Chess lessons › Chess endgames
The distant opposition
Kings far apart on one file: an odd number of squares between, with the other side to move, is the opposition.
The idea
Kings on one file, an odd number of squares between, other to move.
- Six squares between the kings, and it is White’s move.
- Ke2 leaves five squares between, with Black to move.
- Kd2 instead lets Black answer Kd8 and take the opposition.
In a game: Kings on one file far apart: count the squares between and see whose move it is.
How the lesson begins
All four pawns are blocked, so only the kings can move. The king that gets past the other one will win a pawn.
You know the opposition: the kings on one file with one square between them, and the side to move must give way. The same works from further away. Kings on one file with three or five squares between them, and the other side to move, is the distant opposition. Here there are six squares between e1 and e8, and it is White’s move.
Find the move
Take the distant opposition.
A hint
Stay on the e-file and make the number of squares between the kings odd.
Show the answer
1. Ke2
Ke2 leaves five squares between the kings, e3 to e7, and it is Black’s move. White has the distant opposition. It is the only move that wins: Kd2 and Kf2 only draw, and Kd1 and Kf1 even lose.
In numbers
Positions to practise
120 positions in the study, every result proved by the tablebase: 41 are wins, 59 draws and 20 losses for the side to move, with best play on both sides.