chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

, two squares are corresponding squares (also known as relative squares, sister squares, or coordinate squares) if the occupation of one of these squares by a

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

requires the enemy king to move to the other square in order to hold the position. Corresponding squares exist in some

chess endgames In chess and other similar games, the endgame (or end game or ending) is the stage of the game when few pieces are left on the board. The line between middlegame and endgame is often not clear, and may occur gradually or with the quick exchange o ...

, usually ones that are mostly blocked. Usually, there are several groups of corresponding squares. In some cases, they indicate which square the defending king must move to in order to keep the opposing king away. In other cases, a maneuver by one king puts the other player in a situation where he cannot move to the corresponding square, so the first king is able to penetrate the position. The theory of corresponding squares is more general than

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comed ...

and is more useful in cluttered positions. In this article, all members of a pair of corresponding squares are labeled with the same number, i.e. 1, 2, etc.

Details

Corresponding squares are squares of reciprocal (or mutual)

zugzwang Zugzwang (German for "compulsion to move", ) is a situation found in chess and other turn-based games wherein one player is put at a disadvantage because of their obligation to make a move; a player is said to be "in zugzwang" when any legal move ...

. They occur most often in king and pawn endgames, especially with

triangulation In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by forming triangles to the point from known points. Applications In surveying Specifically in surveying, triangulation involves only angle me ...

, and mined squares. A square that White can move to corresponds to a square that Black can move to. If one player moves to such a square, the opponent moves to the corresponding square to put the opponent in zugzwang.

Examples

Example 1

One of the simplest and most important uses of corresponding squares is in this

king and pawn versus king endgame The chess endgame with a king and a pawn versus a king is one of the most important and fundamental endgames, other than the basic checkmates. It is an important endgame for chess players to master, since most other endgames have the potential of ...

. Assume that the black king is in front of the pawn and the white king is behind or to the side of the pawn. The black king is trying to block the white pawn and the white king is supporting its pawn. If the white king gets to any of the

key square In chess, particularly in endgames, a key square (also known as a ''critical square'') is a square such that if a player's king can occupy it, he can force some gain such as the promotion of a pawn or the capture of an opponent's pawn. Key squar ...

s (marked with "x"), he wins. Suppose the black king moves to the square labeled "1" near him (square c8). Then if the white king moves ''to'' the corresponding square (also labeled "1", square c6), he wins. Conversely, if the white king moves to the "1" square then the black king must move to the corresponding square to

draw Draw, drawing, draws, or drawn may refer to: Common uses * Draw (terrain), a terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between them * Drawing (manufacturing), a process where metal, glass, or plastic or anything ...

. Thus if both kings are on the "1" squares, the position is a reciprocal zugzwang. Note that the second player moving ''to'' one of the corresponding squares has the advantage. Being on a square when the opponent is not on the corresponding square is a disadvantage. The squares labeled "2" are similar corresponding squares. If the white king is on the ''d5'' square (the middle one labeled "3"), he is threatening to move to either the "1" square or the "2" square. Therefore, the black king must be in a position to move to either his "1" square or his "2" square in order to hold the draw, so he must be on one of his "3" squares. This makes the defense for Black clear: shift between the squares labeled "3" until the white king moves to his "1" or "2" square, and then go to the corresponding square, gaining the opposition. If the black king moves to the "1" or "2" squares under any other circumstances, the white king moves to the corresponding square, takes the opposition, the black king moves, and White advances the pawn and will promote it and win, with a basic

checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

. The ''c5'' and ''e5'' squares can also be label "3" squares, since if the white king is on one of them, the black king must be on one of his "3" squares to draw.

Example 2

In this example, ''

s'' (see

) are e1, e2, e3, and f3. If the black king gets to any of those squares, Black wins. The job of the white king is to keep the black king off those squares. One might think that Black has the advantage, since he has the

. White can defend the two key squares of e3 and f3 by oscillating between e2 and f2. White's defense is simple if he observes the corresponding squares: : 1. Kf2! (keeping the black king off e3 and f3) : 1... Kd3 : 2. Kf3! moving to the corresponding square : 2... Kd2 : 3. Kf2! Kd1 : 4. Kf1! Each time the black king moves to a numbered square, the white king moves to the corresponding square.

