The Opposition!

Do you know what “opposition” means in chess? It’s a tricky concept that can help you win or draw games. Watch this video to master it!

The most simple form of “opposition” occurs when the kings face each other with only one square in between them. In order to win this position, White must use the opposition.

White has just taken the opposition. It is Black’s move, and its king must now step to the side, allowing the white king to advance. If instead White went 1.Kd4 then Black would obtain the opposition by 1…Kd6! when the black king could continuously block the white king from advancing.

The opposition makes use of Zugzwang. Black would like to leave the king on e6, but that is impossible because he must move.
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Because the black king was in opposition, he had to choose a side and step away. In doing so, a square will ALWAYS be made available to YOUR king. Which square is that for White now?

Once the black king steps aside, the white king can now “outflank” him – i.e. go around, in order to gain space. Here White is playing offense and doesn’t just want a standoff!

Moving up by 2…Kd5 would not help Black to stop the pawn, which would advance with 3.e4+.
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You’ve seen white use the opposition to gain a little ground, but now White continues to use it (patiently keeping the pawn at home) to gain even more ground!

As before, Black must step to one side or the other. If instead 3.e4?? Black would play 3…Kf7, obtaining the opposition. Then White wouldn’t be able to advance his king anymore and it would be a draw.

Of course, going backwards would only allow the white king to advance again.
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What square did Black give up to the white king this time? Can you guess it before hitting continue?

Again White “outflanks” the black king.

Black tries to regain the spot in front of the pawn. If instead 4…Kf6 5.e4, Black would not be in a position to stop the pawn.
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White’s journey up the board, using opposition as the road to follow, is almost complete. The king should almost always reach this next square before pushing the pawn.

Again, the king takes the opposition.

Note that this ending can only be won with the use of Zugzwang. If Black could skip turns, the king would sit on e8, never moving, and White could never get through.
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Ok, ok… now the pawn can play too!

The time has come to catch up with the pawn, since the white king has reached the sixth rank. It is very important in this ending not to move the pawn too soon.

The pawn can take another turn.

White timed it correctly so that when the pawn reached this square, it would have the opposition and the black king would have to step to the side.

Here we see the value of the opposition clearly – because it is Black’s move, his king must step to one or the other side, allowing the white king to advance.
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No more free moves for you. You’ve seen how the opposition works, now take the square the black king gave the white king and win the game!

And now the final outflanking. The white king takes control of the e6-, e7-, and e8-squares, ensuring the promotion of the pawn. The white pawn will advance, protected the entire time and eventually become a queen.

Topic 2:

If this position were Black’s move, then its king must step aside by 1…Kd8, allowing 2.d7 Kc7 3.Ke7, winning. On the other hand, if it is White’s move…

If it is White’s move, there is not much it can do except advancing the pawn. Retreating the king instead will allow 1…Kd7, and the kings will just go around in circles, for instance 1.Ke5 Kd7 2.Kd5 Kd8! (Black should always go straight back) 3.Kc6 Kc8!, keeping the opposition.

Black must block the pawn, of course.
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All moves lead to draws here. The point of this question / position is to provide further instruction on why White must really understand the points from the last position.

Other moves lose the pawn, leading to a draw. But this move is stalemate! So here we can see that the result of the game depends exactly on who has the opposition – neither side wants it to be his move!