CHES ENDGAMES

♟️ Endgame Set 1: King and Pawn vs King

Position:

🎯 Objective: Promote the pawn and win.

✅ Strategy:

❌ Mistakes to Avoid:

♟️ Endgame Set 2: King and Rook vs King

Position:

🎯 Objective: Force checkmate

✅ Strategy:

❌ Mistakes to Avoid:

♟️ Endgame Set 3: King and Queen vs King

🎯 Objective: Checkmate

✅ Strategy:

❌ Mistakes to Avoid:

♟️ Endgame Set 4: King and Pawn vs King and Pawn (Opposite Flanks)

Example:

🎯 Objective: Win the race to promote.

✅ Strategy:

❌ Mistakes to Avoid:

♟️ Endgame Set 5: King and Two Pawns vs King

🎯 Objective: Promote at least one pawn

✅ Strategy:

❌ Mistakes to Avoid:

🧠 General Strategy Summary

Goal Strategy Common Mistakes
Win with pawn Gain opposition, escort pawn Pushing too early
Win with rook Use the box method, control space Rushing to checkmate, stalemates
Avoid stalemate Leave room for king to move unless mating Overeager checks
Promote first Count tempos, lead with king if needed Getting distracted by enemy pawn
Convert advantage Simplify while keeping key winning patterns Trading into drawn endgames

START FRESH

To start a fresh endgame with two pieces (assets) on Chess.com and play as White against the computer, follow these steps:

✅ Method: Use the "Custom Position" Feature

  1. Go to https://www.chess.com/analysis

  2. Click “Edit Board” (top right of the board area)

  3. Set up your custom endgame:

  4. Set who moves first (choose White, in your case)

  5. Click “Play Computer” (button appears once you finish setting up the position)

  6. Select Difficulty Level for the computer

  7. Start playing as White.

📝 Example: King and Pawn vs. King

You could set up:

Then click “Play Computer” to begin.

MORE ENDGAMES

Here are a few classic and instructive endgame setups you can try on Chess.com using the Custom Position feature:

♟️ 1. King and Pawn vs King

Goal: Learn opposition, promotion techniques.

🧠 Tip: Practice the “rule of the square” and opposition here.

♞ 2. King and Knight vs King and Pawn

Goal: Prevent the enemy pawn from promoting.

🧠 Tip: Learn how to stop passed pawns using the knight.

♜ 3. Rook and King vs King

Goal: Practice the basic checkmate.

🧠 Tip: Learn the “box” and “ladder” techniques to force checkmate.

♛ 4. Queen and King vs King

Goal: Practice the fastest checkmate pattern.

🧠 Tip: Use the queen to restrict the king and bring your king closer.

♖♙ 5. Rook and Pawn vs Rook

Goal: Learn Lucena and Philidor positions.

Lucena Position (Winning Technique):

🧠 Tip: Try building a "bridge" to help the pawn promote.

Great! Here are more classic endgames every chess player should learn, with step-by-step winning strategies so you can play confidently and practice on Chess.com.

♛ 1. Queen vs. King (Simple Checkmate)

Setup:

🧠 Strategy:

  1. Use your queen to cut off ranks/files, not to give checks immediately.
  2. Bring your king closer to the enemy king.
  3. Once the king is restricted to a corner, deliver checkmate with queen + king.

Example Moves:

1. Qd5 (cuts off the king)
2. Ke2, Ke3, Ke4... (bring king closer)
3. Qg5+ Kh7
4. Kf6 Kg8
5. Qg7# (checkmate)

♜ 2. Rook vs. King (Ladder Checkmate)

Setup:

🧠 Strategy:

  1. Use the rook to push the king back, one rank at a time.
  2. Keep your king safe while you do this.
  3. Eventually, pin the king on the back rank and deliver mate.

Ladder Example:

1. Rh5+ Kd4
2. Kd2 Kc4
3. Rh4+ Kb3
4. Kd3 Ka3
5. Kc3 Ka2
6. Ra4+ Kb1
7. Ra3 Kc1
8. Ra1# (checkmate)

♟️ 3. King and Pawn vs. King (Promotion with Opposition)

Setup:

🧠 Strategy:

  1. Use opposition: Force the black king away using king moves.
  2. March the pawn to promote.

Example Moves:

1. Kd4 (opposition)
2. e6 (advance when king has cleared)
3. Ke5, Kd6
4. e7, e8=Q (win)

♝ 4. Bishop and King vs. Knight and King (Drawish, but practice)

Setup:

🧠 Strategy:

♞ 5. King and Knight vs. King and Pawn

Setup:

🧠 Strategy:

  1. Bring king in front of the pawn.
  2. Use the knight to control squares around it.
  3. Avoid zugzwang (being forced into a bad move).
  4. Knight is not good at stopping pawns on edge files, so act fast.

