General techniques

A king that contributes usefully by attacking, defending, supporting pawns, or controlling important squares.

A relationship between the kings that uses their spacing and the move order to make one king yield an important square.

A position in which the kings share a horizontal row or vertical column with exactly one empty square between them.

A relationship in which aligned kings are separated by an odd number of empty squares greater than one.

A relationship in which the kings stand on the same diagonal with one empty square between them.

A square that lets the attacking king force promotion in a king-and-pawn versus king ending when it is occupied.

A square whose occupation forces a concrete goal, such as promoting a pawn or winning material.

Paired squares where occupying one requires a precise king response on the other to preserve the position.

A king maneuver that goes around the opposing king to penetrate from the side or reach a decisive square.

A king technique that controls the opposing king's route and forces it to take a longer path.

A saved waiting move, usually a pawn move, that transfers the critical obligation to move to the opponent.

A maneuver that returns to an equivalent position with the move transferred to the opponent.

A position in which every legal move makes the situation worse for the player whose turn it is.

A position in which either side would be disadvantaged if it were that side's turn to move.

A pair of king squares where entering first allows a matching reply that creates zugzwang or decisive penetration.

A reciprocal-zugzwang pawn position where the player to move must abandon a pawn and loses.

A stable defensive setup where a side with fewer or less valuable pieces prevents all decisive progress.

A defensive idea that forces or threatens stalemate to save a position that would otherwise be lost.