Pawn endings are very concrete – even the tiniest change in the position generally alters the shape and outcome of the struggle. Here you can rarely get along on “general principles”.
The study of pawn endings chiefly boils down, not to the memorization of exact positions, but to the assimilation of standard techniques, which considerably eases our search for a solution and the calculation of variations.
Many pawn endings are clearly defined tempo-battles. In these endgames, speed is everything: which pawn will queen first, will the king come in time to stop the passed pawn or get to the other side of the board in time. And there are other pawn endings in which a maneuvering war predominates, and in which zugzwang assumes paramount importance.
In King and pawn endings, the difference of a single tempo is often the deciding factor. Having an extra move in a pawn race can mean victory or defeat Interestingly enough, there are some King and pawn endings in which you want your opponent to be on the move, so you want to lose a tempo!
The endgame poses very different problems and needs than the other phases of game. In the endgame, pawns and Kings take on enormous significance. Since the threat to the Kings is no longer real (the enemy limited army no longer poses any danger to his Majesty), King should be used actively in endgame.
Though White cannot mate with a King and lone pawn, he CAN promote his pawn to a Queen. As a result of this fact, every King and pawn vs. King situation is all about one thing: can the pawn promote?
Most players handle these endings with confidence, but some have trouble in less common positions. Very often the problem lies in the overuse of the theory of the opposition. While opposition is a very useful concept and its best field of application is Pawn endings , its value is sometimes overestimated.
The first question we have to answer in King + Pawn vs. King endings is this : Can the pawn promote without the aid of the king? Calculating the race between the pawn and the enemy king is enough to answer this question. This calculation is not complicated but, anyway, experience has taught us a simple way to solve the problem at a glance : the so-called 'rule of the square'.
Imagine a square having for one of its sides the path from the pawn to its queening square. (One easy way to construct the square is to draw a diagonal from the pawn to its promotion rank and then complete the square.) If the king stands within the square of the passed pawn, or can reach it on its move, the pawn can be stopped; otherwise, it will queen.
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