Questions tagged [endgame]
Questions relating to the final stages of a game of chess, when only few pieces are left on the board.
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How to improve ending of the endgame play? [closed]
There is always a winning advantage by my side and it is lost because one wrong move and all the advantage just goes to the Dumpster. How to improve the last precise moves that aren't mentioned in any ...
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Exchanging pieces when up...not this time!
[FEN "8/ppk3pr/2n5/8/8/P7/1P1RK1R1/8 w - - 1 1"]
1. Kf3 Nd8 2. Rg6 Nf7 3. Kf4 Rh4+ 4. Kg3 Rh7 5. Rd5 a6 6. Rf5 Nd6 7. Rc5+ Kb6 8. Rd5 1-0
Played recently. I concluded that simply ganging ...
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Can previous and continuing research on N-piece tablebases be used toward human theory of chess?
This follows another questions here:
What is the status for EIGHT piece endgame tablebases?
My answer there was appropriately removed as being question in reaction to that question, well in light of ...
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Rook endgame book that goes through the strategy of such positions
Consider this position:
[FEN "8/R4p2/P4kp1/7p/7P/4K1P1/r4P2/8 w - - 0 1"]
1. Kd4 Rxf2 2. Rc7 Ra2 3. a7 Kf5 4. Kc4 Kg4 ( 4... Ra1 5. Kb5 Rb1+ 6. Kc6 Ra1 7.
Kb7 f6 8. a8=Q Rxa8 9. Kxa8 Kg4 ...
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How do I improve my endgame technique?
I have decent endgame technique and recently bought Jesus De La Villa's 100 endgames you must know. How do I shift it closer to top level endgame technique?
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Is this position a draw?
I was playing at my local chess club on Sunday and I had the position below as white. Me and my opponent continued for a while before finally agreeing to a draw. When I play it against bots as white ...
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In a completely lost position do chess engines attempt to bait their opponent into mistakes, or just play for the longest survival?
Essentially, do Chess Engines acknowledge that their opponents might make "flawed" moves? Or do they always assume absolutely perfect play.
More specifically, if an engine has a choice ...
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What is the key idea for winning with KQ against KBN? (How to break the barrier?)
Mastering winning with KQ versus KR is one of my biggest daydreams. Well, in a few particular cases I was able to checkmate (after reaching Philidor and then capturing the rook), but that was just a ...
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How can I draw this KPPP-KR endgame?
See Three (3) Pawns and a King vs King and Rook.
I consider it one of the most amazing chess endgame puzzles.
[Title "White to play and draw"]
[fen "8/2k5/2r5/8/4PPP1/5K2/8/8 w - - 0 1&...
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Only Rook endgame!
Is it possible to win (black or white) in this position?
[fen "2k5/5R2/8/4K3/r7/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
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Timeout vs Insufficient Material
This is not a new topic but it did happen in my game at chess.com. I was playing white and played the only legal move h7 and was checkmated on the next move.
My question is: What will happen if I just ...
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Output A List of final positions
I have a .pgn database. I like to extract all of the final positions into a new pgn database. I do not have ay programming skills. What is the best way to do this?
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What is the easiest way to win this endgame in a blitz game?
Say you're in a blitz game and you and your opponent both have 45 seconds left.
[Title "White to move"]
[fen "6k1/3p2pp/p7/1pPq4/1P6/P5RP/6PK/8 w - - 0 45"]
My question is how ...
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How are piece phase values for tapered evaluation/phase calculation calculated?
On the chessprogramming wiki site for tapered evaluation, there is the following code snippet for how engines calculate phase:
eval = ((opening * (256 - phase)) + (endgame * phase)) / 256
PawnPhase = ...
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Stockfish misses mate in 11 with 10 pieces [duplicate]
I fed @HaukeReddmann's "hack" to this scenario
[FEN "8/p7/rp6/rp6/pP6/R7/8/K6k w - - 0 1"]
to Lichess Stockfish 14, white to move. Up to Depth 77 (after which I gave up waiting), ...
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White to play and win - only moving the rook once
[Title "White to play and win - only moving the rook once"]
[fen "k7/8/8/8/8/8/8/K1R5 w - - 0 1"]
This is an exercise in using the opposition and outflanking from John Hawkins' ...
