When I was younger, I would botch loads of practical endgames while knowing a reasonably fair share of theoretical endgames. I got a lot better at the endgame since. The number 1 general tip about the endgame that I can give is to play actively. In rook endgames activity is often even worth a pawn, it's that important. Finding counterplay or getting all of your pieces involved is extremely important. 

When I look at the end of your game, I think the lack of activity is part of what's killing you. A move like 34. ... Rb8 is not a happy move to make. I'd much rather look to trade and see if I can not get mated or lose any pawns. But even then you're passive and on the defense. It's just a fact that when you're defending you can't afford to make any mistakes and that is in the end what happens. 

The fact that you end up in a passive position, stems from your middlegame play. I think the problem stems from 22. ... Nh5, putting a knight on the rim and in the end allowing the damaging of your pawn structure. I think 22. ... Rd7 is a far more natural move, preparing to get Re8 into the game. I would also point out that around move 28, which to me is still very much a middlegame, you are in a lot of trouble. That weak e-pawn is one problem, but the weakness of the light squares around your king is another terrible problem (which would lead to all those backrank mate problems later on). While I would like a move like 28. ... Qd6 better (getting active), the problems are already so substantial that I'm not really even threatening to play a move like Qd2 there, because of the problems with the e-pawns and subsequently the black king. 

So when I look at your game, I rather see a game that was lost in the middlegame, not so much so in the endgame. That endgame was always going to be a difficult hold. Considering that I'd think you should rather focus on your middlegame. You know, playing with or against weak pawns, playing with the minor pieces etc. etc. 

If you are looking to improve your practical endgame understanding, I like Karsten Muller's "How to play chess endgames", but it's not necessarily very easy. It has just left an impression on me. I'm sure there are other books and I would bet anything that Dvoretsky has also written a book on practical endgame play (which definitely is not his "Endgame manual").

Yeah I made lots of inaccuracies that he did a good job at punishing. By the time the endgame hit he simply had a much stronger position despite material equality. Now that I got a better look, I agree that my bad middlegame play cost me the game. I will take a look at the books you recommended though, but my main focus should be the middlegame until I reach a much higher rating. Thanks for the comment!

Interesting

Pandolfini's and Silman's Endgame books?