Why Chess Endgames Are So Hard... And How To Make Learning Them Easier!

🔵 My Chessable Courses: chessable.com/drcan
♟️ Find me on Chess.com: canka19
♟️ Find me on Lichess: cantosh
🏆 2022 Chessable Community Author of the Year! www.chessable.com/blog/announ...
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chessable.com/drcanpro
The Reddit question: www.reddit.com/r/chess/commen...
Fischer - Larsen (1971): www.chessgames.com/perl/chess...
The scientific paper describing the connection between the endgame and the opening:
www.researchgate.net/publicat...

[@tintrollking8290]

the most intuitive chess channel

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you!

[@Gilestaylor-Melodeon]

This is really underrated content. Keep it up and your channel will get where it deserves

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much for your kind words 🙏 Please do not hesitate sharing the channel with your friends.

[@susymay7831]

Hidden gem channel! 💎

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much! :) Please feel free to share and subscribe so we reach more people :)

[@tunaselikamburoglu5637]

Wow, this video is an absolute game-changer! The explanations are so clear and concise, and the host's enthusiasm is infectious. I love how they break down complex endgame scenarios and provide practical strategies that can be applied in real games. The interactive elements and game analysis really help reinforce the concepts. This video has definitely taken my understanding of endgames to a whole new level. Thank you for creating such a valuable resource!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

I am so happy to hear that the video has helped you! Thank you so much for your inspiring comment!

[@johnwade3594]

clicked on and liked video not because I’m really into chess but because I like the amount if effort you put into the thumbnail. Especially as a smaller content creator 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much for your encouraging comments! I am doing my best :)

[@andrewbarber8825]

As Karpov said, if you wish to win more games, study the endgame

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Well said!

[@user-uf9ix2rg3m]

I also enjoy endgame's. It would be great to study it on this cozy channel)

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thanks! We will do it together!

[@user-ln3ty8gw9e]

Another great video!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much :)

[@southernrun9048]

What a great video covering this topic. Very enlightening and and clear explanations. Please consider creating an endgame course for Chessable featuring similar endgame learning, Thanks!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much for your encouraging comment! I will consider creating a similar Chessable course in the future :)

[@_Shadow__om]

❤Best chess understanding i got on KZbin!!! U are underrated here..

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you soo much for your kind feedback. I am really happy to teach you these concepts.

[@masonparkman5567]

Great insights, thank you!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thanks Mason!

[@DanielDollinger1959]

Thank-you Can. Good video. I was thinking about how to approach my end game training. I think I am going to try your suggestions.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Happy to hear that Dan!

[@1RandomTalks]

Great video! Very instructive

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thanks a lot!

[@EliDollinger]

Excellent video. Here are some questions that came to mind. 1. How do you identify the most critical theoretical endgames to know? 2. Once you identify what theoretical endgame you want to learn, what is the optimal way of memorizing that endgame? 3. What is the best way to learn endgame principles? 4. What rook endgames should we study first?

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you for your valuable questions as always! I think they deserve a future video/book, but very briefly: 1. From the likelihood that they actually occur in your own games. Winning with an extra pawn in a pawn endgame, or drawing with a pawn down by taking the opposition. Lucena and Philidor positions in rook endings. 2. By repeatedly and reliably converting against an engine. Or spaced repetition. 3. Studying from a nicely annotated strategic endgames book and/or playing instructive strategic endgames against a training partner. Then asking questions. Later you can discuss the game with a coach by going over the principles. 4. Lucena/Philidor positions should be known by heart, but they are theoretical. When it comes to strategic rook endings, there are plenty of candidates and I have shared some with my students recently, including you :) The positions should be selected to highlight the spirit of the rook endings, i.e. the importance of the activity of the rook as well as the king. Also, several principles can be highlighted such as rooks belong behind the passed pawns, the importance of cutting off the enemy king or how you can sacrifice material to activate your rook and still save a draw thanks to that activity (you can internalise those by actually playing out those positions). These are all very practical principles in rook endings, which is the most frequent endgame type in chess.

[@EliDollinger]

@@Dr.CansClinic Thank you for answering my questions.

[@fiuza78]

@@Dr.CansClinic Hello Can, regarding point 2, are there a good collection of positions to convert, like in a Lichess study. I really wish Chessable had a "convert a position against 2.000 stockfish" option or something like that. I really like spaced repetition and I do a lot of Chessable. I've finished the "100 endgames you must know" book, but sometimes I can't convert a position in a game because the player goes on a different route, and the route I memorized doesn't help for that other line.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

@@fiuza78 Hello and thank you for your question! That would be a valuable addition indeed, but I guess playing against an engine is not an option in Chessable yet. Perhaps you could manually copy/paste the FEN of the 100 endgames YMK book to a lichess study and then play against the engine from those positions. But again, I would prefer playing out/converting strategic endgames than theoretical endgames.

[@fiuza78]

@@Dr.CansClinic Thank you for your reply, Can, I really appreciate it! Do you recommend a book or another source that has those strategic endgames that we can try to convert? Btw, do you have a channel (twitter, Instagram, email) where I can drop you a private message? thank you.

[@rotatingmind]

Is there a clear way to say "this position is an endgame"? Sometimes I see top players say they have entered the endgame after the queens have been exchanged. But there are also endgames with queens. So what defines a phase to be the "endgame phase"?

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Very interesting question! Ruben Fine said endgame happens when the queens are traded off. But it does not encapsulate everything. But these three are my picks that signals we are in an endgame: 1) Material Reduction 2) King becoming an active piece 3) Passed Pawns Becoming Relevant as they can promote

[@hanssolcer3864]

great, please do more on endgames, I am an endgamelover.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much, will surely do more endgames!

[@hanssolcer3864]

I give endgamelessons on a chessclub because I fully agree with you that endgameknowledge gives you more insights on how to play the middlegames. I am amazed how many clubplayers are not able to play basic endgames. Your style of teaching appeals to me. please continue. I hope you start an endgame series. Kind regards. Hans

[@SCoreSG50]

Awesome. However, I'm somewhat lost around 10.40 onwards on the training method to start from end games and slowly adding pieces. Will you be able to do a video on that please?

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Noted! Will definitely cover it in a future video!

[@SCoreSG50]

@@Dr.CansClinic perfect! thank you :D

[@sahhaf1234]

@5:14 1....K e7 is not the best approach for black. With 1..... Kf7 and black king counterattacking white's e5 pawn and from there attacking g2 and h2 pawns, black can draw...

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you for this nice observation! Your idea definitely offers more resistance, given how things have gone wrong for the black king in the line I have shown. It would be a great training game position to test your defensive skills with Black!

[@johndrake3472]

Everything about chess is hard - no need to watch the video to answer this.