Chess Quotes: Endgame

Every pawn is a potential Queen. ~ chess quote by Mason

It cannot be too greatly emphasized that the most important role in pawn endings is played by the king.  ~ chess quote by Siegbert Tarrasch

The Passed Pawn is a criminal, who should be kept under lock and key. Mild measures, such as police surveillance, are not sufficient. ~ chess quote by Nimzovich

Every pawn is a potential Queen. ~ chess quote by Mason

It cannot be too greatly emphasized that the most important role in pawn endings is played by the king.  ~ chess quote by Siegbert Tarrasch

The Passed Pawn is a criminal, who should be kept under lock and key. Mild measures, such as police surveillance, are not sufficient. ~ chess quote by Nimzovich

Capablanca did not apply himself to opening theory (in which he never, therefore, achieved much), but delved deeply into the study of end-games and other simple positions which respond to technique rather than to imagination.  ~ chess quote by  Max Euwe

The king is a strong piece – use it! ~ chess quote by Rueben Fine

A Passed Pawn increases in strength as the number of pieces on the board diminishes. ~ chess quote by Capablanca

Any material change in a position must come about by mate, a capture, or a Pawn – promotion. ~ chess quote by Purdy

Repeating moves in an ending can be very useful. Apart from the obvious gain of time on the clock, one notices that the side with the advantage gains psychological benefit. ~ chess quote by Sergey Belavenets

A player can sometimes afford the luxury of an inaccurate move, or even a definite error, in the opening or middlegame without necessarily obtaining a lost position. In the endgame … an error can be decisive, and we are rarely presented with a second chance. ~ chess quote by Paul Keres

The great mobility of the King forms one of the chief characteristics of all endgame strategy. In the middlegame, the King is a mere ‘super’, in the endgame on the other hand – on of the ‘principals’. We must, therefore, develop him, bring him nearer to the fighting line.  ~ chess quote by Aaron Nimzowitsch

In the ending the king is a powerful piece for assisting his own pawns or stopping the adverse pawns. ~ chess quote by  Wilhelm Steinitz

Endings of one rook and pawns are the most common sort of endings arising on the chess board. Yet though they do occur so often, few have mastered them thoroughly. They are often of a very difficult nature, and sometimes while apparently very simple they are in reality extremely intricate. ~ chess quote by Jose Capablanca

The best way to learn endings, as well as openings, is from the games of the masters. ~ chess quote by Jose Capablanca

The king, which during the opening and middlegame stage is often a burden because it has to be defended, becomes in the endgame a very important and aggressive piece, and the beginner should realize this, and utilize his king as much as possible. ~ chess quote by Jose Capablanca

I detest the endgame. A well-played game should be practically decided in the middlegame. ~ chess quote by David Janowski

In order to improve your game, you must study the endgame before everything else. For whereas the endings can be studied and mastered by themselves, the middle game and end game must be studied in relation to the end game.  ~ chess quote by  Jose Capablanca

Ninety percent of the book variations have no great value because either they contain mistakes or they are based on fallacious assumptions; just forget about the openings and spend all that time on the endings. ~ chess quote by Jose Capablanca

It is a well-known phenomenon that the same amateur who can conduct the middle game quite creditably, is usually perfectly helpless in the end game. One of the principal requisites of good chess is the ability to treat both the middle and end game equally well.  ~ chess quote by  Aaron Nimzowitsch

Even the best grandmasters in the world have had to work hard to acquire the technique of rook endings. ~ chess quote by Paul Keres

To improve at chess you should in the first instance study the endgame. ~ chess quote by Jose Capablanca

Agreeing to draws in the middlegame, equal or otherwise, deprives you of the opportunity to practice playing endgames, and the endgame is probably where you need the most practice. ~ chess quote by Pal Benko

It often happens that a player is so fond of his advantageous position that he is reluctant to transpose to a winning endgame. ~ chess quote by Samuel Reshevsky

If you are weak in the endgame, you must spend more time analyzing studies; in your training games you must aim at transposing to endgames, which will help you to acquire the requisite experience. ~ chess quote by Mikhail Botvinnik

In a rook and pawn ending, the rook must be used aggressively. It must either attack enemy pawns, or give active support to the advance of one of its own pawns to the queening square.  ~ chess quote by Siegbert Tarrasch

The amount of points that can be gained (and saved) by correct endgame play is enormous, yet often underestimated by youngsters and amateurs. ~ chess quote by Edmar Mednis

After a bad opening, there is hope for the middle game. After a bad middle game, there is hope for the endgame. But once you are in the endgame, the moment of truth has arrived. ~ chess quote by Edmar Mednis

Even in the heat of a middlegame battle the master still has to bear in mind the outlines of a possible future ending. ~ chess quote by David Bronstein

Lack of proper endgame technique allows many players to escape from lost positions, even without any spectacular play on their part. ~ chess quote by Leonid Shamkovich

I always urge players to study composed problems and endgames. ~ chess quote by Pal Benko

A knight ending is really a pawn ending. ~ chess quote by Mikhail Botvinnik

Do not permit yourself to fall in love with the end-game play to the exclusion of entire games. It is well to have the whole story of how it happened; the complete play, not the denouement only. Do not embrace the rag-time and vaudeville of chess. ~ chess quote by Emanuel Lasker

The business of the endgame is maneuvring to control critical squares, advancing or blockading passed pawns, preparing a breakthrough by the king, or exploiting the subtle superiority of one piece over another. ~ chess quote by Pal Benko

Patience is the most valuable trait of the endgame player. ~ chess quote by Pal Benko

In the endgame, the most common errors, besides those resulting from ignorance of theory, are caused by either impatience, complacency, exhaustion, or all of the above. ~ chess quote by Pal Benko

No one has ever played these endgames with such elegant ease as Capablanca. ~ chess quote by Richard Reti

When I was preparing for one term’s work in the Botvinnik school I had to spend a lot of time on king and pawn endings. So when I came to a tricky position in my own games I knew the winning method. ~ chess quote by Garry Kasparov

The endgame is an arena in which miraculous escapes are not uncommon. ~ chess quote by Leonid Shamkovich

You will already have noticed how often Capablanca repeated moves, often returning to positions which he had had before. This is not lack of decisiveness or slowness, but the employment of a basic endgame principle which is ‘Do not hurry’. ~ chess quote by Alexander Kotov

In the middlegame, the king is merely an extra, but in the endgame, he is one of the star actors.  ~ chess quote by Aaron Nimzowitsch

In a rook and pawn ending, the rook must be used aggressively. It must either attack enemy pawns or give active support to the advance of one of its own pawns to the queening square.  ~ chess quote by Siegbert Tarrasch

I always urge players to study composed problems and endgames. ~ chess quote by Pal Benko

If you study the classic examples of endgame play you will see how the king was brought up as soon as possible even though there seemed no particular hurry at the time. ~ chess quote by Alexander Kotov

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Updated 04.08.2023

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