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Endgame · technique · knowledge

In the end, technique counts.

Once most pieces are traded, exact knowledge decides. chessophia shows the positions you must know, with their verdict – win or draw – and the way there.

Solve the owl's eye See the principles
18techniques 8principles 30,064puzzles from real games

Owl's eye

White to play and win
Puzzle: White to play and win8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1h

White to move. Click a piece, then its target square – or drag it.

Study by Georges Barbier and Fernando Saavedra, Glasgow 1895

Principles

8 positions you must know.

Each basic position with its verdict in the result colours. Sometimes it only depends on who is to move.

Win Draw

Opposition8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1h

Opposition

White to move: Draw Black to move: White wins The kings face each other with one square between them. Whoever must move gives way. Key1…♔d7 2.♔f6 To the lesson → Rule of the square8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1h

Rule of the square

White to move: White wins Black to move: Draw If the king is inside the pawn's square it catches it. Otherwise the pawn runs through. Key1.b6 To the lesson → Lucena position8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1h

Lucena position

White to move: White wins The rook builds a bridge to shelter the king from side checks. The key winning position in rook endings. Key1.♖d1+ ♔e7 2.♖d4 To the lesson → Philidor position8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1h

Philidor position

Black to move: Draw Black's rook holds the 6th rank. Once the pawn advances, it checks from behind. KeyRook on the 6th rank To the lesson → Vančura position8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1h

Vančura position

Black to move: Draw Against the rook pawn the rook attacks from the side and pins the pawn down. KeyRook on the side, f6 To the lesson → Réti manoeuvre8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1h

Réti manoeuvre

White to move: Draw The king chases two goals at once: catch the h-pawn and support its own c-pawn. Study by Richard Réti, 1921. Key1.♔g7 h4 2.♔f6 To the lesson → Rook checkmate8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1h

Rook checkmate

White to move: White wins King and rook push the king to the edge rank by rank. Required from the first lesson. KeyShrink the box To the lesson → Bishop and knight mate8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1h

Bishop and knight mate

White to move: White wins The hardest basic mate: it only works in the corner the bishop controls. KeyDelétang's triangle To the lesson →

The verdicts are established endgame theory. Stockfish's evaluations follow.

Trainer · techniques · levels

Practice by technique and level.

30,064 positions from real games in which exactly one move wins or holds – checked with the tablebase. Start with all of them, with a goal, with a technique or with your level.

The 17 techniques

I Opposition The kings face each other – whoever must move gives way. 537 positions → II Shouldering Push the other king out of the way with your own. 13 positions → III Triangulation Lose a tempo by walking the king in a triangle. 1 position → IV The square Can the king still catch the passed pawn? The square tells. 21 positions → V Philidor's defense The rook holds the third rank until the pawn steps onto it. 5 positions → VI Cutting off the king Bar a line with the rook so the king cannot help. 92 positions → VII Breakthrough A pawn sacrifice breaks through the pawn chain. 9 positions → VIII Zugzwang Having to move is a disadvantage. 724 positions → IX Fortress Build a position with less material that cannot be cracked. 78 positions → X Rook behind the passed pawn The rook belongs behind the passed pawn – your own and the enemy's. 86 positions → XI The double task One king move, two goals: chase the enemy pawn, support your own. 1 position → XII Outside passed pawn A passed pawn far from the action pulls the enemy king away. 8 positions → XIII Stalemate as a rescue Whoever has no move left and is not in check holds the draw. 22 positions → XIV The wrong bishop Bishop and rook pawn do not win when the bishop does not control the promotion square. 30 positions → XV Long side and short side In rook endgames the king belongs on the short side, the rook on the long one. 178 positions → XVI Underpromotion Sometimes a knight or a rook is better than a queen. 45 positions → XVII Trading into a pawn endgame Whoever trades pieces must know the pawn endgame that follows. 29 positions →

Endgame tree · the families

Where the games lead.

524,062 of our games reached an endgame – 46 % of all games. Each family shows how often it arises and how it ends.

