Welcome to this active site. Each week I am going to present to you an endgame position for you to solve or to workout the best continuation. Computer analysis will also be considered. Some of these positions will come from actual historical games. Others will be composed endgame studies, but all the solutions will be relevant to the practical game. The new position will occur each SUNDAY and I will always be pleased to receive POSITIVE feedback about the positions and the analysis and I will try to acknowledge these where relevant.

World Champion 1921-1927. Born in Cuba, Havana. His first golden period began after the 1914 St Petersburg Tournament and lasted until 1924. During this ten year period he lost only one competitive game, a record which probably will never be broken. Capablanca had a clear classical style and faultless positional judgement. His skill in the endgame was unrivalled. It was during this period that he became known as the chess machine, a reference to his near invincibility.

Capablanca has just swapped off most of the pieces to reach this favourable ending. His plan is to simplify the position to a K+P ending, leaving his opponent with a worthless pawn majority on the queenside against his active majority on the kingside. While White is taking care of this majority, Black will advance on the queenside. His opponent will be hard pushed to stop the creation of a winning passed b-pawn.

Capablanca reaches his goal. He considered this pawn ending a long way back before all the exchanges. There is an amazing coincidence here. In 1913, on October 17th, Capablanca gave a simultaneous display at the Divan, London and Edward Lasker was one of his opponents. This simultaneous game is very famous because it contains a dubious Queen sacrifice by the future world champion. But the real point is, the game came down to a near identical pawn ending as the one considered. Capa won the ending after Lasker overlooked a simple drawing sequence.

10...Kxc4? 11.g5 fxg5 12.hxg5 Kb4 13.Kxe5 Ka3 14.Kf6 Kxa2 15.Kg7 b5 16.f4! b4 17.f5 gxf5 18.Kxh7 b3 19.g6 b2 20.g7=;

1. Cumulative 2002 Prizes: 1st £100 or equivalent, 2nd £50, 3rd £30; 4th £20. (Total Prize Money=£200) Entries limited to 20 solvers. This event will run from 6/1/2002 to 22/12/2002 with a recess in July. Present CUMULATIVE COMPETITION rules apply but note the prizes will go to those participants who climb the ladder the greatest number of times during the year. The relative position of the solver's name on the ladder will decide the allocation of prizes.

2. Endgame Solving Tournaments 2002. They will be directed at new or intermediate solvers and will not be too difficult. No money prizes but a book prize for the highest placed newcomer. Events will take place at Easter, Summer and Christmas each consisting of 5 positions to solve. Present strict rules will apply; no computer analysis.