@ passiffity
Pardon me. As this is the rook endings sub-forum I wanted to take a rook ending and I have only finished the first round of pawn endings. An small infection made me sleep very much each day.
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First rule: Take your time for each position.
Second rule: Elaborate first yourself, then check, then make corrections.
Third rule: Build phrases, that help you find solutions in similar positions.
Why?
Rule 1 and 2 - Our mind keeps better what we worked about. Simple reading is fast forgetting.
Rule 2 - We have several channels for storing material. 75% till 80% use images. (I belong to the minority). Some use acoustical information, some kinesthetic information, some taste and smell. So it is useful to find your way of playing through the lines and using your personal repertoire of memorizing and understanding.
Rule 3 - We organize our knowledge by features and rules about it. If you follow the example, you will probably instantly see the point of verbalizing therefore. As I explain this for the first time this way I may go terribly wrong with this idea. So don't be shy with asking questions.
Look at this position. Maybe you know it. Then work out the deciding line with white to move. Then build a phrase when it is won or lost.
Work out the second line with black to move. What makes the difference?
White to move:
1. Rg5 a4 2.Kg7 a3 3.Rg3 a2 4.Ra3 and wins.
My sentences: Rg5 cuts off the king from the pawn. So white can approach the king or attack the black pawn if it advances.
Black to move:
1. .. Kb5 2.Rg4 a4 3.Kg7 a3 4.Kf6 (4.Rg3 Kb4 =) a2 5.Rg1 Kb4 6.Ke5 Kb3 7.Kd4 Kb2=
My sentence: If the black king can protect the progressing pawn and is not disturbed by the white king this ends in a draw.
Then I build a spreadsheet with categories. These are:
- Rook against single pawn
- Active king
- Absperrung (verbal translation blockade - but "Blockade" means something else in german)
At the moment I try out working with a mind map too, ordering the categories to endings. This is experimental so I don't know if this works.
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Maybe it's too much adoo for the younger ones. As I'm in the 60th now I need more work about a position to really understand, what's going on.
Edit: The features of the starting position here are rook against pawn. King far away.