How's Your Theoretical Endgame Knowledge?

In the endgame, "theoretical" knowledge refers to the fundamental building blocks, including everything from mating with a queen to the Philidor position in R+P endings to defending R+B vs R. These are the endgames that you should know by heart.

Here, I'm providing you with a master list of all the theoretical knowledge that I know of, split up by what I think are appropriate rating categories. See how many of the bullet points you know and where your endgame skills are! There are a few puzzles at the end too, going from easy to hard.

Basic: Beginner up to 1200

• Two rook checkmate
• Queen checkmate
• Single rook checkmate
• K+P ending, basic opposition
• K+P ending, rule of the square
• K vs. K + rook pawn
• K + two pawns vs. King, one file separation
• Q vs. pawn on the seventh

Intermediate: 1200 to 1600

• K + g&h pawns vs. king
• K+P endings, intermediate opposition and triangulation techniques
• K+P endings, outside passed pawns and "Bahr's rule"
• K+P endings, winning with an active king (basic)
• K+P endings, shouldering (basic)
• Opposite colored bishops, file separation of passed pawns
• Rook vs. pawn
• Rook vs. two connected passed pawns
• R+P vs. R, Lucena position
• R+P vs. R, Philidor position
• R+P vs. R, Vancura position
• R+P vs. R, the frontal attack
• R+P endings, the umbrella technique
• Q vs. B mate

Moderate Advanced: 1600 to 2000

• Two bishop checkmate
• Bishop & Knight checkmate
• K+P endings, winning with an active king (advanced)
• K+P endings, shouldering (advanced)
• K+P endings, distant opposition and outflanking
• K+P endings, Reti's study
• Defending Knight vs. rook pawn
• Rook vs. Knight
• Rook vs. Bishop, critical positions
• N+P vs. knight, critical positions
• B+P vs. bishop, critical positions (i.e. "Centurini" Position)
• B+P vs. knight
• R+P vs. R, cutting off along the rank
• R+P vs. R, short side/long side
• R+P vs. R, queening a rook pawn
• R+ f and h-pawn vs. R
• R and 4 vs. R and 3 (same side)
• Q vs. R, Philidor position and other fundamentals
• Fortresses in Q vs. R+P
• Q vs. N mate

Side note - getting Q vs. N is highly unusual, but I actually got it once against an expert several years ago, and can confirm that it's not that easy to do in really bad time pressure (I successfully converted it).

Advanced: 2000 and up

• Two knights vs. pawn checkmate
• Two bishops vs. knight
• Rook and bishop vs. rook, Philidor position
• Rook and bishop vs. rook, general defense
• Rook and knight vs. rook, critical positions
• Q vs. R, general
• Q vs. R+P, breaking fortresses (advanced)
• Q+P vs. Q, fundamentals

Now here are the puzzles:

1 - Rating level: 800

White to move - win or draw?

2 - Rating level: 1000

Black to move - win or draw?

3 - Rating level: 1200

White to move - win or draw?

4 - Rating level: 1400

Does white win or draw?

5 - Rating level: 1600

White to move - can he draw?

6 - Rating level: 1800

White to move - win or draw?

7 - Rating level: 1950

White to move - win or draw?

8 - Rating level: 2100

Black to move - win or draw?

9 - Rating level: 2250

White to move - win or draw?

10 - Rating level: 2400

Black to move - win or draw?

11 - Rating level: 3600

I just have this one here for fun, because it's way over everybody's head. It is the longest possible win in the 7-piece tablebase, where black loses by force with perfect play in 297 moves! It's too difficult even for beasts like Stockfish.