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 1935-37. Dutch Grandmaster. After the Second World War Euwe was no longer a dangerous aspirant to the World Championship. In the 1953 Candidates tournament Euwe came near the bottom of the field although he did play some fine games. As his playing strength declined he turned to do important research into opening and endgame theory. It is little realised that Euwe made a major contribution to the theoretical investigation of many endings. In this field alone he contributed far more than any other World Champion with perhaps the exception of Smyslov. In the late 1950’s Max Euwe, collaborated with David Hooper to produce, “Guide to Chess Endings.” This was the first major work in the West on endings for over twenty years.

White's passed a-pawn supported by the Rook is stronger than the Black h-pawn. As the pawn is at a7, in some variations White has a neat tactical trick which is worth remembering for similar R&P endings. In the trade of the passed pawns the White Rook will find itself on the h-file and so have the devastating skewer at h7 winning the opposing Rook. The game continuation is as follows:

1. Cumulative 2003 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 5/1/2003 to 22/12/2003 with a recess in July. Present 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.