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.

French player, analyst and endgame composer. Chess champion of France in 1926, 1927 and 1929. Author of a very famous work on the endgame, the four-volume: Lehr- und Handbuch der Schachendspiele (1952-71). Due to his poor health Cheron lived the latter part of his life in the mountains of Switzerland.

In Bishops of opposite colour endings, a two pawn advantage may sometimes be insufficient to win. The defending side blockades the position and the pawns are unable to advance.

But in the above situation White has two favourable factors which enable him to bring home the victory. Firstly, White has room on the kingside to manoeuvre his King so that one of the pawns can advance safely. If the position was moved one square to the right, the result would be a draw because the King would not have enough room to get by on the kingside. Secondly, White has the "right" Bishop for his a-pawn, i.e. Black does not have at his disposal the drawing resource of sacrificing his Bishop for the e-pawn and running the Monarch to the a8 corner where it can never be driven out because the enemy Bishop is of the "wrong" colour.

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.