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 Championship Candidate. Polish Grandmaster. His golden period was before WW1 when he was victorious in a number of important tournaments. His results were so good that he was looked upon as the leading challenger for the world title. In 1909 he came equal first with Lasker at the St Petersburg tournament and even beat him in their individual game. This was the closest Rubinstein was ever allowed to come to his rival. His chances for a shot at the World title vanished when WWI started in the summer of 1914. Although still a great player he never managed to reach those pre-war heights.

This ending is won for White because he has more space in which to manoeuvre his Rooks. He can build up pressure on the b-file, tying Black's pieces to the defence of the b-pawn and then switch the attack to the kingside.

Some years later at Rogaska Slatina, Takacs played the game of his life to take the first brilliancy prize and to exact sweet revenge on the Polish Grandmaster.

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.