Endgames
King and pawn endgames are the foundation of all endgame play. Get them right and you convert won games; get them wrong and half points slip away.
In the endgame the king stops hiding and starts working. An active king that marches toward the centre and the enemy pawns is often worth more than any single pawn.
When the two kings face each other on the same file (or rank) with one square between them, the player who does not have to move holds the opposition. Forcing your opponent's king to give way is how you make progress. Having the opposition in a king-and-pawn ending is frequently the difference between a win and a draw.
For a single pawn, there are squares your king must reach to guarantee promotion. As a rule of thumb, if your king can get in front of its pawn with a clear square between them, you usually win. For pawns that have not crossed the middle of the board, the key squares are two ranks ahead of the pawn.
To check if a lone king can catch a runaway passed pawn: imagine a square whose side runs from the pawn to its promotion square. If the defending king can step into that square on its move, it catches the pawn; if not, the pawn queens.
These ideas scale up: rook endgames, the Lucena and Philidor positions, and more build on king activity and opposition. Browse the endgame encyclopedia.
When the kings stand on the same line with one square between them, the side NOT to move 'has the opposition' and can force the other king to give ground. It's the key technique in king and pawn endings.
No. It depends on whether the stronger side can reach the key squares / gain the opposition. Rook pawns (a- and h-pawns) are often only a draw because the king gets stuck in the corner.