I suck at end games

@Titus369 @MrGM

Thanks for the advice. The problem I often face is not knowing which side is weaker or easier for me to exploit. I usually look at the board and try to see which side is easier for me to get a passed pawn but sometimes when I swing my king over to try and get a passed pawn, my opponent will get his own past pawn on the other side and now my king is too far away to do anything about it.

I just struggle to know how to blockade effectively and calculating whether it's safe for my king to leave the defence of my other pawns while it hunts down the remaining pawns on the opposite side.

I do chess puzzles on lichess but do you know if there is any site (preferably free) where I can practice specific positions like rook and pawns, pawns and king etc?

mountainLlama, you can google and download the lomonosov tablebase, it is free and there are rook pawn exercises up to 7 pieces.

You could try Chesstempo.com as well. This site is mainly for tactics, but with a free account, you can do two endgame problems a day. With a payed account, you can do unlimited. These endgames are "basic" in the sense that there must be limited pieces, but are instructive and include several rook endgames.

In addition, there is Peshka. I don't remember the details or if it costs money, but this was a really good program for endgames.

Besides practice, I would buy an endgame book. I suggest something like Jesus de la Villa's "100 Endgames You Must Know". While this obviously cannot cover all endgames you will encounter, by seeing some endgames, it can help you with ideas you will need for other endgames.

Good luck in your endgame knowledge quest :)

@MountainLlama @MrGM @Titus369
I have created a mod of lichess app including on homepage after the puzzle of the day, an endgame puzzle section , proposition you to play vs stockfish, 2500 interresting endgames from a famouse book, positions are random generated each 3 sec

Thanks guys, I'll check that lomonosov tablebase out and maybe buy that end game book. Appreciate the tips.

I think Irving Chernev's book "62 Most Instructive Games Ever Played" is an excellent primer on endings. Very basic endgame sequences are thoroughly explained. After reading this book you should have no difficulty with the position in the first post.

General principles will lead you in the right direction. Here's a quick list of things to do in no particular order. (Other than #1. That's usually a top priority. "In the endgame ... the fighting value of the king is about four points." -Lasker")

1.Centralize your king
2.Attack weak pawns
3.Create passed pawns
4.Bring rooks to open files -> infiltrate to 7th rank
5.Trade pieces if ahead, avoid trades if behind

This is an oversimplification, but in K+P endgames usually whoever has more passed pawns wins. Also if either side is up a pawn it's a win 99% of the time. In the example OP posted, white has a pretty straightforward win so you shouldn't feel too bad if you're on the black side of that situation.

Check out this famous Rubinstein endgame from 1909, it might give you some inspiration: lichess.org/LLj6fKRD/black#49

@MountainLlama #1
Interesting question raised.
In the past I've probably learned most from reading chess books and chess news with annotated games, and analysing chess games with other players.
Regarding that, joining a local chess club, or get together with local chess friends, or having a chess coach or chess buddies can help a lot, and can be great fun as well.
Of course you can also study all by yourself but that might be more difficult, especially when progress seems slow.
Once you learn to understand the characteristics of chess positions, the plan to follow can unfold very quickly.
Annotated chess games played by e.g. Smyslov, Petrosian, Capablanca, Karpov can be interesting regarding learning these kind of endgames.

HTH

@MountainLlama #1

Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual may be a good reference to boost learning curve, once you have completed a game you wish to analyze, you may check the book to verify your ideas with strategies and technique you may find there. Having fear to enter (winning or drawish) endgames is not good at all, so improving or having the chance to improve their evaluation is important.

There is a rule that says: "First you have to have active knight and bishop, than active rooks and Queen and in endgame you have to have active king. You can move pawns when you have all figures active."
So best move is e5 now. He will change it and you can go to c4 or something and you can take all pawns there.