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    End game

    End game refers to the ending of a chess game that can occur gradually or by quick exchange of pieces and requires different strategies used by players to address as they are of different characteristics from the middle game. The King plays one of the most important parts in the endgame.

    This is the time when the king can be moved to the center of the board, in an attacking position from its usual defensive position during the middle game. This is the phase of the game where pawn gains vivid importance by promoting itself to the 8th rank. As per the general norms and usual playing practice, the stronger side should be more concentrated on the exchange of pieces like the knights, bishops, rooks and queens. The exchange of pawns should be avoided.

    There is no particular definition that separates the middle game from the endgame. It is usually when there are only few pieces left on bbbthe chessboard. The game comes to an end with the king being checkmated. This declares the loss of the king for a playing side, which loses the game.

    Checkmate is the position where a player's king is captured or put under threat by the opponent's pieces. The position puts the king under direct attack, which it cannot avoid or escape. Thus, the player who is checkmated by his opponent loses the game, having no other legal move left. The checkmating position is referred to by algebraic chess notation (#) or hash.



     
    Basic checkmates

    Checkmate with two major pieces:Two important pieces like the queens or the rooks can lead to a checkmate without taking the help of their king. The two pieces are put adjacently on the ranks or files to force the king to the side of the board, where the checkmate is delivered.

    Refer to the diagram, where White checkmates the black, easily by forcing the black king to the edge a rank at a time or a file at a time:

    1. Qg5+ Kd4
    2. Rf4+ Ke3
    3. Qg3+ Ke2
    4. Rf2+ Ke1
    5. Qg1#

     
    King & Queen

    The basic checkmate position with the queen is the most frequent one, which can happen at the edge of the chessboard. There can be two positions. One when the queen stands directly in front of the opponent's king and the king is protecting its queen and the second position occurs when the kings stand in opposition and the queens meet on the rank of the king. The player who moves his queen first, has the largest chance to win. in case of a pawn promotion to queen, nine moves are required where the white checkmates by not letting the black king to move from the rectangle and force the king to the edge of the board.

    1. Qf6 Kd5
    2. Qe7 Kd4
    3. Kc2 Kd5
    4. Kc3 Kc6
    5. Kc4 Kb6
    6. Qd7 Ka6
    7. Qb5+ Ka7
    8. Kc5 Ka8
    9. Kc6 Ka7
    10. Qb7#

    The winning side should not stalemate the opponent's king. Though the condition can be enjoyed by the defender but at all costs the winning side should avoid it.

     
    King & a Rook:

    The checkmate situation with the rook can happen at the edge of the board. The black king is allowed to be at any square of the board kill it is on the edge and white king can be checkmated from any direction by the rook. The rook moving sideways can check moving 16 squares from any direction.

    1. Kc2 Ke5
    2. Kd3 Kd5
    3. Ra4 Ke5
    4. Rd4 Kf5
    5. Re4 Kf6
    6. Kd4 Kf5
    7. Kd5 Kf6
    8. Re5 Kf7
    9. Re6 Kg7
    10. Ke5 Kf7
    11. Kf5 Kg7
    12. Rf6 Kh7
    13. Rg6 Kh8
    14. Kf6 Kh7
    15. Kf7 Kh8
    16. Rh6#.

     
    King & two Bishops:

    There can be two checkmate positions with the two bishops on board that can occur at any corner of the board. There can be a checkmate in the corner. The second checkmate can occur at the side square, just next to the corner square. With the bishops moving freely on the side, the checkmate can occur in nineteen moves. Two bishops can result in a checkmate with the help of two kings. The bishops are the most useful when they are at the center of the board. The king has to be used frequently with the bishops.

