In the endgame the king turns into an active fighting piece. The main principle of pawn endings is to lead the king forward, ahead of its own pawn: from there it clears the path and seizes the key squares.
Here White has a far-advanced king on c6 and a lagging pawn on b2; Black has the king on e7. White to move, and the position is won (per the tablebases): the active king is already in front of its pawn and escorts it home without depending on the opposition.
The lesson: do not rush to push the pawn - walk the king forward first. King activity in the endgame often matters more than an extra tempo, or even an extra pawn.
Drag a piece onto the board, or click a piece and then click the squares. The cross beside the pieces sweeps every piece of that colour off the board, and a single piece can be dragged off the edge.
The pieces will be arranged into the chosen pattern.
It is the mating side to move. Find mate in one.
Openings, endgame positions and breakthrough studies - the set-up appears on the board.
A pawn on its own is stopped by the enemy king. The side whose king reaches the squares in front of the pawn first is the one that wins - which is why the king leads.
To the squares in front of its own pawn, and with several pawns on the board, to the side where the opponent has weaknesses and where their king cannot get in time.
It is nearer the centre and the passed pawns than the enemy king, and it is not tied to defending its own pawns.
Build your own position in the board editor, read up on the rules of chess or run a tournament on your own positions in the free app.
No arbiter skills required. The app takes over the part that usually stops people from running tournaments at all: who plays whom in each round and who finishes first.
works for ten players and for fifty
for a small group that wants to play everyone
for those who do not need a bracket at all
Sign up to the Vibe Chess bot on Telegram - it carries the schedule of meetups and chess events across the cities we run in.
