How to convert a winning position

Every player knows the sick feeling of being completely winning — a whole piece up, a crushing attack — and then somehow drawing or losing. Converting an advantage is a separate skill from getting one, and it's very learnable.

Trade pieces, not pawns

When you're ahead in material, every trade of pieces makes your extra material more decisive — a king and an extra bishop is trivial; a queenside brawl with everything on is not. Swap the attackers off and head for a simple, winning endgame. Keep pawns on, though — you may need them to promote.

Kill counterplay before you cash in

The winning side's real enemy is the opponent's activity. Before grabbing more material, ask: what is my opponent hoping for? A passed pawn, a perpetual check, an open king? Spend a move to shut that door and the rest is easy.

Don't relax — stay accurate

Most conversions go wrong because the winning side stops calculating, assuming the game will win itself. It won't. Keep checking your opponent's replies right up to the handshake; a two-move blunder erases twenty good moves.

Up material? Simplify, smother the counterplay, and stay sharp to the end. That's how a winning position becomes a win.