How to Teach the Most Basic Endgame, Part 1

 

Well...maybe it is not the MOST basic. Before learning this one, your Chesskid should know how to checkmate with a king and queen against a king, and with king and rook against king. But today we will see how to teach the endgame of "king and pawn against king."

This is one of the earliest lessons I teach to a beginner, just after the aforementioned 'pawnless' endgames. Why? Not only is the fundamental endgame with king and pawn against king crucial practical knowledge, it also teaches some important things about chess in general. Through this endgame, the Chesskid will learn the important concepts of 'opposition' and 'outflanking', but most importantly will understand that chess is a game where one wrong move can change the outcome; where you have to think carefully about each move and cannot just play the first move that comes to mind. In addition, the concept of stalemate will be reinforced.

So, how do you teach it? Well, it is important, not only for this lesson but for any chess teaching, that you do not lecture or explain in general terms. You need to simply let the kid play, and discover the method for himself. You play the defense and give hints when necessary, but do not lecture about the method.

Of course, it is important that you be able to defend correctly after the kid has made a mistake. We will cover that here.

Most kids will start with the move 1.e4, which is already a mistake, turning a won position into a drawn one. More reserved kids might start with 1.e3, which is also a mistake, after which White cannot win. The reason is that the pawn will get in the way of maneuvers with the king, making it possible for Black to block the white king's progress. The correct strategy is to advance the king first, and not to move the pawn until the white king is already far ahead. Do not tell your student that. First, let him see what is wrong with the obvious plan of pushing the pawn. Here is how it will typically develop:

With most kids who don't already know the endgame, it will be something like this. There will be a few differences (for example, on move four White might go Kf3 instead of Kd3, but it changes nothing. The same pattern will be followed with the king on the right, rather than the left side of the pawn).

After a stalemate is reached, just let the kid try again. Typically they will start by moving the king, but usually will not be able to resist moving the pawn for the next few moves. For example, the following would be typical:

After this second try, your Chesskid is starting to learn something about this endgame, but will still need some work before he can win it on his own. He will need to understand that the king must be advanced far ahead of the pawn, and he will need to learn the concepts of 'opposition' and 'outflanking'. Check out Part 2 to see how to teach the rest.