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.

English composer, known affectionately as T.R.D. One of the world's great problemists. He was a pioneer of fairy chess problems and retrograde analysis but also a gifted endgame composer. He was an international authority on the material rubber and he founded and maintained an important technical library for the Rubber Association. 

I like this study. In an extraordinary way Dawson teaches us something about the topology of the chessboard and illustrates an important part of the theory of Queen and pawn endings. The Knight has to sacrifice itself for the f-pawn because the theoretical Queen versus d-pawn ending that arises is won, whereas taking the other pawn would lead to a drawn Queen versus f-pawn ending. In the latter Black has the possibility of a stalemate defence.

In position 221 we have vertical symmetry in the placing of the chessmen; ie if we look from the right we see the same picture as if we are looking from the left. But due to the geometry of the chessboard, this symmetry is not met in the variations because there is an extra file of squares on the side of the d-pawn which does not allow the stalemate defence. In essence we do not have chess symmetry and that makes the difference.

From quickly examining Dawson's studies I was struck by how often symmmetrical pawn structures occurred in his positions. He was obviously being influenced by the many problems that he composed.

To Dawson chess had to be extrordinary rather than ordinary, fairy rather than orthodox.

Important Notice: I am now taking a short break and will be back on Sunday January 6th with the first position of the 2002 cumulative competition.

The winners of the 2001 cumulative competition will be announced in the New Year.

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 mainly 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.