Example 3 (separated key squares)

In this position, the squares marked with "x" are key squares and the e1 square is a "5" for White. If White occupies any of the key squares, he wins. With separated key squares, the shortest path connecting them is significant. If White is to move in this position, he wins by seizing a key square by moving to e2 or f2. If Black is to move, he draws by moving to his "5" square. Black maintains the draw by always moving to the square corresponding to the one occupied by the white king.

Example 4 (triangulation)

In this position, e2, e3, and d4 are key squares. If the white king can reach any of them, White wins. The black king cannot move out of the "square" of White's d-pawn (see

), otherwise it will promote. The square c3 is adjacent to d4 and the "1" square the White king is on, so it is numbered "2". Therefore, e3 is "2" for Black. White threatens to move to c2, so this is labeled "3". Since Black must be able to move to "1" and "2", f4 is his corresponding "3" square. If the White king is on b2 or b3, he is threatening to move to "2" or to "3", so those are also "1" squares for him. White has more corresponding squares, so he can outmaneuver Black to win. :1. Kc2 Kf4 :2. Kb3 Kf3 :3. Kb2 Kf4 The black king must leave his "1" square, and has no corresponding "1" square to which to move. :4. Kc2! Kf3 The white king moved to his "3" square but the black king is on his "3" square, so he cannot move to "3". White has used

. :5. Kd2 Back to the starting position, but with Black to move. :5... Kf4 Black is on his "1" square, so cannot move to a "1" square. :6. Ke2! White occupies a key square and can support the advance of his pawn until he is able to win the black pawn, e.g.: 6... Kf5 7. Ke3 Ke5 8. d4+ Kd5 9. Kd3 Kd6 10. Ke4 Ke6 11. d5+ Kd6 12. Kd4 Kd7 13. Kc5.

Lasker–Reichhelm position

One of the most famous and complicated positions solved with the method of corresponding squares is this

endgame study In the game of chess, an endgame study, or just study, is a composed position—that is, one that has been made up rather than played in an actual game—presented as a sort of puzzle, in which the aim of the solver is to find the essentially uniqu ...

composed by

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Emanuel Lasker Emanuel Lasker (; December 24, 1868 – January 11, 1941) was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years, from 1894 to 1921, the longest reign of any officially recognised World Chess Champ ...

and Gustavus Charles Reichhelm in 1901. It is described in the 1932 treatise ''L'opposition et cases conjuguées sont réconciliées'' (Opposition and Sister Squares are Reconciled), by

Vitaly Halberstadt Vitaly Halberstadt (20 March 1903, Odessa – 25 October 1967, Paris) was a French chess player, theorist, tactician, problemist, and, above all, a noted endgame study composer. Born in Odessa, in the Kherson Governorate of the Russian Empire (pre ...

and

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...

. :1. Kb1 (next move he can choose from 3,4 or 5 ) Kb7 (Black chooses 3) :2. Kc1 (since black chose 3 in last move) Kc7 (Black chooses 4) :3. Kd1 (since black chose 4 in last move, now white can choose between 3,4,5,7) Kd8 (next move he can choose from 2,4,7,8) :4. Kc2 (he chooses 5, because black can't choose 5 now) Kc8 (he chose 4) :5. Kd2 (chooses 4 same as black's move) Kd7 (he chooses 7) :6. Kc3 (he chooses 3, since black can't come to 3) Kc7 (he chose 2) :7. Kd3 (same as black's last move) Kb6 :''(if 7. ...Ka6 8. Ke3 and then ultimately grabbing the f5 pawn)'' :8. Ke3 and White wins by penetrating on the . Each of White's first seven moves are the only one that wins.

References

Bibliography * * *{{Citation , last=Müller, first=Karsten, authorlink=Karsten Müller , last2=Lamprecht, first2=Frank, authorlink2=Frank Lamprecht , year=2007 , title=Secrets of Pawn Endings , publisher=

Gambit Publications {{Infobox publisher , name = Gambit Publications , image = , caption = , parent = , status = , traded_as = , predecessor = , founded = , founder = John Nunn, Murray Chandler, and Graham B ...

, isbn= 978-1-904600-88-6

External links

* Youtube videos by NM Caleb Denby from Saint Louis Chess Club's Youtube channel
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3
Chess terminology Chess tactics Chess endgames Chess theory