Space advantage is not discussed very often in connection with King and pawn endgames. You know about Space advantage in the middlegame, where it gives more room for your pieces to maneuver. But in the endgame, and especially in pawn endgames, how could it matter that much ?

Simple really, having a space advantage means that your remote passed pawn will get stronger, or reaching key squares more easily. A good example of space advantage we have already seen together is also pawn breaks: they work better if your pawns are advanced. Another one is simply to have the King on the sixth rank in a pawn endgame.

But first of all I would like to clarify what I mean by space advantage.

In the next few positions, we will see how the space advantage wins the game, even in equal-looking positions.

Yet, if you change the black King’s position to a less favorable one, the outcome is completely different.

That previous example was arguably a bit of a particular case. White was only winning because of that (miraculous ?) checkmate possibility, yet it showed very well how the space advantage can change the nature of a position.

How Space Advantage Matters

The next example, though, features a symmetrical, innocuous-looking position, and it is only the space advantage that gives White some possibilities.

Check out how to win a pawn endgame with a remote passed pawn. Now what happens on Black’s other defense ?