Endgames are where rating points hide. Beginners avoid them because they seem dry, but knowing a few key positions will convert games you currently throw away into wins. You do not need to study hundreds of them. Master these five and you will already be ahead of most players at your level.
1. King and pawn vs king (the opposition)
This is the foundation. When you have a single pawn and a king against a lone king, whether you win or draw comes down to a concept called the opposition: putting your king directly in front of the enemy king with one square between them, forcing it to give way. Learn this one position cold. It decides countless games.
2. The square of the pawn
Can a lone king catch a running passed pawn before it promotes? There is a trick so you do not have to calculate move by move: imagine a square with the pawn and its promotion square as one edge. If the enemy king can step into that square, it catches the pawn. If not, the pawn queens. This saves you in races.
3. King and queen vs king (checkmate)
You will get queen endings constantly, so you must be able to checkmate with a queen without stalemating. The method: use your queen to box the enemy king toward an edge, bring your own king up to support, and deliver mate. The one thing to watch for is stalemate when the enemy king has no legal move but is not in check. Always leave it an escape square until your king arrives.
4. King and rook vs king (checkmate)
The other mate you must know. The rook cuts off a rank or file, and your king marches up to squeeze the enemy king to the edge. It feels awkward at first, but after practicing it a few times it becomes automatic.
5. Basic rook endgames (the Lucena and Philidor)
Rook endgames are the most common endgame in real games, and the two positions worth knowing by name are the Lucena (a technique to win when you have an extra pawn) and the Philidor (a technique to hold a draw when you are down a pawn). Even a rough understanding of these will save and win you a lot of games.
How to actually learn them
Do not just read about endgames, practice them. Set up each position against the computer or a friend and play it until it is second nature. Fifteen minutes a week here pays off faster than almost anything else in chess.
Endgames are one piece of the bigger improvement plan we lay out in How to Improve Your Chess Rating. If you want a coach to drill these with you and point out exactly where you are going wrong, find a chess coach on EloChaser, message them free, and get your first lessons free.