Endgame (chess)
In chess, the endgame is the final phase of a game when there are only a few types of pieces on the board.
classification
The endgames are differentiated according to the types of pieces that remain on the board, apart from the two kings :
- Elementary mating guides : pieces against nothing but a single king,
- Pawn ending : one pawn or several pawns,
- Queen endgame : at least one queen and at least one pawn,
- Rook endgame : at least one rook and at least one pawn,
- Bishop endgame : at least one bishop and at least one pawn,
- Knight endgame : at least one knight and at least one pawn,
- Minor piece endgame : at least one bishop against at least one knight, with or without a pawn,
- Heavy piece endgame : at least one queen against at least one rook, with or without pawns,
- Tower light piece endgame : at least one tower against at least one light piece , with or without pawns,
- Queen-minor piece endgame : at least one queen against at least one minor piece, with or without a pawn.
Bauer lots finals are also called (pure) Figure finals respectively.
Essence
The endgame differs from the previous phases in the reduced number of pieces and the active role of the kings , whereby the transition from the middle game to the endgame is fluid. If there are still pawns on the board, a king can support his own pawns and attack the opposing ones. In the endgame, one of the two players usually has a positional or material advantage . In this phase of the game, this player is called the “attacker” and the other player is called the “defender”. The attacker tries to win the game while the defender seeks a draw .
The attacker wins many endgames by converting a pawn into a queen and thereby achieving a decisive material superiority. In this case, converting the pawn is a practicable partial goal on the way to winning the game.
Another practicable partial goal for both sides can be simplification through exchange . This method of converting a complicated position into a simpler one, which one knows how to assess, is called " liquidation ". It is true that even in the middle game are settled, but the settlement is typical of the final. The outcome of the game in the remaining position can be better assessed there, because many positions with little material have already been analyzed in detail in the endgame literature .
If there are no more pawns on the board and the defender is sufficiently weakened, then the checkmate is the attacker's last remaining target. A typical method of forcing mate is to settle into an endgame against the single king. The attacker must make sure that he has sufficient material excess weight to force the checkmate. The defender can sometimes save himself by using stalemate motifs or by using an inferior, yet draw-promising material ratio. In the practical game he can sometimes claim the 50-move rule .
Endgame theory
Until around the end of the 1980s, the endgame theory developed empirically and relatively slowly through manual analysis of individual positions (or even entire types of positions) and successive accumulation of game experience in tournaments. The combination of both in hanging games and in correspondence chess was beneficial . Since the beginning of the 1990s, new knowledge has been increasingly obtained with the help of computer programs. However, the analyzes are often so complex that even very good chess players can hardly understand them.
The game results have already been calculated for positions with few stones. All positions with up to seven pieces are currently available in endgame databases .
A distinction is made between theoretical endgames, in which the outcome of the best game on both sides is known beyond doubt, and practical endgames, in which an exact assessment is not possible due to the huge number of possible variants. Good players therefore try to simplify complex endgame positions on positions they are already familiar with, especially in games with limited thinking time.
There are also composed endgame studies , the starting positions of which are not always likely to play a part, but which illustrate certain strategic or tactical motives in pointed solution processes.
literature
- Karsten Müller , Frank Lamprecht : Basics of chess endings . Gambit Publications, London 2003. ISBN 1-901983-96-X .
- Max Euwe: Endgame Theory and Practice. Joachim Beyer Verlag , Eltmann 2014. ISBN 978-3940417466 .
- Edmar Mednis : Endgame training - not just for beginners , Eltmann 2014. ISBN 978-3940417671 .
- Jesús de la Villa : 100 finals you need to know . New in Chess, Alkmaar 2017. ISBN 978-90-5691-738-8 .
Web links
Schachendspiele.de - Basics of chess endgames with connection of endgame databases