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What are some good endgame books?
I know some people have asked about general good books or middle game books. But I read someone said that the best way to start learning chess is by studying endgames, so I ask: What are some good ...
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Winning in a KBBvKN endgame: possible or too hard for humans?
Apparently, two bishops and a king can mate a king supported by a lone knight, according to endgame tablebases, but it generally takes more than 50 moves, which is why it seems that one is studying ...
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A difficult same color Bishop endgame
Is this position a White win or a draw?
[Title "Black to move : "]
[FEN "3B4/5p1p/4k1p1/2b1P3/8/5P2/1P4PP/5K2 b - - 0 1"]
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How easy is Q vs. N supposed to be?
Reading the first chapters of Jeremy Silman’s endgame book I breezed through the exercises, as I expected. It starts with KRR vs K and KQ vs. R – even half-asleep I can do this reliably against a ...
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Checkmate with two bishops of same colour
Is it possible to checkmate King with two bishops of same colour in the endgame?.
Is it possible in Chess to get this position in reality?
Position:
King with Two bishops of same colour V/S King.
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What is the status for EIGHT piece endgame tablebases?
An earlier question here asked in 2012 about the status of 7-piece tablebases. Today complete 7-piece tables are widely available.
So today, what is the status of 8-piece endgame tablebases?
How ...
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Why exchange bishop for knight in this endgame?
In this position, Stockfish gives black (me) -8.1 and recommends BxN.
8/5p2/4pkpp/p1n5/Pp6/1Bb1PP2/2PNK2P/8 b - - 7 28
Instead I played Kf5 and the evaluation plummets to -2.1.
My understanding was ...
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Mate-in-N problems where N scales indefinitely with board size
Motivation - Long range mating patterns
This question is inspired by my recent interest in infinite chess and the post on MathOverflow Checkmate in ω moves?. Since my chess endgame skills are quite ...
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Which theoretically drawn endings have high difference in material count?
Ending of King+Queen vs. King+Pawn is usually draw when pawn is on seventh rank of rook or bishop file, given that defending king is in front of it and attacking king is not close enough to force ...
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Is Stockfish reliable as far as draw conclusions is concerned?
I just stumbled across this endgame :
https://www.365chess.com/game.php?back=1&gid=134885&m=24
Basically, Black has only a Queen, White has Queen and Rook. Black resigns.
But here comes the ...
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Analysis of positions with only one king on the board?
Endgame positions with just one king on the board may be very rich. Has any analysis of simple positions done? Maybe even tablebases for small numbers of pieces?
There are some existing problems with ...
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The simplest approach for king & pawn vs king & pawn endgames
I'm trying to study king & pawn endgames, where both sides have one or multiple pawns remaining. So far it seems really puzzling to me - while I know the basic principles of opposition and ...
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King + 2 Knights vs King + Pawn - win rate at master level at standard time controls?
After 80 moves of his game against MVL, Carlsen reached this theoretically winning endgame position, which ended in a draw:
[Title "Carlsen - MVL, Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland, 2023"]
[...
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Bishop and Rook versus Queen
Is a bishop and rook better than a queen in most endgames with pawns still on the board?
I'm aware that bishop and rook is technically 1 point of material less than a queen, however, would the fact ...
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Why didn't Laurent Fressinet-Alexandra Kosteniuk (2007) end in a draw?
Game is available here. The last 116 moves of that game was R+B vs. R, which is a theoretical draw that is hard for a human to defend. Fressinet eventually faltered and resigned when he was about to ...
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Can a rook and King checkmate a bare King without zugzwang?
Can a rook and a king force a checkmate against a bare king that starts in the center if the opponent was allowed to pass?
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To call this a "rook-pawn endgame" ... just a typo?
In this chess.com tutorial, the caption describes this as a rook-pawn endgame. It seems likely to me this is a typo. But being a noob, I wanted to be sure it wasn't a reference to some well known ...
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How do I create endgame tablebases?
What software can I use to create and verify endgame databases? I want to create my own tablebases from scratch on my PC - I'm specifically looking for open-source software that I can modify to ...
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What happens in a King-Rook vs King-Bishop with a perfect play in a no pawn endgame?