Pawn endgames Only kings and pawns: every tempo counts. 25,166 games · 7,560 positions Rook endgames The most frequent endgames of all – and the most drawish. 120,632 games · 9,908 positions Minor pieces Bishops and knights: colors, squares, patience. 117,988 games · 5,118 positions Queen endgames Perpetual check lurks behind every move. 25,398 games · 2,649 positions Rook and minor piece Rook and minor piece: often the road to a pure rook endgame. 258,840 games · 3,967 positions Queen and piece Queen with a piece: still a lot of power on the board. 145,897 games · 862 positions

White winsDrawBlack wins

Big 4 · Stockfish at the start of the endgame

The great ones in the endgame.

Stockfish 19 rated every one of their endgames at the moment it began (depth 24). This shows who got the most out of equal positions.

2000–2022 Magnus Carlsen 62.4% from 1,339 endgames From an equal position: 57.4 % in 780 endgames His endgames → 1901–1941 José Raúl Capablanca 64.6% from 669 endgames From an equal position: 58.9 % in 305 endgames His endgames → 1961–2022 Anatoly Karpov 64.7% from 1,795 endgames From an equal position: 57.3 % in 965 endgames His endgames → 1939–2001 Vasily Smyslov 60.2% from 1,261 endgames From an equal position: 55.9 % in 648 endgames His endgames →

Collections · from real games

Positions that tell a story.

Where a game turned, who found the same move and who did not, why a game was resigned – and how the great ones played their endgames.

Déjà vu – White: Kf2; Black: Kg4, f48a7b6c5d4e3f2g1h Déjà vuThe same position in several games, exactly one move wins or holds – who found it and who did not. 104 positions → Where did it turn? – White: Kg6, Qd7, e6; Black: Kc5, Qa11h2g3f4e5d6c7b8a Where did it turn?The moment one move changed the result – a win thrown away or a draw lost. Find the move that would have held it. 5,714 positions → Why resign? – White: Kg2, Rf8; Black: Ke2, Ra4, e38a7b6c5d4e3f2g1h Why resign?The last position of lost games: mostly lost indeed, but sometimes not at all – resigned or lost on time. 15,568 positions → Master endgames – White: Kg2, Ra1, Bd3, c3, g3, a4, d4, f4, h4; Black: Ke8, Rf7, Na5, d5, b6, g6, a7, c7, h78a7b6c5d4e3f2g1h Master endgamesFamous endgames of great players and endgames of the Big 4 won from an equal position – to play through with the value of each position. 30 games →

Explore · statistics

The endgames in numbers.

What the endgame finder found in our games – every bar leads to its positions in the trainer.

524,062endgames (46 % of all games)
30,064positions in the trainer
5,714turning points
207players with positions

Positions per family

  1. Rook endgames9,908
  2. Pawn endgames7,560
  3. Minor pieces5,118
  4. Rook and minor piece3,967
  5. Queen endgames2,649

Players with the most positions

  1. Hikaru Nakamura178
  2. Loek van Wely166
  3. David Navara155
  4. Boris Gelfand152
  5. Yu Yangyi152

Openings with the most positions

  1. B22 Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation503
  2. B07 Pirc Defense417
  3. B01 Scandinavian Defense360
  4. A07 King's Indian Attack319
  5. A45 Indian Defense298

All numbers in the statistics →

For you · My endgames

Your endgames under the magnifier.

Load your games as a PGN file: chessophia finds the endgames in them – with the same rule as in our databases – and shows in which endgames you lose points.

The file never leaves your browser: it is only read here and stored nowhere.

My endgamesTo the analysis board
  1. IChoose a PGN file with your games, or drop it here.
  2. IIGive your name as it stands in the games – then your points count.
  3. IIISee in which endgame family you lose the most, and look at every position on the analysis board.

The emblem

Two kings, one square between.

The owl's eyes are two kings in opposition. The small square between them is the square fought over in pawn endings.

Sophia means wisdom. The owl sees in the dark, waits calmly and strikes at the right moment – like good endgame technique.

The family

Four portals, one game.

OpeningchesstotelesTrees, nets and courses TacticschessepolisCombinations and mating patterns MiddlegamechessophosPlans and structures
EndgamechessophiaTechnique to the last move