Can you play pawn endings?

by Frederic Friedel
12/27/2024 – Would you know that Black (to play) in this position can win? Would you recognize that, instantly, in your calculations? And would you be able to play it to victory? That could win you a World Championship! Today we want to check your pawn ending skills, with positions to solve and techniques to learn. It is an entertaining and instructive pastime in the Christmas week.
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Can you play this?

In the above position, with the black pieces moving upwards, the diagram will defend for White. You should be able to easily overcome its resistance. Use the arrow keys on your computer to retract moves. If you are using a mobile phone or tablet, tap on the notation button below the board to see the move you have entered. You can tap on individual moves to jump to the position.

Hopefully, it was trivially easy for you to win the position. Like to try something a bit trickier?

Here is a fairly elementary position for you to test your basic opposition skills in pawn endings. We present it in two diagrams: the one on the left will defend with the black pieces, the one on the right just lets you enter move for both sides – without engine assistance.

You should be able to work out the precise strategy White needs to follow to win this endgame. If you work it out, or especially if you don't, you can watch this video by Volclus explaining exactly how one must proceed.

Now prove that you know and understand elementary pawn endings:

Here we want you to simply play against the diagram and defeat it. Please do that before you let Volclus explain the strategy the win in this position requires.

Do you think you can win the following endgame position against the diagram?

Which pawn do you push? You need to make a consequential decision and execute a precise strategy to actually win. That is all explained by Volclus.

From Mating with a queen; a rook; two bishops; a knight and a bishop; to the basics of pawn endgames – here you will gain the necessary know-how to turn your endgame advantages into victories!

Editor-in-Chief emeritus of the ChessBase News page. Studied Philosophy and Linguistics at the University of Hamburg and Oxford, graduating with a thesis on speech act theory and moral language. He started a university career but switched to science journalism, producing documentaries for German TV. In 1986 he co-founded ChessBase.

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