Playboard
  • Lesson 30 of 32
  • Endgame basics
  • 3 min

The Rule of the Square in Chess Endgames

In a race between a pawn and a king, with no other pieces close enough to help, you don't have to count moves one by one. Draw a square on the board, and you can see at a glance whether the king catches the pawn.

Step 1 of 4

  1. Draw the square

    Take the pawn's path to the last rank, from b4 to b8: five squares. Make it the side of a square: b4, b8, f8 and f4. That is the square of the pawn. If the defending king can step into it, the king catches the pawn. If it can't, the pawn becomes a queen. The white king on h1 is too far away to play any part.

  2. Black to move

    The black king on g5 stands just outside the square. It's Black's move. Does the king catch the pawn?

    Question

  3. White to move

    The same position, but now it's White's move. When the pawn moves first, draw the square from where it lands. After b4-b5 the square shrinks to b5, b8, e8 and e5, and no king move from g5 reaches it.

    Your move

    Win the race: push the pawn all the way and make a queen. The bot will defend.

  4. The double step

    A pawn on its starting square can move two squares at once, so it counts as if it stood one square further on. With the pawn to move, draw its square from where the double step lands. Here g2-g4 gives the square g4, g8, c8 and c4, and the black king on a5 is two files away from it. A single step to g3 would make the square bigger, g3 to b8, and let the king in.

    Your move

    Push the pawn so that the king can't catch it.

What you learned

  • The square of a pawn runs from the pawn to its last rank, and as far to the side.
  • If the defending king can step into the square, it catches the pawn.
  • When the pawn is to move, draw the square from where it lands.
  • A pawn still on its starting square counts as if it stood one square further on.
  • The rule is for a pure race: a king that can help its pawn changes everything.

In this course

Unit 1The pieces

  1. The Chessboard and How to Set Up the Pieces
  2. How the Rook Moves in Chess
  3. How the Bishop Moves in Chess
  4. How the Queen Moves in Chess
  5. How the King Moves in Chess
  6. How the Knight Moves in Chess
  7. How Pawns Move and Capture in Chess
  8. Chess Piece Values: What Each Piece Is Worth

Unit 2Special moves

  1. What Is Check in Chess, and How to Get Out of It
  2. How to Castle in Chess: Kingside and Queenside
  3. En Passant in Chess, Explained on the Board
  4. Pawn Promotion in Chess: Turning a Pawn Into a Queen

Unit 3Winning the game

  1. What Is Checkmate? Learn to Mate in One
  2. Stalemate in Chess: Why It's a Draw
  3. How to Checkmate With a King and Queen

Unit 4Your first tactics

  1. The Fork: Attack Two Pieces at Once
  2. The Pin in Chess: Freeze a Piece in Place
  3. The Skewer in Chess: Attack Through a Piece

Unit 5Checkmate patterns

  1. Back-Rank Mate in Chess: Spot It and Stop It
  2. Smothered Mate in Chess: The Knight's Checkmate
  3. The Ladder Mate: Checkmate With Two Rooks
  4. How to Checkmate With a King and Rook

Unit 6More tactics

  1. Discovered Attack in Chess: Unmask a Hidden Attacker
  2. Double Check in Chess: Two Checks at Once
  3. Removing the Defender in Chess: Take the Guard

Unit 7Opening principles

  1. Control the Centre: A Chess Opening Principle
  2. How to Develop Your Pieces in the Chess Opening
  3. Scholar's Mate: How It Works and How to Stop It
  4. Fool's Mate: The Fastest Checkmate in Chess

Unit 8Endgame basics

  1. The Rule of the Square in Chess Endgames
  2. The Opposition in Chess: King Endgame Basics
  3. King and Pawn vs King: How to Win the Ending

Lessons for every game

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