Why is it so hard to win a won position? Why is finishing off your opponent so tricky? This is a problem that I have been encountering a lot recently: reaching a good position, a strong advantage, often a winning advantage, only to let that advantage slip. In the best cases, I just made the win a bit harder – kind of having to win twice, but in some cases, I have lost the game.

I have recently learned, that the skill of converting an advantage into a win is known as “realisation”. To be good at realisation, there are a few useful tips to bear in mind:

Firstly, there’s the psychological part. It is common to relax a little once you have an advantage, while your opponent, if anything, is fighting for dear life. Sometimes, you can be spoilt for choice. Sometimes you can be impatient or just plain lazy.

It seems to me that the key is to take the attitude that the hard work is just beginning. You also have to recognise that reaching a strong position is probably a different mindset to converting the advantage into a win.

Another important point is to think of ways of simplifying the position. This is not always easy, but the end goal of simplification makes winning easier.

In the game below, Magnus Carlsen shows us a masterful example of realisation.

First, an assessment: Carslen is two pawns up, but the position is awkward for him due to black’s advanced e and f pawns. Converting his advantage into a win is not easy. But by identifying the main pain point, Carlsen finds a clever liquidation: