Develop a Perfect Endgame Chess Strategy

Sound knowledge of chess strategy is often the deciding factor in a chess match, and nowhere are strategies and tactics more important than in the endgame.

While chess openings and middlegames can be played primarily based on logic and intuition, chess endgames rely on your grasp of strategic principles to complete the task. It’s the weakest part of the game for most beginner to intermediate players, and therefore the most impactful place to hone your skills to win more games.

When Does the Endgame Begin in Chess?

A chess match consists of an opening, a middlegame, and an endgame. But when exactly does the endgame begin?

Most chess players would agree that an endgame only begins when both queens are off the board. But what about the rest of the pieces? GM Aman Hambleton defines the endgame as when both queens are off the board and there are no more than twelve points of material on either side.

Using classical chess piece evaluation, this could mean each player having a rook (five points), a bishop (three points), and four pawns (four points) on the board, making a total of twelve points on each side. Another combination that could constitute the twelve points is, for example, two rooks and two pawns.

Six Endgame Chess Strategies to Win More Games

Fundamental endgame principles are not difficult to understand! If you can apply these five simple chess strategies, you’ll be sure to see yourself winning more games.

When Winning, Trade Off Pieces

The fewer pieces there are on the board, the more significant any material advantage becomes. In the opening moves, being a pawn up or down tends to pale in comparison to positional advantage. Yet, in the endgame, an extra pawn often wins the game.

This means that if you are winning on material, it’s usually advantageous to trade off material. That way, you can swiftly arrive at the game's final stages with a distinct advantage. Because your opponent will likely avoid trading off pieces when losing, you may need to force an equal trade.

In the example below, Black is two pawns up and would like to exchange pieces, aiming for pawn promotion. By playing ...Qa6, Black pins White’s queen to the king, forcing an exchange of queens on the following move. After this, Black may also aim to exchange rooks and bishops, too.

Of course, reaching the endgame is particularly desirable if you’ve mastered your endgame technique! Players who are confident in their endgame abilities are especially likely to trade pieces to take the game into their favorite territory.

Trading off pieces and simplifying the game also reduces the risk of your opponent gaining material through a tactical advantage. If, on the other hand, you are short on material, you might want to focus all your efforts on just that.

When Losing, Look for Pins, Skewers, and Forks

If you’re significantly losing on material in the endgame, you have limited time to rectify the game. Here, your only hope of survival is to find a surprise chess tactic to turn the game on its head.

If you put all of your focus on finding a winning tactical motif, you might be surprised how often you can turn the game around at the last minute! This is especially true in blitz and bullet games where your opponent is rushing to win before time runs out.

A sneaky chess strategy here is leaving a 'poisoned pawn' as bait to lure your opponent into a trap. In the example below, Black is down on material and needs to find a winning tactic to rescue the game. By leaving the pawn on d5 undefended, Black coaxes White’s king into capturing it. If the king captures on d5, Black has two ways to win the rook. Can you see how?

Did you find them both? By either playing Bb7+ to land a skewer or Nf4+ to make a fork, Black will win the rook and the game.

Maintain Strong Pawn Structure

While material advantage is often decisive in the endgame, it's important to remember that the value of each pawn is relative to pawn structure and its position on the board.

Pawns are strongest when they are connected (i.e., when they are on adjacent squares to one another). This way, they can protect one another and are better able to challenge other pawns and pieces as they move up the board. However, if pawns are doubled or isolated, they are significantly weaker (and doubled, isolated pawns are especially weak)!

In the example below, even though the two sides have equal material, Black has a big advantage. Why? All of its pawns are connected, whereas all of White’s are isolated. From here, it's easy for Black to chase White’s pawns with its rook while its pawns keep each other protected.

An exception to these rules of pawn structure comes when there are passed pawns, which have tremendous value in the endgame!

Create Passed Pawns and Push Them!

A passed pawn is a pawn that cannot be captured or blocked by an enemy pawn on their way to promotion. In other words, no enemy pawns are standing in their file or in adjacent files.

Passed pawns are incredibly valuable in the endgame because the opponent will often not be able to stop their progress without stationing a piece to block them or sacrificing a piece of greater value.

In the example below, it's White to move. Black is a pawn up on material and has a superior pawn structure. Yet, because White has a passed pawn on the a-file, Black won’t manage to stop it from being promoted without sacrificing its bishop. Ultimately, a single passed pawn wins the game for White.

Of course, passed pawns are even more valuable when they are connected. There is a saying: “Connected passed pawns win the game.” It’s extremely difficult to stop two connected passed pawns from reaching promotion because they can protect each other right the way up the board!

There is another saying: "Rooks belong behind passed pawns." This is true whether you are supporting your own passed pawn with your rook or attacking an opponent's passed pawn. It's much easier to attack or defend a passed pawn when the rook is behind the pawn's advance.

Activate Your King Promptly!

An essential element of endgame technique is activating the king in a timely manner. Beginners are often slow to get their king involved in the endgame, yet it's often the player who utilizes their king swiftly and skillfully that ultimately wins the endgame.

While the king should be kept tucked away safely during the opening and middlegame, in the endgame, it becomes an extremely valuable piece in the center of the board—generally more valuable than a bishop or a knight! Kings are superb at protecting and supporting pawns on their journey toward promotion when there are few other pieces on the board.

Knowing the best time to activate the king comes with experience. A rule of thumb some chess players use is to activate the king once the opponent is without a queen and only one rook. If you activate the king too early, it’s liable to be chased around by the opponent's pieces and may even risk being checkmated.

In the example below, the two sides are equal on material, but White will win the game. Why? It has centralized its king and is ready to help ferry its pawns up the board. Black, on the other hand, has neglected to move its king into battle. Black has just played e7-e6. Now, can you find the winning move for White?

Did you find it? After Kf6, Black has no way to protect its f-pawn. White will then create a passed pawn and win promotion soon after.

Use Rooks to Cut Off the Enemy King

When there are few pieces left on the board, rooks often dominate the game by controlling entire empty ranks and files. Because a king can’t move into check, it can never move across a rank or file that a rook is controlling.

This is extremely useful to remember when the kings are becoming active. If you can block your opponent’s king from reaching the critical part of the board, you’re effectively eliminating a very powerful endgame piece from play!

In the example below, White has only one move to avoid a draw. Can you spot White’s winning move?

Did you spot it? If White moves Rf5, it cuts off the king from the 5th rank, making it impossible to follow the pawn. The pawn must still advance to escape White’s king, approaching. But as soon as it’s two squares away from the king, the rook can move in to snap it up!

Endgame Chess Strategy: A Simple Way to Win More Games

Knowing some fundamental endgame techniques can often be the difference between winning a game and losing. While common sense and calculation are always beneficial, endgames are most frequently won by the player with the best knowledge of winning strategies.

Try applying the six simple principles that we've discussed here and see how many more games it’ll help you win. Remember, if you want real game practice, you can often shortcut to the endgame by exchanging pieces, especially queens. Additionally, specially selected chess puzzles are a brilliant way to hone your endgame strategies and tactics!