Example Idea:

1. Nd4+ Kg6
2. Kf4 Kh5
3. Ne2 Kh4
4. Ng3 Kh3
5. Ne2 g3
6. Kf3 Kh2
7. Nxg3 (win)

WINNING STRATEGY

Let’s walk through the winning strategy for one of the most instructive endgames: the Lucena Position (Rook + Pawn vs Rook) — a must-know technique!

🏰 Lucena Position: Winning Strategy

🔷 Position Setup:

You can set this up using the Chess.com Analysis Board (as explained earlier).

🎯 Goal:

Promote your pawn to a queen despite checks by the enemy rook.

🔑 Winning Idea: Build a "bridge" using your rook to shield your king and pawn.

✅ Step-by-Step Strategy:

Step 1: Move King to e6

Move the White King in front of the pawn:

1. Ke6

You’re preparing to promote the pawn.

Step 2: Black usually checks

Example:

1... Rh6+

Step 3: Use your rook as a shield ("build the bridge")

Move your rook to block the checks:

2. Rd6

This is the key idea — you "build a bridge" on the 6th rank.

Now Black has no way to stop your pawn safely.

Step 4: Push the Pawn

Once checks are blocked and your king is safe, promote:

3. d8=Q

💡 Summary (Lucena “Bridge Building”):

DIAGRAMS

Here are diagrams (described visually) and FEN strings for you to easily load and practice these classic endgames on Chess.com or any chess engine.

♛ 1. Queen vs. King

Goal: Checkmate with Queen and King White to move

📍 Diagram (Text):

8 [ . . . . . . . . ]
7 [ . . . . . . . . ]
6 [ . . . . . k . . ]
5 [ . . . . . . . . ]
4 [ . . . Q . . . . ]
3 [ . . . . . . . . ]
2 [ . . . . . . . . ]
1 [ . . . . K . . . ]
   a b c d e f g h

🔢 FEN:

8/8/5k2/8/3Q4/8/8/4K3 w - - 0 1

♜ 2. Rook vs. King (Ladder Mate)

Goal: Checkmate using ladder technique White to move

📍 Diagram (Text):

8 [ . . . . . . . R ]
7 [ . . . . . . . . ]
6 [ . . . . . . . . ]
5 [ . . . . k . . . ]
4 [ . . . . . . . . ]
3 [ . . . . . . . . ]
2 [ . . . . . . . . ]
1 [ . . . . K . . . ]
   a b c d e f g h

🔢 FEN:

7R/8/8/4k3/8/8/8/4K3 w - - 0 1

♟️ 3. King and Pawn vs. King (with Opposition)

Goal: Promote pawn using opposition White to move

📍 Diagram (Text):

8 [ . . . . . . . . ]
7 [ . . . . . . . . ]
6 [ . . . . k . . . ]
5 [ . . . . P . . . ]
4 [ . . . . K . . . ]
3 [ . . . . . . . . ]
2 [ . . . . . . . . ]
1 [ . . . . . . . . ]
   a b c d e f g h

🔢 FEN:

8/8/4k3/4P3/4K3/8/8/8 w - - 0 1

♖♙ 4. Lucena Position (Rook + Pawn vs. Rook)

Goal: Build a bridge to promote White to move

📍 Diagram (Text):

8 [ . . . . . . . . ]
7 [ . . . P . . . . ]
6 [ R . . K . . . . ]
5 [ . . . . . . . . ]
4 [ . . . . . . . . ]
3 [ . . . . . . . . ]
2 [ . . . . . . . . ]
1 [ . . . . . . . r ]
   a b c d e f g h

🔢 FEN:

8/3P4/R2K4/8/8/8/8/7r w - - 0 1

♞ 5. Knight vs. Pawn

Goal: Stop pawn before it promotes White to move

📍 Diagram (Text):

8 [ . . . . . . . . ]
7 [ . . . . . . . . ]
6 [ . . . . . . . . ]
5 [ . . . . . . . . ]
4 [ . . . . . . p . ]
3 [ . . . . . N . . ]
2 [ . . . . . . . . ]
1 [ . . . . . . . . ]
   a b c d e f g h

🔢 FEN:

8/8/8/8/5p2/5N2/8/8 w - - 0 1

✅ How to Use the FEN:

On Chess.com:

  1. Go to https://www.chess.com/analysis
  2. Click “Edit Board”
  3. Click “FEN” (bottom-left)
  4. Paste the desired FEN
  5. Click “Play Computer” or “Start Analysis”

FEN

Absolutely! Let's break down FEN (Forsyth-Edwards Notation) — a standard way to describe a chess position in a single line.

