Conversion, against resistance

Sparring

You are dropped into an endgame from a real game, a pawn or two up, with the move. No lesson and no script: play it out against an opponent set to your own strength. Every move you make gets a verdict the moment it lands, and a mistake or a blunder comes straight back with the refutation drawn on the board, so you see what it would have cost before you play on.

Queen endings

Queens still on, and one side a little better. Checks are everywhere, so conversion is about shelter for your own king as much as pressure on theirs.

22 positions

Rook endings

The most common ending there is, and the one most often thrown away. Activity beats material here more than anywhere else on the board.

31 positions

Minor-piece endings

Bishops and knights, where the right trade decides the game and the wrong one draws it.

35 positions

Pawn endings

No pieces left, so nothing is approximate: every tempo either wins the game or loses half a point.

29 positions

Every position came out of a real game and was checked before it landed here: the side you play is genuinely better, the edge is still there after best play from both sides, and the position is not already decided. Some of them are proved wins, confirmed by the tablebase or by the engine converting them against itself. Most are the commoner and more useful thing: an advantage that perfect defence would hold, and your opponent is not perfect.