What should you trade going into an endgame?
These answers restate the rules implemented by our open-source engine, which follows the WXF laws and is regression-tested against the official 110-diagram repetition casebook. Where an answer refers to a specific position, that position lives on the linked reference page, where the build verifies it against the engine before publishing.
Direct answer
Three rules cover most of it. Trade your cannon for their horse, because one is fading and the other improving. Keep at least one advisor if your winning piece is a cannon — the advisor is its screen. And never trade a crossed soldier for an uncrossed one; they are not the same piece.
Count the defence, separately
Material equality with a broken defensive structure is often a loss, and it will not show up in the totals. Count advisors and elephants as their own category before deciding whether a simplification is good for you.
Trade when you are defending
If you are under attack, trading is the most reliable defence there is — two attackers become one, and one attacker achieves nothing. Giving up a soldier to trade a chariot is frequently correct even though it looks like a concession.
Related questions
Should I trade into a chariot endgame?
Only if your defence is intact — a lone chariot against a full defence draws, which may be exactly what you want or exactly what you do not.
Is trading queens... I mean chariots, simplifying?
Yes, and it usually favours the defender, because attacks need two pieces.
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