Ending of Games

BEFORE proceeding to the study of works which treat of the several Openings, or systematic methods of beginning a game, it will greatly help to familiarise you with the powers of the Pieces if you devote a few hours to the consideration of the simpler class of Check-mates - that is to say, those where one party is left with his King alone against a King and Queen, a King and Rook, and the like.

This is one of the easiest of all Check-mates : for, in the most adverse position for the King and Queen you can devise, they can force Check-mate in nine moves. The quickest way to proceed is by confining the solitary King to one side of the Chess-board with your Queen, and then bringing up your King to face him. after which Check-mate follows immediately. A very little practice with a friend will enable you to accomplish it. There is one danger, however, you must be warned of, namely, that of giving Stale-maie instead of Check-mate, an error young players are very apt to fall into when their opponent has only his King left. Take, for example, the following simple situation : -

Here we find (see the remarks on Notation, page 5) that the White King is at his Kt.'s 5th sq., the White Queen at King's Kt.'s sq., and the Black King at his Rook's sq. Now at this point an experienced player would see at a glance that Check-mate can be given in two moves, and would play first, King to his Bishop's 6th sq., and then, when the Black King moves to K. Rook's 2nd (the only square open to him) would move Queen to K. Kt.'s 7th sq., giving Check-mate : but the tyro, having an eye only to imprisoning the Black King, would perhaps play his King to Rook's 6th, instead of to Bishop's 6th sq., leaving the adverse King in the situation of Stale-mate. (See Stale-mate, page 10.)

To accustom you to the notation, it may be well when, by the assistance of a Chess-playing friend, you thoroughly comprehend the method of effecting Check-mate with the King and Queen, for you to write out the above situation, with the solution, in the abbreviated form adopted by English writers on the game. They would stand thus : -

White to play first, and Check-mate

This, like the preceding, is an easy Check-mate, and may be mastered in a very short time. In the most favourable position the single King can take up, he cannot protract the Check-mate beyond eighteen or nineteen moves.

The annexed diagram. No. 5. and solution will show this plainly : -

The position here, described in writing, would be given thus : -

And the system of play to be adopted for effecting the Check-mate most speedily is the following : -

From these examples you will observe that to Check-mate either with the Queen or Rook it is necessary, as was before remarked, to drive the adverse King to one of the four sides of the Chess-board, and then march your own King up to confront him. Whenever you can bring the two Kings face to face, with one square only between them, and have the move, you may be sure of the game. In the subjoined position, Diagram No. 6, the Kings are so placed ; and, although the Rook is

White to play first, and Check-mate in three moves.

By setting up these Pieces in similar situations, and finding out the way to give the Check-mate a few times, you will discover the principle, and, knowing that, are not likely to have much difficulty in dealing the coup de grace, when you are fortunate enough to be left with such an advantage against an opponent.

This, however, is only an occasional case : it will generally happen that your adversary, even when you have a preponderance of power, has some man left upon

Place the men as below : -

That is to say : -

And play as follows : -

This is a Check-mate which rarely, very rarely, occurs ; but it is so instructive a lesson in the play of the Bishop that you will do well to study it attentively.

You will be surprised to learn that these Pieces cannot Checkmate the adverse King, if he make the best defence, unless, indeed, he happen to have a Pawn or Pawns left, in which case, strange to say, it sometimes happens that he is Check-mated with a single Knight, as in the annexed example. Place the men as follows : -

That is to say : -

In this position Black's Pawns are actually assistants in his defeat : since, but for them, it would be impossible for the single Knight to give Check-mate : as it is. the game is very cleverly won, as you will see, in a few moves only, ex. gr. : -

This is a Check-mate of much greater difficulty than that with the two Bishops ; but it is more elegant, and, from its admirable exemplification of the combined powers of very dissimilar Pieces, merits the nicest consideration.

As in this Check-mate it is necessary, not only to drive the Black King into an angle of the board, but into one which is commanded by the Bishop you may have (i.e., if you have a Bishop running on a white diagonal the King must be forced into a corner square of that colour; and if your Bishop runs on Black squares, you must compel the King, in the end, to move to a corner square that is Black). You will observe, on setting up the Pieces, that the Black King is most unfavourably posted for you, seeing that he occupies a corner square over which your Bishop, being of a different colour, has no control. This renders the analysis all the more improving.

Place the men again as in the Diagram, and play the first four moves over as before : but at Black's fourth move, instead of K. to his B. sq., move K. to Q.'s sq., and go on thus : -

In learning the moves, as previously directed, of some player, you will have been apprised of that peculiar privilege (see Law 21st. and page 19) which the Pawn has of obtaining promotion the moment he has contrived to reach the 8th square of the file on which he marches : a privilege that sometimes enables one party, by skilful manoeuvring, to have two. and even three. Queens on the board at once.