Suppose both the kings are left in a fairly neutral positions with just rook at one side and a bishop at the other side. What is the outcome if both the sides play correctly?
Can a side with only ...
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Bishop and Knight exchange with opponent's Rook and pawn
Chess games statistics
In Chess, Are there advantages or disadvantages of exchanging your Bishop + Knight with opponent's Rook and Pawn in middle game?
Knight 3 points
Bishop 3 points
Vs
Rook 5 points
...
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Black to play and win but why was the move played a blunder?
In the position below Minic just had to play one move to reach the time control and, in those days, the adjournment which would have given his team a chance to find the win. Unfortunately he blundered ...
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Is there any sequence of premoves that guarantees checkmate in this particular King + Queen vs King endgame?
King + Queen vs. King is perhaps the most basic winning endgame and known to be mate in at most ten moves. However, I am wondering if there is any sequence of premoves that guarantees checkmate? For ...
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Practical play in KRPvKQ central pseudo-fortresses?
A rook and a pawn sometimes draw against a queen, if a proper fortress can be set up. These are possible to learn to defend, and it's also possible to learn how to attack these with a queen when the ...
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Stockfish destroys Daniel Naroditsky's endgame variation (from his book (Mastering Positional Chess))
[FEN "7r/p3k3/2p5/1pPp4/3P4/PP4P1/3P1PB1/2K5 w - - 0 1"]
1. Kd1 Rh2 2. Ke1 Rxg2 3. Kf1 Rh2 4. Kg1 Rh6 5. f3 Re6 6. Kf2 Kf6 7. Kf1 Kf5 8. Kf2 b4 9. a4 Re4 $4 *
The position and variation ...
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KBN vs K tablebase for 10x10 board
Where can I get the tablebase for king + bishop + knight versus king mate on 10x10 board?
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Rook and promoted Bishop vs Rook endgame--forced win or draw?
I've recently been trying to learn the queen vs rook and rook and bishop vs rook endgames, and I've found it interesting how close the margin of victory vs draw is. I was thinking about whether the ...
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Is the following position really a White win?
In a 2001 book by Karsten Muller and Frank Lampart FUNDAMENTAL chess ending the following position WHITE King on a4 Bishop on d5 pawns on a5 c6 e2 BLACK King on c7 Bishop on d4 pawn on f4 WHITE to ...
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An endgame from Deutschland Grand Prix 2022 McShane vs Bluebaum
In a Game McShane vs Bluebaum, played at Deutschland Grand Prix 2022, the following endgame popped up.
[White "McShane"]
[Black "Bluebaum"]
[fen "3r1k2/5p2/1pp2Np1/1b1pR3/...
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Editing (end)-game: how to move few pieces in accordance with a book to follow the solution to a problem
What is the most easy way to follow a dozen of moves from a book ?
I would like to edit a particular position and then see what the solution
in a book (in my case "100 endgames you must know"...
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A complex eight pieces opposite color Bishop endgame
The position, derivated by a variation of the Alechkine Defense, Four Pawns Attack, is the following:
[FEN "3b4/8/1k2B3/6pK/P7/8/6PP/8 b - - 0 1"]
Black to move. Stockfish 14.1 NNUE gives ...
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Technique for drawing this king and multiple pawns endgame
Given this position with king and multiple pawns per side (white to move):
3k4/p4ppp/1p2p3/8/8/1P4P1/P3PPKP/8 w - - 0 26
Engines give a 0.0 evaluation. Assuming your opponent plays best moves, my ...
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When is it a good idea to trade pieces in the endgame?
Per title, I'm wondering when it's a good idea when defending an inferior endgame to seek to trade pieces, and when not to do it.
For example, take this endgame with Black to play:
[FEN "1k2q3/...
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In the endgame, black had only two blocked pawns. It is his turn. Is it stalemate or must he move his king?
In the endgame, Black had only two blocked pawns. It is his turn. Is it stalemate or must he move his king?
My opponent claimed that the king cannot move if all other remaining pieces are blocked.
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What is new in the fifth edition of Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual?
It seems the only change between the fourth and fifth edition (after the author's passing) was a change in color. This surely can't be enough for a new edition, so I wonder what changes to the content ...
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