Editing Chess endgame (section)

===King and pawn endings===
'''King and pawn endgames''' involve only [[king (chess)|kings]] and [[pawn (chess)|pawns]] on one or both sides. [[International Master]] [[Cecil Purdy]] said, "Pawn endings are to chess as putting is to golf." Any endgame with pieces and pawns has the possibility of {{chessgloss|simplifying}} into a pawn ending.<ref>{{Harvcol|Nunn|2010|p=43}}</ref>

In king and pawn endings, an extra pawn is decisive in more than 90 percent of the cases.<ref>{{Harvcol|Euwe|Meiden|1978|p=xvi}}</ref> Getting a [[passed pawn]] is crucial (a ''passed pawn'' is one which does not have an opposing pawn on its file or on adjacent files on its way to promotion). [[Aron Nimzowitsch|Nimzowitch]] once said that a passed pawn has a "lust to expand". An ''{{chessgloss|outside passed pawn}}'' is particularly deadly. The point of this is a [[deflection (chess)|deflection]] – while the defending king is preventing the outside passed pawn from queening, the attacking king wins pawns on the other side.

''[[Opposition (chess)|Opposition]]'' is an important technique that is used to gain an advantage. When two kings are in opposition, they are on the same {{chessgloss|file}} (or {{chessgloss|rank}}) with one empty square separating them. The player having the move ''loses'' the opposition. That player must move the king and allow the opponent's king to advance. However, the opposition is a means to an end, which is penetration into the enemy position. The attacker should try to penetrate with or without the opposition. The tactics of [[triangulation (chess)|triangulation]] and [[zugzwang]] as well as the theory of [[corresponding squares]] are often decisive.

Unlike most positions, king and pawn endgames can usually be analyzed to a definite conclusion, given enough skill and time. An error in a king and pawn endgame almost always turns a win into a draw or a draw into a loss – there is little chance for recovery. Accuracy is most important in these endgames. There are three fundamental ideas in these endgames: [[opposition (chess)|opposition]], [[triangulation (chess)|triangulation]], and the [[Réti endgame study|Réti manoeuvre]].<ref>{{Harvcol|Nunn|2007|pp=113ff}}</ref>

====King and pawn versus king====
{{main|King and pawn versus king endgame}}
{| align="right" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0"
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{{Chess diagram small
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|Müller & Lamprecht, <br />diagram 2.11
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|kl|  |  |  |  |  |  |  
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|White to move wins with 1.Kb6. Black to move draws with 1...Kc5.
}}
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{{Chess diagram small
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|Müller & Lamprecht<ref>{{harvcol|Müller|Lamprecht|2001}}</ref> <br />diagram 2.03 
|  |  |  |kd|  |  |  |  
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|  |  |  |kl|pl|  |  |  
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|White to play draws. Black to play loses after 1...Ke8 2.e7 Kf7 3.Kd7 and the pawn queens.
}}
|}
This is one of the most basic endgames. A draw results if the defending king can reach the square in front of the pawn or the square in front of that (or capture the pawn).<ref>{{Harvcol|Müller|Lamprecht|2007|pp=16,21}}</ref> If the attacking king can prevent that, the king will assist the pawn in being [[promotion (chess)|promoted]] to a queen or rook, and checkmate can be achieved. A {{chessgloss|rook pawn}} is an exception because the king may not be able to get out of the way of its pawn.
{{clear}}