In light piece endings, a bishop is more valuable when his pawns are placed on squares of the opposite colour than the bishop’s square, allowing him to move with freedom and threaten the enemy pawns.

Also a bishop is worth more when the centre is open and there are pawns on both wings, for he can exploit his increased mobility. In the contrary a knight is better when the position is closed and the pawns blocked.

To play the endgame correctly one needs to know the basic endings very well. The basic endings are trivial situations, with very few pieces on the board; these positions arise all the time. Having a fair understanding of these basic endings helps the analysis very much.

For example, assume that WHITE has found a line which eventually leaves him with his king on e8 and a pawn on e6, while the black king is on g8. He may stop counting further, because he knows that this position is won for WHITE; the pawn promotes easily and the basic ending King + Queen vs. King (after the promotion) is winning.

Basic chess endings include :

King vs. King

King + Pawn vs. King

King + Knight vs. King

King + Bishop vs. King

King + Rook vs. King

King + Queen vs. King

King + Knight + Bishop vs. King

King + Knight + Pawn vs. King

King + Bishop + Pawn vs. King

and more.

It seems to be a complicated matter, but it is far from truth. Most of them are quite straight-forward and need no effort to understand. Awareness of the basic endings provides a solid background for further understanding of the endgame.

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