Endgame Boot Camp – 30-Day Endgame Focus

This 30-day Endgame Boot Camp is for players who want a concentrated push on endgames. For one month, you will focus mainly on:

• King and pawn endgames
• Rook endings
• Basic minor piece endings
• Practical conversion of advantages
• Defending difficult endings

You can use this plan as a stand-alone project or as an intensive module within a longer training schedule (for example, your 3-month plan).

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🎯 Core Goals of the 30-Day Endgame Boot Camp

• Understand king activity and opposition
• Know key theoretical positions (Lucena, Philidor, basic K+P endings)
• Improve your ability to convert extra pawns
• Strengthen your technique in rook endgames
• Gain confidence in reaching and playing endgames

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🧱 Structure of the 30-Day Plan

• 20–40 minutes per day (most days)
• Split into:
  • Concept learning
  • Practical examples
  • Puzzle or drill work
• One weekly “lighter” day or rest day

The plan is divided into 4 weekly themes. You can adapt the intensity to your schedule, but try to keep a daily connection with endgame ideas.

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📅 Week 1 – King and Pawn Fundamentals

Focus: King activity, opposition, key squares, basic K+P vs K wins/draws.

• Days 1–2: Opposition (direct, distant, diagonal) and key squares
• Days 3–4: Square of the pawn, outside passed pawn, shouldering
• Day 5: Practical K+P puzzles (win/draw identification)
• Day 6: Set up 2–3 positions on a board and play them vs computer
• Day 7: Light review or rest day

The aim is to feel comfortable moving your king aggressively in simplified positions and recognising basic win/draw patterns.

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📅 Week 2 – Rook Endgame Essentials

Focus: Activity, cutting off the king, key win/draw techniques.

• Days 8–9: Rooks behind passed pawns, cutting off the king
• Day 10: Lucena position (building a bridge)
• Day 11: Philidor defence (drawing inferior rook endings)
• Day 12: Practical rook endgame puzzles
• Day 13: Play out simplified rook endings vs computer
• Day 14: Light recap or rest

Rook endgames are common, so recognising these themes pays off quickly.

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📅 Week 3 – Minor Piece & Simplified Endgames

Focus: Good knight vs bad bishop, opposite-coloured bishops, simple piece endings.

• Days 15–16: Good vs bad bishop, knight vs bishop concepts
• Day 17: Opposite-coloured bishop endings (drawing tendencies)
• Day 18: Knight and bishop vs pawns – typical ideas
• Day 19: Practical minor-piece endgame puzzles
• Day 20: Model game endings featuring minor piece technique
• Day 21: Light review or rest

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📅 Week 4 – Practical Conversion & Defence

Focus: Converting extra pawns, avoiding stalemate tricks, defending tough endings.

• Day 22: Converting an extra pawn in simplified positions
• Day 23: Technique for pushing passed pawns safely
• Day 24: Avoiding stalemate and perpetual check traps
• Day 25: Defensive techniques – active defence, fortress ideas
• Day 26: Practical “convert or hold” puzzle set
• Day 27: Play 1–2 slow games aiming for endgames
• Days 28–30: Review your notes and key positions, identify what to revisit later

By the end of Week 4, you should feel more confident both converting advantages and defending difficult endgames.

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🧠 Training Methods for Maximum Retention

• Set up positions on a physical or digital board, not just in your head
• Play winning positions vs a computer until you can win them consistently
• Save key diagrams and create a small “endgame notebook”
• Revisit the most important patterns multiple times over the month

Endgames reward repetition: seeing the same type of position several times helps it “stick” permanently in your chess memory.

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Using ChessWorld During the Boot Camp

• ChessWorld Online Chess Guide – aim for longer games to reach endgames
• Play vs Computer – practice converting winning endings
• Chess Training Tools Overview
• Endgame Training Plan Template – for a more general, non-boot-camp structure

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More Training Plan Templates

• 3-Month Structured Improvement Plan
• 7–14 Day Tournament Preparation Plan
• Blitz Improvement Plan – 2–4 Week Speed & Pattern Focus
• Back to Training Plan Templates

A 30-day endgame boot camp can permanently transform your results. Many games that used to drift into draws or losses will become confident wins once you build solid endgame technique.