Positions containing exclusively kings and pawns.
Why it matters
Endgames with only kings and pawns are the ones you cannot improvise. Everything is forced and everything is exact: one square of king placement is the difference between a win and a draw.
They are also worth studying first, because every other endgame ends in one. Deciding whether to trade the last piece means deciding whether the king and pawn endgame is winning, and that is a calculation, not a feeling.
See it on a board
The king leads and the pawn follows. Because the white king reaches the sixth rank first, the pawn cannot be stopped.
Checked: the position really has the feature described.
How to play it
- Put the king in front of the pawn, not behind it.
- Use the opposition to make the defending king give way.
- Count the race before trading into it: promotion squares, tempi, and whether the defender's king is inside the square.
At each level
The same idea, said the way it is taught at each age.
Pawn · ages 3–6
Walk your king in front of your pawn. The king goes first. The pawn comes after.
Knight · ages 4–6
Before trading the last pieces, count. King and pawn endgames are won or lost by a single tempo, and there is no way to bluff.
What goes wrong
- Pushing the pawn before the king is in front of it.
- Trading into a king and pawn endgame without counting the race.
Questions people ask
- Is an extra pawn always winning?
- No. A rook's pawn with the defending king in the corner is drawn however many moves you have, and plenty of other extra pawns are drawn if the defending king gets in front.