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.
4,956,402+ codders enrolled
52 lessons52 challenges
- Beginner friendly
Hands-on interactive lessons
Audio narration on every lesson
Quizzes to test your knowledge
Free certificate of completion
Syllabus
Section 1
Basic MatesDedicated page
Start sectionStartExpandCollapseThe 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 sectionStartExpandCollapseWhat 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
2 left
You're Not Alone in This
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.
Prove Your Skills
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?
Why should I study endgames before openings?
What is the most important endgame idea to learn first?
How many lessons are in the endgame course?
Is this endgame course free?
Does the course cover rook endgames?
