Learn Chess Endgames
A free, interactive endgame course. Every lesson puts a real endgame position on the board and asks you to play it out against a scripted opponent: first the checkmates you must be able to force in your sleep, then king and pawn endings, where a single tempo decides the game.
52 lessons52 challenges
- Beginner friendly
Hands-on interactive lessons
Audio narration on every lesson
Free certificate of completion
Syllabus
Section 1
Basic MatesDedicated page
Start sectionStartThe wins you must never fail to deliver: two heavy pieces, king and queen, king and rook, a queen with a helper, the two bishops - and the stalemate alarm that must ring before every one of them.The Staircase
5 lessons5King and Queen
5 lessons5King and Rook
5 lessons5Queen and a Helper
4 lessons4Stalemate Alert
4 lessons4Two Bishops
3 lessons3Section 2
The King and the PawnDedicated page
Start sectionStartWhat can mate and what cannot, the king as a fighting piece, the opposition, the rule of the square, key squares - and why a rook pawn so often draws.What Can Mate
4 lessons4The King Steps Up
4 lessons4Opposition
6 lessons6The Rule of the Square
4 lessons4Key Squares
4 lessons4Rook Pawns Draw
4 lessons4
Learn by Playing
See every idea on a real board. Each lesson shows you the position, explains what is happening on it, then asks you a question about it.
Every game starts here. The two arrows are the classical first moves.
Build Your Chess Streak
Stay consistent and watch your progress grow! Track your daily chess habit, protect your streak with freeze days, and earn rewards for showing up every day.
12 days streak
Return tomorrow to keep your streak!
January 2026
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Double or Nothing
Day 5 of 7
Streak Freeze
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You're Not Alone
Compete on global leaderboards, invite friends to earn rewards, and celebrate each other's wins. Chess is better with friends!
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Promotion zoneEvery way to learn
Read, listen, test yourself, or look up anything you've already covered. Every lesson meets you where you are.
The chessboard is a grid of 64 squares, 32 light and 32 dark, in a pattern where the colors always alternate.
Set it up so that each player has a light square in their bottom-right corner.
Files run up the board and ranks run across it. Together they give every square its own name.
Earn a Certificate
Earn a certificate when you complete the course. Add it to your LinkedIn profile to show how far your chess has come.
Certificate of Completion
Chess Fundamentals
Add to LinkedInWhy learn endgames with Coddy
- You play every ending out. Reading that the king belongs in front of the pawn is one thing; walking it there against a defender who steps into the opposition is what makes it stick. Every lesson ends on the board, not on a paragraph.
- Level-ordered, the way the endgame books are. Basic mates come first because a won game is only won once you can deliver mate, then king and pawn endings because every other ending eventually reduces to one. Later sections add the rook, minor-piece and queen endings.
- The ideas are named and drilled. The staircase, the box, the opposition, the rule of the square, key squares, the rook-pawn draw: each gets its own lesson, its own puzzles, and a recap that asks you to use it without a hint.
- The stalemate alarm rings before every mate. Beginners throw away more won endings to stalemate than to anything else, so the course teaches you to hear the alarm - the moment the defending king has no moves left - before you ever learn the mating pattern.
Frequently asked questions about chess endgames
What is a chess endgame?
The endgame is the last phase of a game, when most pieces have been traded and the kings can leave their shelter and fight. With few pieces left, exact technique matters more than anywhere else: a single tempo, or which square the king stands on, decides whether a position is a win or a draw.
Why should I study endgames before openings?
Because endgame knowledge tells you what you are aiming for. Knowing that a king and pawn against a king wins when your king reaches a key square changes how you play the middlegame and even which trades you accept. Most beginner games are decided in the endgame anyway - by someone converting an extra piece, or failing to.
What is the most important endgame idea to learn first?
The basic checkmates - king and queen, king and rook, two rooks - and, right after them, the opposition in king and pawn endings. The mates turn material into a result; the opposition is the one idea that every pawn ending comes back to. Both are the first two sections of this course.
How many lessons are in the endgame course?
The two sections available today hold 52 lessons, every one with a board task and most chapters closing with a puzzle set. More sections - rook endings, minor-piece endings, queen endings - are being added in the same level-ordered way.
Is this endgame course free?
Yes. Every lesson, board and puzzle set is free, and you can start the first lesson without an account. Progress, streaks and the section certificates work as they do everywhere on Coddy.
Does the course cover rook endgames?
Not yet. The published sections are Basic Mates and The King and the Pawn; rook endings (the Lucena and Philidor positions, the active rook, cutting the king off) are the next section in the plan, followed by minor-piece and queen endings.
