The endgame differs from both the opening and the middlegame in many aspects. It has its own rules of thumb, quite different from those in the other phases of the game, since the number of the pieces left on the board is small. It is important to play the endgame correctly, or else the efforts spent to arrive at it may be lost.

The “king safety” principle that applied to both the opening and the middlegame no longer holds. It is hard for the enemy pieces to combine properly and begin a winning attack. Instead, the king is playing a key role, his power increasing as the number of the pieces reduces. It is necessary to make one’s king active by transferring him to the centre or wherever is needed.

Pawn promotions are typical in the endgame. Trying to promote a free pawn or creating a free pawn is a common plan. All available forces need to cooperate for this purpose. The king himself may be needed to help the promotion. Promoting a pawn usually means to win the game, so the opponent will probably sacrifice some material if he can not prevent it otherwise.

The key notions of development and tempo no longer apply (or at least, not to that degree). Instead, pieces need to be placed correctly, which requires the construction of a plan. A common rule of thumb is “do not hurry in the endgame”; it is easy to see in which cases it applies and when tempi are important.

The pieces involved define different strategic factors. In an endgame including rooks the seventh (or the second) rank may be of critical value; this is because the king is usually still on the eighth (first) rank after the middlegame and if the enemy rook penetrates through the seventh (second) rank, he will restrict the king’s activation whilst threatening the pawns on this rank.

In rook endings where promotions are intended, a rook is best placed behind a pawn, either friendly or enemy, so that his mobility increases as the pawn advances. The king is best placed in front of a pawn, either friendly or enemy, to assist or prevent its promotion.

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