Chess Patterns   ❯   King Techniques   ❯   Shouldering

  • Shouldering strategy card with definition, diagram and tips - front
  • Shouldering strategy card with definition, diagram and tips - back
  • Shouldering chess icon
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Shouldering

Shouldering

In chess, Shouldering is a technique used in endgames where one King uses its position to keep the opposing King away from important squares or key areas of the board. The goal is usually to create space for one's own King to better advance or to escort a pawn to promotion.

In the diagram above, White wants to capture Black's h-pawn and thus open the path for their own pawn. Black aims at blocking White's King in the corner, preventing the pawn's promotion. To win, White needs to keep Black's King at a distance as much as possible. White does so with the shouldering technique: 1.Ke5 Kg4 2.Kf6 Kh5 3.Kg7 Kg5 4.Kxh7 Kf6 5.Kg8 and the pawn promotes.

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Master the Shouldering Technique

When we started adding a playful touch to chess learning, we looked through thousands of videos and hundreds of books to find the best resources out there. Here's our curated selection of the best content we encountered on the Shouldering technique. We also included some smaller creators who are growing fast and we believe deserve your attention. Check out these resources if you want to master this important endgame technique.

 
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