🧠 FEN Overview

A FEN string has 6 parts, separated by spaces:

<1>  Piece placement
<2>  Active color
<3>  Castling availability
<4>  En passant target square
<5>  Halfmove clock
<6>  Fullmove number

✅ Example:

Here’s a sample FEN string from a King & Pawn vs. King endgame:

8/8/4k3/4P3/4K3/8/8/8 w - - 0 1

Let’s decode this:

🔹 1. Piece Placement

8/8/4k3/4P3/4K3/8/8/8

This shows the board row by row, from rank 8 (top) to rank 1 (bottom).

Here’s how it maps:

Rank 8: 8       → all empty  
Rank 7: 8       → all empty  
Rank 6: 4k3     → 4 empty, black king, 3 empty  
Rank 5: 4P3     → 4 empty, white pawn, 3 empty  
Rank 4: 4K3     → 4 empty, white king, 3 empty  
Ranks 3,2,1: 8 → all empty

🔹 2. Active Color

w

🔹 3. Castling Availability

-

🔹 4. En Passant Target Square

-

🔹 5. Halfmove Clock

0

🔹 6. Fullmove Number

1

✅ Summary of Piece Letters

Letter Piece Color
K King White
Q Queen White
R Rook White
B Bishop White
N Knight White
P Pawn White
k/q/r/b/n/p Same pieces Black

Clock Basics in Chess

Using the clock in chess—whether you're playing online (like on Chess.com) or over-the-board—is all about managing your time limit wisely.

⏰ Clock Basics in Chess

A chess clock has two timers, one for each player. Only one clock runs at a time — the active player's.

🔸 Key Clock Terms:

📱 How to Use the Clock on Chess.com

✅ To Set the Clock:

  1. Go to https://www.chess.com/play/computer or choose “New Game”
  2. Click “Time” when setting up a match

  3. Choose:

✅ During the Game:

🔄 Types of Clocks and Their Use

Type Example Meaning
Classical 30 0 30 minutes per player, no increment
Increment 10 5 10 minutes + 5 seconds added after every move
Delay 15 10 delay 15 mins each, but clock waits 10 secs before counting
Bullet 1 0 1-minute total per player — ultra fast
Blitz 3 0 or 5 0 Fast-paced game
Rapid 10 0 or 15 10 For learning, thinking, or practice

🎯 Practical Tips for Using the Clock

  1. Play faster in the opening — don't waste time on well-known moves
  2. Think on opponent’s time — plan ahead while they’re deciding
  3. Use increments wisely — even a 5-second increment lets you survive in endgames
  4. Don’t premove blindly — in time scrambles, it can cost material
  5. In endgames, use time to calculate forcing lines

Chess.com endgame challenge with a countdown timer to simulate real play

Great! Here's how to set up a custom endgame challenge on Chess.com with a countdown timer so you can practice endgames against the computer under real-time pressure:

🧩 ✅ Step-by-Step: Set Up a Timed Endgame Challenge on Chess.com

🔗 Direct Link to Start:

➡️ https://www.chess.com/analysis

⚙️ Steps:

  1. Click "Edit Board" (top-right)

  2. Clear the board (bottom of the editor)

  3. Set up your endgame position — For example:

    🔹 Lucena Position:

    🪄 Or paste this FEN:

    8/3P4/R2K4/8/8/8/8/7r w - - 0 1

  4. Click "Play vs Computer" (green button appears once a valid position is set)

  5. Choose:

🎯 What This Simulates:

⚡ Bonus: Example Challenges to Paste in FEN

🏁 Queen vs King Checkmate:

8/8/5k2/8/3Q4/8/8/4K3 w - - 0 1

🏁 King and Pawn vs King (Opposition Practice):

8/8/4k3/4P3/4K3/8/8/8 w - - 0 1