Contents

Introduction

1. Basic endings

Ending 1     The rule of the square

Ending 2     The pawn is on the 6th rank

Ending 3     Key squares

Ending 4     The rook’s pawn. Defending king in front of the pawn

Ending 5     Imprisoning the stronger side’s king

Ending 6     Rook vs. Bishop. The wrong corner

Ending 7     Rook vs. Bishop. The right corner

Ending 8     Rook vs. Knight. At the edge of the board

Ending 9     Rook vs. Knight. In the corner

2. Basic Test

3. Knight vs. Pawn

Ending 10    Knight vs. 7th-rank pawn

Ending 11    The knight’s pawn

Ending 12    The 6th-rank rook’s pawn

Ending 13    The 7th-rank rook’s pawn

Ending 14    King + Knight checkmate

Ending 15    The knight’s dumb square

4. Queen vs. Pawn

Ending 16    Queen vs. 7th-rank pawn

Ending 17    Queen vs. 7th-rank rook’s pawn

Ending 18    Queen vs. 7th-rank bishop’s pawn

Ending 19    A too-frequent trick

Ending 20    Queen vs. Queen

5. Rook vs. Pawn

Ending 21    Kings do not push. Just counting

Ending 22    Defending king on the 3rd rank cut off along a rank

Ending 23    Strong king behind the pawn

Ending 24    Stronger side’s king on one side

Ending 25    The rook in front of the pawn

Ending 26    Special themes with a knight’s pawn

Ending 27    The rook’s pawn. Pushing from the rear

Ending 28    The rook’s pawn. Lateral push

Ending 29    The pawn wins against the rook

6. Rook vs. 2 Pawns

Ending 30    Kings play no part

Ending 31    Both kings play a part

Ending 32    Only the defending king plays a part

7. Same-coloured bishops: Bishop + Pawn vs. Bishop

Ending 33    Driving off the defending bishop

Ending 34    In the rear of the pawn

Ending 35    The short diagonals

Ending 36    Frontal defence

8. Bishop vs. Knight: one pawn on the board

Ending 37    Central pawn

Ending 38    The rook’s pawn

Ending 39    The pawn is on the 7th rank

Ending 40    Unstable position of the controlling knight

9. Opposite-coloured bishops: Bishop + 2 pawns vs. Bishop

Ending 41    Pawns on the 6th rank

Ending 42    Pawns on 5th rank or behind

Ending 43    A very special pair of pawns. The cage

Ending 44    Pawns separated by just one file

Ending 45    Controlling both pawns along the same diagonal

Ending 46    The winning procedure

Ending 47    Knight’s and central pawn

Ending 48    Central and rook’s pawns

Ending 49    Bishop’s and knight’s pawns

Ending 50    The attacking bishop controls the promotion square of the knight’s pawn

Ending 51    Central and rook’s pawns

10. Rook + Pawn vs. Rook

Ending 52    The Philidor Position

Ending 53    Lucena Position. The bridge

Ending 54    The long side

Ending 55    The knight’s pawn. First-rank defence

Ending 56    Central or bishop pawns. Kling and Horwitz (K&H) defensive technique

Ending 57    Central 6th-rank pawn. Rook with distant effectiveness

Ending 58    Central 6th-rank pawn. Rook without distant effectiveness

Ending 59    Cutting off along one file

Ending 60    Defending king cut off by two files. Grigoriev’s combined method

Ending 61    King cut off along two files vs. long side. Mating themes

Ending 62    Perfect Cut along a rank

Ending 63    Imperfect Cut along a rank

Ending 64    Apparent Cut along a rank

Ending 65    Pawn on the 7th rank. Attacking rook in front of the pawn

Ending 66    Pawn on the 6th rank. The Vancura Defence

Ending 67    The king is in front of the pawn and the pawn is on the 7th rank

Ending 68    The rook and the king support the pawn

11. Rook + two Pawns vs. Rook

Ending 69    Central pawns

Ending 70    Knight’s pawns

Ending 71    Defending king cut off on the back rank

Ending 72    Bishop’s pawn on 5th rank

Ending 73    The defensive procedure

Ending 74    Blocked connected pawns

Ending 75    Attacking rook stuck in front of the 7th-rank pawn

Ending 76    Vancura Defence against 2 pawns

12. Pawn endings

Ending 77    Doubled pawns

Ending 78    Isolated pawns

Ending 79    Blocked pawns. Key squares

Ending 80    Less advanced (or rook’s) blocked pawns

Ending 81    Pawns on adjacent files

Ending 82    Passed pawns. Dual-purpose king manoeuvres

Ending 83    Rook’s pawns and one distant passed pawn

Ending 84    The passed pawn is central and near

Ending 85    A passed Bishop’s pawn on the same wing

Ending 86    The defending side has moved his pawn. Triangulation

Ending 87    Knight’s and rook’s pawn against rook’s pawn

Ending 88    King against 2 passed pawns

Ending 89    Protected passed pawns

Ending 90    Distant passed pawns

Ending 91    Doubled pawns

Ending 92    Breakthroughs when the king is far

13. Other material relations

Ending 93    Checkmating with Bishop and Knight

Ending 94    The king is on the edge

Ending 95    The king is far from the edge. Cochrane Defence

Ending 96    Second-rank defence

Ending 97    Rook + 6th-rank bishop’s pawn

Ending 98    Rook + rook’s pawn vs. Bishop

Ending 99    Queen vs. Rook + Pawn

Ending 100  Queen vs. Rook + Rook’s Pawn

14. Final Test

15. Appendix

Bibliography

Index of Players