The active king and opposition
Once the queens and most pieces have been exchanged, the king becomes a helper for its pawns. It occupies useful squares, obstructs the opponent and supports advancement. Simply approaching the opposing king is not enough, though: whose turn it is matters. Opposition helps explain who must give way. Replay the short example on the board below.
In this article
Bring your king into play
The king usually needs shelter in the opening. In a pawn ending, it often benefits from moving towards the centre and its passed pawn. First check for checks and possible pawn losses. Activity helps when the king controls useful squares, rather than merely moving forwards. Kings cannot stand next to each other: each controls the neighbouring squares.
Who holds the opposition?
In direct opposition, the kings face each other on a file or rank with one empty square between them. Here the white king is on e4 and the black king on e6, separated by e5. Black is to move, so White holds the opposition: the black king must change its position. Changing the turn also changes this confrontation.
Who holds the opposition?
The white king moves from e4 to f5, going around its opponent on a safe square.
Replay the board example
After e6–d6, White replies e4–f5. The square f5 is available because the black king on d6 does not attack it. The white king goes around its opponent on the right, while the pawn on e3 stays put. This is one legal line, not Black's only reply. Before the next step, check the distance between the kings and threats to the pawn again.
- e6d6
- e4f5
Check your plan before moving
Ask yourself whose turn it is, which squares the opposing king covers and whether the pawn needs to move now. A spare pawn move can sometimes pass the turn to the opponent, but it can also spoil the position. Opposition alone does not guarantee a win: the pawn's position and special cases near the edge matter. Open the king-and-pawn exercise and find a useful king move.
Rules and sources
Use these links to check the rules and explore the topic further.