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Pawn endgames have a very special place among all endings. A solid understanding of pawn endgame fundamentals is essential for a true appreciation of any and all endgames since an assessment of an endgame position is, more or less, based on the fact that the resulting pawn ending would be winning for one of the players should other pieces be exchanged.

For instance:

This position is easily won for White, because after 1.Bf6 Bxf6 2.Kxf6 he wins the pawn ending.

The most important rules of pawn endings are “rule of a square” and the so-called “opposition”.

RULE OF A SQUARE

This is definitely the most important rule, since pawn endings (and any other endgame, for that matter) are all about pawn promotion. Application of this rule helps a player to determine whether a passed pawn can be caught on time.

The result here depends on which side has the move.

If it’s Black’s turn here, he can save the game by playing 1...Kb4. With this move his King enters the geometrical “square” (f4-f8-b8-b4-f4). Now the game is drawn after 2.f5 Kc5 3.f6 Kd6 4.f7 Ke7, and the pawn is caught.

The result would have been different if it was White's turn. By playing 1.f5, White would move the imagined “square” a bit further (f5-f8-b8-b5-f5) away from the opponent’s King, and Black's King would not be able to catch the pawn in time.

1.f5 Kb4 2.f6 Kc5 3.f7 Kd6 4.f8=Q+, and White wins.

Knowledge of this rule makes it easier for a player to make a correct assessment of such positions, particularly in time pressure.

There are, of course, some exceptions. For instance, if a pawn blocks the King’s way, the square rule does not work. For example, in the above diagram, imagine a Black pawn on d6.

Let’s take a look at some sample positions:

Black is lost here, since if he takes the f-pawn, 1...Kxf3, then after 2.g5 Black can’t get into a “square” (g5-g8-d8-d5-g5).

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