With such an advantage in prospect, it, of course, becomes a point of the highest possible importance throughout the game to know how and when a Pawn can be best advanced "to Queen." We must confine our attention now, however, merely to those cases where one side at the end of a game is left with his King and one or more Pawns against a King alone. When one Pawn only remains, the greatest nicety of calculation is often required to know whether it can or cannot be queened, and in nine cases out of ten this depends upon which King can retain what among players is known as the Opposition ; that is, in its simplest sense, the power of keeping back his rival King, by so playing that at the last, when they face each other with one square only intervening, the defending King shall be obliged to yield the opposite square, and suffer his adversary to get command of that to which the Pawn is marching for promotion.

The following situations will serve to illustrate, in some degree, the nature and importance of the " Opposition," but nothing short of practical experience can make you master of the subject in all its bearings. In the first place, suppose your own and the adversary's King to be on their respective squares, thus : -

The two Kings are as near to each other as the laws of the game permit, and Black, it is obvious, must recede, or by moving on one side leave a passage for your King. The same thing occurs if the Kings are opposed diagonally, as you will find on placing your King at his Rook's sq., and the adversary's at his Q. R.'s sq., and then begin by moving your King to K. Kt.'s 2nd, his to Q. Kt.'s 2nd, &c., on the same diagonal until they face each other with one square betwixt them. No advantage, of course, could accrue to you by gaining the opposition when the Kings only are left, as in these cases, because a King cannot Check-mate a King ; but when it is a contest between King and Pawns, the fate of the game oftentimes depends upon the relative position of the two Kings.

In this game, it White have to play he can win Black play he can reduce the game to a drawn. Firstly, suppose White to begin : -

Now return the Pieces to their position on the Diagram, and suppose Black has the move.

And, play as you may, you can only draw the game, since Black will always retain the opposition.

Here is another position of the same kind : -

And you must either abandon the Pawn, or, by playing your King to his 6th, give Black Stale-mate.

Place the Pieces again as in the diagram, and make the the same moves until Black's 4th move, when proceed thus : -

In the next situation (Diagram No. 13), although you have the opposition, you will find it cannot be retained, owing to the position your Pawn occupies.

Here Black may draw whether he may have the move or not.

Study the foregoing positions attentively, and remember that the observations are equally applicable to a King and Pawn against a King alone, on every other file except the K. Rook's file and Q. Rook's file, on either of which the King can always draw the game, provided he gets before the Pawn on the same file, no matter how distant he may be from it.

The reason of these exceptions will soon be apparent if you examine Diagram No. 14.

In this situation the game must be drawn, whichever moves first ; because if White attempts to make room for his Pawn to pass to the Q. R.'s 8th. the Black King will gain possession of the square himself ; and if the White persevere in retaining the corner he must be Stale-mated. For instance : -

As this is an instructive peculiarity in the play of a King and Pawn against a King, you should examine the moves again and again, varying the position of the men occasionally, until you thoroughly comprehend the

Two Pawns united can always win against the King alone : and in most cases two isolated Pawns win also. It frequently happens, however, that an inexperienced player when remaining at last with two united Pawns, is unable to Queen either, or suffers his adversary to get into Stale-mate. Take the following position : -

Here the Pawns protect each other ; for if Black were to capture the hind one, the other goes to Queen, and the same thing holds good in whatever part of the board they may be. On this account you have ample leisure to bring up your King to their support ; but although the game is then won to a certainty by correct play, great care you will find is required to prevent its slipping through your fingers. Suppose you begin : -

When the two Pawns are widely apart the instances are very rare in which the single King can prevent one or other going to Queen : and even when the two appear within his reach, as in the following situation (see Diagram No. 18), by good play the Pawn can be made to win.

At first view you would think it impossible, with the White King so distant, to save the Pawns : but a little examination will show you that in reality these two Pawns, though separated, as effectually protect each other as the united ones in the preceding Diagram. A few moves will place this beyond doubt : -

From these examples of Pawn play, which you ought to go over repeatedly before proceeding further, you will have learnt that a King and one Pawn will generally win against the solitary King : and that a King and two Pawns will almost always do so. You will take it for granted, there fore, that a Pawn supported by a minor Piece, as well as the King, must win with ease. In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, it is true, he must : but there are two or three important exceptions to the rule, and with these we shall conclude the chapter.

The first has reference to a Pawn on a Rook's file ; we have just before seen the difficulty of winning with a Rook's Pawn at the end : but you will hardly be prepared, from the examples given, to believe that, if you were left at the end of a game with a Rook's Pawn, and a Bishop to support it, you would be unable to win the game. Yet such will be occasionally the case, when your Bishop does not command the corner square to which the Pawn is marching, and the adverse King can get before your Pawn upon the Rook's file. Take, for instance, the subjoined position:

A very few moves on each side will render this apparent.

And again, play as you will, the game must be drawn, either by your giving Stale-mate, or sacrificing the Pawn, or by permitting Black to move interminably from the R.'s sq. to an adjoining sq., and back again.

Diagram No. 20 is another proof that a single King may sometimes draw the game against the rival monarch with a Piece and Pawn.

In this situation White wins if Black has to move, but, having himself to play, can only draw the game, ex. gr. : -

And the Black King can always retain command of the same two squares, on whichever side he may he checked.