Vote: Endgame of the Year

by ChessBase
12/29/2019 – Another eventful chess year is behind us, with great events and tournaments, impressive personalities and fantastic chess games. Help us choose the player of the year, the female player of the year, the game of the year, the combination of the year and the endgame of the year in our annual ChessBase reader poll. And finally: Endgame of the Year...

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What was the best endgame of 2019?

For each poll, our editorial team has provided a list of nominees. Even with a panel involved, these are of course a bit subjective. And since we have limited ourselves to five endgames, undoubtedly some readers may miss their favoured choice. Our shortlist is one of many possible, we know!

The nominees

ChessBase's endgame expert GM Karsten Mueller has selected and annotated five of the best endgames of the year. Make your selection below.

(The order of the games is arbitrary. After reviewing the nominees, you can vote at the end of the article.)

1) L. Aronian - W. So, Altibox Norway Chess, Stavanger 2019

Mating attacks are usually associated with the middlegame, but you can also checkmate in the endgame and these are often aesthetically appealing, especially when such attacks occur with little material.

 

Levon Aronian | Photo: Lennart Ootes

2) M. Carlsen vs V. Anand, Zagreb 2019

Attacking is generally more fun for most chess players than a laborious defence. But the better the defence, the better the results. Vishy Anand is considered a very good, tough and persistent defender. In the following endgame against Magnus Carlsen, he demonstrated these qualities to save a difficult one.

 

Vishy Anand | Photo: Amruta Mokal

3) M. Carlsen - W. So, Sinquefield Cup, Saint Louis, 2019

What matters more, structure or dynamics? In the following game, Carlsen accepts the fracturing of his pawn structure in order to activate his pieces — a strategy that Carlsen begins in the middlegame and crowns in the endgame.

 

Magnus Carlsen | Photo: Lennart Ootes

4) A. Goryachkina - V. Gunina, Women's Candidates Tournament, Kazan 2019

Tactics and technique are important in chess, especially in the endgame. In the following example, Aleksandra Goryachkina shows both good technique and a sharp eye for tactical motifs.

 

Aleksandra Goryachkina | Photo: Karol Bartnik

5) R. Ponomariov - N. Huschenbeth, Bundesliga 2019

Swap the right pieces, keep the best ones and place them on the best squares — that's important in the middlegame, but also in the endgame. Ruslan Ponomariov shows how this can look in practice in the following game against Niclas Huschenbeth.

 

Ruslan Ponomariov | Photo: Dagobert Kohlmeyer

Poll

What's your choice for "best endgame of 2019"?

endspiel-des-jahres-2019

Voting ends on 12/31/2019, at 22:00 UTC


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