the endgame course is way too specific. I need something much more general. Rules of thumb of what I need to be doing when there are still lots of pawns on the board.
I'll try to post a game here, I'm playing the black pieces and get lost on how to continue at move ...44.
multi pawn with knight endgames are killer. Obviously my endgame is crap as I should have drawn but that I know how to fix. What don't know is how to improve the 20 moves before there were only a few pieces left
46....f4 seems wrong as White wins a pawn. Better is 46....Nf6 so on 47 Nc8, Nd5 maintains your pawn advantage.
63 .....Kf8 is losing move you must learn basic "opposition" with 63.....Ke7 drawing,ie; 64 f6+, Kf8 ( on...64...Ke8??? 65 Ke6, Kf8 66 f7, Kg7 67 Ke7 wins ) 65 Ke6, Ke8 66 f7+, Kf8 67 Kf6 Stalemate
...
63 .....Kf8 is losing move you must learn basic "opposition" with 63.....Ke7 drawing,ie; 64 f6+, Kf8 ... 65 Ke6, Ke8 66 f7+, Kf8 67 Kf6 Stalemate
"the endgame course is way too specific. ..." - tennbad (~7 hours ago)
It (and many other elementary endgame books) would have helped you to find 63...Ke7, saving the game.
46....f4 seems wrong as White wins a pawn. ...
"... the early endgame is where I feel lost and unsure of what resources can help me improve. Once we get to each player having 4-5 pawns and 1 or 2 pieces. (knights are the worst for me at this point) Endgame resources seem to have too few pieces to help me. I'm having trouble even holding on to a pawn advantage in these. Maybe this is where positional play is more important and that is what I'm lacking. What resources are out there that address this part of the game?" - tennbad (~12 hours ago)
I am not an endgame or positional expert, but I think that neither an endgame book nor a positional book would devote much space to helping the reader to avoid moves like 46...f4. In a general sort of way, such books might help the reader to get into the habit of looking at potential problems in the very near future, but, for that sort of purpose, it might be better to work on a book like Winning Chess by Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld (1949).
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093415/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review919.pdf
63 .....Kf8 was stupid and my own fault. I have not looked at this basic endgame since I was a kid and this probably the first time I saw it in a game that I can remember. I have very little game experience and just starting to play again. This problem in my game I will take care of.
46....f4 this mistake is tougher for me as it looks so innocent, but I see the weakness on b6 now. This is the moment of a 9/15 min game where I run into time issues and the next 10 moves or so will determine if the small pawn advantage can be held. I probably should increase time controls to 15/15 at least. What I'm also taking away from the comments is getting my king out in front rather than pushing pawns with my king behind. I will also check out the book, thank you for the link.
I'm still trying to figure out to evaluate multi-pawn positions. How to take advantage of a pawn majority. What does someone see when look at a multi-pawn position and determine it is a drawn position or white should win.
Thank all of you that took the time to comment. It is much appreciated.
Various endgame study possibilities discussed at:
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708103149/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review594.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708105702/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review645.pdf
https://www.newinchess.com/Shop/Images/Pdfs/9026.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708234309/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review704.pdf
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Understanding_Chess_Endgames.pdf
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/chess-endgames-for-kids/
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Chess_Endgames_for_Kids.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708095144/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review701.pdf
https://www.chess.com/article/view/book-review-winning-chess-endings
http://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/endings-endings-endings
http://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/the-end-game-comes-before-we-know-it
http://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/theres-an-end-to-it-all
Before buying any particular book, I suggest going to the publisher site to see if it is possible to view a sample.
"..., you have to make a decision: have tons of fun playing blitz (without learning much), or be serious and play with longer time controls so you can actually think.
One isn’t better than another. Having fun playing bullet is great stuff, while 3-0 and 5-0 are also ways to get your pulse pounding and blood pressure leaping off the charts. But will you become a good player? Most likely not.
Of course, you can do both (long and fast games), ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (June 9, 2016)
https://www.chess.com/article/view/longer-time-controls-are-more-instructive
the endgame course is way too specific. I need something much more general. Rules of thumb of what I need to be doing when there are still lots of pawns on the board.
I'll try to post a game here, I'm playing the black pieces and get lost on how to continue at move ...44.
multi pawn with knight endgames are killer. Obviously my endgame is crap as I should have drawn but that I know how to fix. What don't know is how to improve the 20 moves before there were only a few pieces left
The best general, not-just-specific endgame books I know are these two:
I like the general principles explanations in Jesus de la Villa's 100 Endgames You Should Know where he writes: "I try to explain each example in a clear way, and a way you can memorize forever. To achieve this goal, I try to focus on guiding ideas..."
Reuben Fine's classic, Basic Chess Endings, is also heavily oriented to general principles and patterns. I've been stronger than most opponents in endgames over the past 40 years and that book is the reason.
move 51.Kxg4 a wrong move.should have played Nc4 and protected it. at this stage of end game
a passed pawn is very important.if black goes after your pawn with Nb8 or Nb4 you are queening
easily but if he blocks with Na7,your N is free can roam around picking up the other pawns and
his knight is committed to 3 squares if he wants to prevent you from queening or till such time
his King comes along covering a distnance of 5 squares ..mean while you collect g4 and f3 and on way to queening your f2..
Greetings all,
I'm picking up chess again and while every area of my game needs work...the early endgame is where I feel lost and unsure of what resources can help me improve. Once we get to each player having 4-5 pawns and 1 or 2 pieces. (knights are the worst for me at this point) Endgame resources seem to have too few pieces to help me. I'm having trouble even holding on to a pawn advantage in these. Maybe this is where positional play is more important and that is what I'm lacking.
What resources are out there that address this part of the game?