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The opposition in chess: how kings fight in pawn endings

Two kings facing each other with one square between them can't pass each other. Whoever has to move must step aside, so the side not to move "has the opposition". In king and pawn against king, that one idea decides whether the pawn queens or the game is drawn, and it works from both sides of the board.

Defending: stay in front of the pawn

You have Black. White has king and pawn; you only have your king, and the draw is there if you keep it in front of the pawn.

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White to move. Step through Black's defence to the stalemate.

1...Kd6 takes the opposition: the kings face each other and White has to move. Every time White's king comes forward, Black's answers it face to face, and when the pawn advances, Black's king steps straight back: 3...Ke7, then 6...Ke8 on the last rank. Kd8 or Kf8 there would let White's king in front of the pawn, and then it wins. At the end, 8...Ke8 leaves White with a choice of stalemate or losing the pawn.

The mistake on the first move is stepping back to the side. After 1...Kd7? 2.Ke5, White's king is in front of its pawn, and the pawn gets through.

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After 1.Kd4. Step through 1...Kd7? to see White's king get in front.

Winning: the distant opposition

The opposition also works from far away: kings on the same file with an odd number of squares between them. Here you have White, and only one move wins.

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White to move. Step through the distant opposition.

1.Kc3! The kings are on the same file with three squares between them: the distant opposition. Anything else lets Black's king reach the squares in front of the pawn first, and it's a draw. White keeps the kings in step as they come closer (2.Kd4), and 3.Ke4 has the opposition at close range, with the king on a key square in front of the pawn. The pawn now walks through.

The idea to remember

When the kings face each other, the side that has to move gives way. Defending, stay in front of the pawn and step straight back when it advances. Attacking, take the opposition early, even from far away, and keep it as the kings come closer.

Train it

These are endgame techniques OptiChess teaches as walkthroughs: the moves play themselves until a moment that matters, then you find the move, checked against the tablebase. The winning plan with king and pawn is in lead with the king, not the pawn. More endings are in the chess endgame trainer.

Try it. Real positions, set at your level, every answer checked against the board. No account needed to start.

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