Typical Mistakes in Practical Endgames + PGN December 23, 2025

The Gap Between Theory and Practice: GM Papaioannou on Practical Endgame Mistakes

Every chess player knows the frustration: you’ve studied theoretical endgames, memorized key positions, understand the principles—yet over the board, critical half-points slip away. The gap between endgame knowledge and endgame performance remains one of chess’s persistent challenges. GM Ioannis Papaioannou addresses this directly in Typical Mistakes in Practical Endgames, a course born from observation of what strong players actually do wrong when the position simplifies, not just what textbooks say they should do right.

The Practical Endgame Problem

Papaioannou identifies patterns that experienced players will recognize uncomfortably: defending without a plan, making moves from nervous energy rather than calculation, giving checks without purpose. These aren’t knowledge gaps—they’re execution failures under practical conditions. The course examines positions where theory alone doesn’t guide you, where the tension between playing for a win and settling for a draw creates real decision-making pressure. Drawing on examples from modern practice (including Magnus Carlsen’s defensive technique), Papaioannou demonstrates that even lost positions can be held, and equal positions can be converted, when you recognize the specific mistake patterns that arise.

The approach emphasizes concepts that sound obvious but prove difficult over the board: maintaining a plan throughout defense, identifying when exchanges lead to worse rather than simpler positions, recognizing when calculation matters more than general principles, and understanding which result you’re actually playing for. Each lesson builds around positions where strong players go wrong predictably—not due to ignorance, but due to practical misconceptions about what the position requires.

Course Structure and Technical Details

The course delivers 6 hours of video instruction across 4 lessons, with 40 exercises designed around the mistake patterns discussed. Video content is complemented by PGN files available in English, German, French, and Spanish, ensuring accessibility for international study.

This material continues Papaioannou’s Strategy Wednesday Series, which has explored practical middlegame and transitional themes. Previous installments include Pawn Majorities – From the Opening to the Endgame and Preventing and Creating Counterplay. While those courses examined structural and dynamic principles, this endgame-focused study addresses the psychological and practical aspects of converting understanding into results.

Why This Course Exists

The lesson structure reveals Papaioannou’s diagnostic approach: Part 1 establishes the core mistake patterns (planless defense, purposeless checks, nervous moves), Part 2 examines various practical endgame types, Part 3 focuses on planning and exchange decisions, and Part 4 emphasizes the role of calculation and active play when you should be pressing for the win. The progression moves from recognizing mistakes to understanding when calculation overrides principles, when activity matters more than material, and when persistence creates winning chances from equal positions.

For players who know endgame theory but struggle to apply it under time pressure, or who find themselves drawing won positions and losing drawn ones, Papaioannou offers something more valuable than new theoretical knowledge—he provides recognition of what you’re actually doing wrong when it matters.