    1. Ke2 Ke4 (Black tries to keep his king near the center)
    2. Be3 Ke5 (forcing the king back, which is done often)
    3. Kd3 Kd5
    4. Bd4 Ke6
    5. Ke4 Kd6 (Black tries a different approach to stay near the center)
    6. Bc4 (White has a fine position. The bishops are centralized and the king is active.)
    6... Kc6 (Black avoids going toward the side)
    7. Ke5 Kd7 (Black is trying to avoid the a8 corner)
    8. Bd5 (keeping the black king off c6)
    8... Kc7
    9. Bc5 Kd7
    10. Bd6! (an important move that forces the king to the edge of the board)
    10... Ke8 (Black is still avoiding the corner)
    11. Ke6 (now the black king cannot get off the edge of the board)
    11... Kd8
    12. Bc6 (forcing the king toward the corner)
    12... Kc8 (Black's king is confined to c8 and d8. The white king must cover a7 and b7)
    13. Kd5 (13. Ke7? is stalemate)
    13...Kd8
    14. Kc5 Kc8
    15. Kb6 Kd8 (Now White must allow the king to move into the corner)
    16. Bc5 Kc8
    17. Be7! (an important move that forces the king toward the corner)
    17... Kb8
    18. Bd7! (the same principle as the previous move)
    18... Ka8
    19. Bd8 (White must make a move that gives up a tempo. This move is such a move, along with Bc5, Bf8, Be6, or Ka6.)
    19... Kb8
    20. Bc7+ Ka8
    21. Bc6#

     
    Bishop & Knight:

    In this case checkmate is a difficult possibility. The two pieces cannot form a linear barrier to the opponent's king and thus the checkmate only occurs in the corner controlled by the bishop. We get two checkmate positions with these two pieces. The first position is a checkmate by the bishop, the king being in the corner. The second position is created by the knight, the king being in a side square next to the corner. The bishop and king moving on the side, the checkmate can occur at the end of 33 moves from the starting position.

    Two Knights:

    checkmate with a king and two knights is one of the rare possibilities in the game of chess. Sometimes checkmate is possible with two knights against one pawn as the pawn removes the stalemate defense. Sometimes two knights and a king can force a checkmate against a pawn and the king. The tactics is to block the opponent's pawn with the knight and push the king to the stalemate position. The knight however plays the checkmate.

    Three Knights:

    Three knights and a king can create a situation of checkmate for the opponent's lone king within 20 moves. This situation generally occurs in chess problems.

    CheckMate in 7 move whit 3 knight in a good position but this position comes form one of the worse position that took 49 move to force black into checkmate.

    The Elementary Mates:

    This is one of those general positions where one of the two sides has the king and the other side has one or two pieces to go with. These two pieces can checkmate the opponent's king working with their own king. There is however some rules which are to be followed during checkmating the king.

    • A queen or rook, with their king can checkmate the opponent's king. But a single minor piece like a bishop or knight cannot checkmate the king.
    • Two bishops with their king can checkmate the opponent's king where both the bishops have to move in opposite color squares. Two or more than two bishops moving in the same color squares cannot checkmate the opponent's king.
    • A bishop and knight, along with their king can checkmate the opponent's king. This is one of the longest procedures in the endgame. This takes almost 33 correct moves along with correct play of al the moves. This is best avoided for the players who don't know the procedure and technicalities of the moves in details.
    • The king cannot be checkmated with two knights unless and until the weaker side has a pawn.

    King and Pawn Endings:

    This involves just the kings and pawns on one or both the sides. In this ending the pawn becomes the decisive factor. The crucial factor remains getting a pawn passed which doesn't have to face any opposing pawn on its way to promotion. The outside pawn is dangerous in this case as when the defending king tries to prevent the pawn from queening, the attacking king of the opponent wins the pawn. In the situation when two kings are in opposition, on the same rank with a vacant square between them, the player who has the move loses the game. Theories like triangulation and zugzwang are decisive most of the times.

    • King and pawn versus king: this is one of the basic endgames played in the game of chess. The game should end in a draw if the defending king reaches the square before the pawn or captures the pawn. In case the attacking king prevents that, the pawn is promoted to a queen or a rook. This is another position when the opponent's king can be checkmated. The king and pawn endgame is very vital and a minor mistake from both of the sides can result in a win or loss. There are three ideas in this endgame, which are triangulation, Réti manoeuvre and opposition.

    Knight and Pawn Endings:

    This is one of the most tactical endgames in chess. This requires clever handling of the knights to capture the opponent's pawn. Knight is the perfect piece to block a passed pawn. There is not much difference between a knight and pawn ending as the tempo is similar. A knight that blocks a passes pawn attacks the protector and the one blocking the outside passed pawn remains inactive.

    • Knight and pawn versus knight: This generally leads to a draw as the knight is sacrificed for the pawn provided the king and knight is covering the pawn's path. The pawn is promoted and results in a win if it reaches the 7th rank with the support of the king and the knight.

    Bishop and Pawn Endings:

    There are two variants of Bishop and Pawn endings.If the bishops of both the sides move on the same colored square, the moves of the bishops becomes immensely important. The bishop surrounded by the same colored pawns stand on the losing position as it has to defend the pawns.

    • Bishop and pawn versus bishop on the same color: if the king reaches any of the squares in front of the pawn, on the opposite colored squares the bishop travels on, the game end in a draw. There is however another rule, which states that if the defending king is behind the pawn and the attacking king on the other hand is near the pawn, the defender can draw the game only if his king is in the attacking position and thus having the pawn to itself.
    • Bishops on opposite colors: This is the position where the bishops of the opposite sides work on opposite colored squares, that is one on the black and another on the white. This is a game saving endgame as it often results in a draw when a side has advantage of two pawns.

    Rook and pawn endings:

    A Rook and Pawn ending generally results in a draw, even there is one or two extra pawns. A pawn is tough to convert to a rook. This is the most common ending in practice as rooks are mostly exchanged in the last. However, there are some points to be kept in mind while playing the Rook endings. The Rooks should always be at the back of the passed pawns. It is always better to sacrifice a pawn rather than a Rook for defending. The Rook on the 7th rank is immensely powerful. There is another position known as the Lucena position, which once reached with the pawn, can win the game.

    • Rook and pawn versus rook: The game ends in a draw if the defending king reaches the queening square of the pawn. The winning position is very rare in this case. In case a attacking rook is a file over the pawn and the defending king is cut off from the other side, the position is considered to be the most difficult case of a rook and pawn versus a rook endgame.

    Queen and pawn endings:

    In this ending the pawns are the most important pieces as the queen can promote it to the queening square. These ending are mostly long ones, outweighing the number of pawns against the advancement of passed pawns.

    Rook versus a minor piece:

    Most of the times, the difference between a rook and a minor piece is of two points or less than that. There are however, certain situations, which needs to be studied.

    • A rook and a pawn versus a minor piece: This normally ends in a winning situation for the rook. There can also be a draw if the pawn in on the 6th rank and the bishop doesn't control the promotion square of the pawn; the situation normally leads to a draw.
    • A rook versus a minor piece: This mostly ends in a draw except some cases where the rook wins.
    • A rook versus a minor piece and one pawn: Except some cases where the rook wins, the game ends in a draw.
    • A rook versus a minor piece and two pawns: Except some cases where the minor pieces win, the game generally ends in a draw.
    • A rook versus a minor piece and three pawns: This kind of situation generally ends in a win for the minor piece.

    Queen Ending:

    • Queen versus two rooks: This normally ends in a draw. A queen and a pawn in this situation are generally equivalent to two rooks, which ends in a draw.
    • Queen versus rook and minor piece: This situation generally ends up in a draw when there is no pawn. The queen in this situation is equivalent to a rook. The winning situation can only come if the queen has an additional pawn, which is difficult. However, a rook and bishop and two pawns can win over a queen.
    • Queen versus rook: if there is no pawn, the queen generally wins. If the rook has one pawn, drawing position might be available depending on the rook and the king and their proximity with the pawn. The position usually ends up in a draw if the rook has two connected pawns.
    Piece versus pawns:

    In some cases the place for a lone piece versus a pawn might end up in a critical situation.

    • Minor piece versus pawns: A situation where there is a minor piece and one or two pawns, generally ends in a draw. However, there might be winning situation if there are three connected pawns against a bishop and they pass their 4th rank.
    • Rook versus pawns: There might be a win for two pawns and draw for one pawn if the rook's king is not near. In case the rook's king is close, the rook wins. In case of four pawns the situations usually ends up in a draw. In case of more than four pawns the situation ends in a win for the rook.
    • Queen versus pawns: A queen can win depending upon the way the pawns are advanced. The queen can win against 8 pawns provided they are on the second rank. The pawn on the seventh rank may however, lead to a draw.
    Endings with no pawns:

    Endings with no pawns are not a regular process that is followed during an endgame. There are two types of endings with no pawns. First when there is a queen versus a rook and the second when there is a rook and a bishop versus a rook. The queen generally wins against a rook and a rook and bishop versus a rook is usually a draw.

     
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