7/14/2020 – Usually an extra bishop can easily draw against two pawns. But if the two pawns are supported by their king things might get tricky for the defender. Especially if his own king is too far away to help.

7/7/2020 – One draw in a crucial game and David Bronstein would have been World Champion. After losing a difficult ending in the crucial 23rd game Bronstein drew the World Championship Match 1951 against Mikhail Botvinnik which allowed Botvinnik to keep the title. Now Karsten Müller wanted to know whether this ending was indeed lost or whether Bronstein had a draw. Karsten Müller asked the ChessBase readers for help to solve this historical riddle, and now, after long and difficult analyses and a debate about the 50-move-rule he has an answer: Bronstein indeed missed a draw in this historically important game!

7/7/2020 – In the endgame the king often gets active – after all, when only a few pieces remain on the board mate is less likely. However, the king often still needs protection from checks and attacks. But sometimes it can use enemy pawns as an "umbrella" to run for shelter.

6/30/2020 – Pawn endgames are the foundation of endgame theory. Knowing the importance of "opposition" and "key squares" is the key to master pawn endgames - and it helps to save a lot of points.

6/23/2020 – Passed pawns can be powerful, especially in the ending, and pawn majorities allow you to create passed pawns. Therefore, having a far advanced pawn majority is often a big advantage.

6/18/2020 – The many games that are played in the online top tournaments lead to a wealth of exciting endgames. However, as these games are played with short time-controls even the best in the world do not always find the best way to play these endgames. Karsten Müller selected instructive and interesting endgames from the Clutch Chess Champions Showdown to show where and how the best could have done better.

6/16/2020 – Mate ends the game but most games are won because one side is material up and the opponent prefers not to drag things out till the bitter end. However, being a whole knight up in the endgame is not always an automatic win.

6/10/2020 – After the 2nd World War the Soviet Union largely dominated world chess. Mikhail Botvinnik won the World Championship tournament in The Hague and Moscow in 1948. In 1951 Botvinnik was the clear favourite in the World Championship match against David Bronstein which was played in Moscow's Tchaikovsky Concert Hall. After 22 games Bronstein was leading 11½-10½, and needed just one win (or two draws) to become World Champion. Did he miss a chance in game 23?

6/9/2020 – Rook endings have drawish tendencies and that should be reason enough to be very careful when you have a rook ending on the board - even if you think you are clearly better.

6/8/2020 – The famous rook endgame Spielmann-Rubinstein is indeed amazingly deep, and all published analysis is incomplete or partly wrong. Most controversial was the question about which was Spielmann's last mistake. Charles Sullivan has solved this riddle and proved that with 60.Rc1! Spielmann could still have drawn. This is a challenge even for the modern engines, as an eight-piece rook ending with three against one pawn must be evaluated as a draw at the end of a critical line.

6/3/2020 – 1909, Saint Petersburg: in one of the strongest tournaments in history Akiba Rubinstein defeated Rudolf Spielmann in a dramatic endgame. After the game Spielmann said: "Akiba, if you lived in the Middle Ages you would have burned at the stake: what you do in rook endgames can only be called witchcraft!" Was that really the case, or are there holes in the ending that all analysts over the years have missed? Can you help endgame specialist GM Karsten Müller answer this question? | Pictured: Rudolf Spielmann (left) and Akiba Rubinstein (right)

6/2/2020 – Rook and knight can be a powerful team. If well-placed this duo has saved countless bad or even lost positions with a typical perpetual that every chess player should know.

6/1/2020 – Last week we asked you to help us solve a historical riddle. In November 2006 World Champion Vladimir Kramnik played a match against the computer program Deep Fritz. Kramnik lost the match 2:4 and did not win a single game. But in the very first game he had a favourable endgame. Could he have won? Until today that remains unclear. We asked you for help in solving this riddle. With some very energetic analytical work of our readers we have come to a firm conclusion.

5/28/2020 – In November 2006 World Champion Vladimir Kramnik played a match against the computer program Deep Fritz. The venue was the National Art Gallery in Bonn, Germany, the prize fund one million dollars. It was the last big man-vs-machine match. Kramnik lost 2:4 and did not win a single game. But in the very first game he had a favourable endgame. Could he have won? Until today that remains unclear. Can you help GMs Yasser Seirawan and Karsten Müller resolve this question?

5/26/2020 – "All rook endings are drawn," is a well-known witticism that is obviously wrong but indicates that it is often difficult to win rook endings that seem to be winning. However, it is also difficult to defend rook endings - unless you know what you are doing.

5/25/2020 – The 1962 Chess Olympiad took place in in Varna, Bulgaria. In round ten the 19-year-old American grandmaster Bobby Fischer faced World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik – with the black pieces. At adjournment Fischer had a clear advantage, but he had simplified too quickly and fell into a "Botvinnik trap." The game was a draw, and experts have puzzled over it ever since: could Black have won? Now we know the answer, thanks to our very diligent readers. Two of them won a prize.

5/20/2020 – The endgame of the fourth game of the famous Fischer-Taimanov candidates match Vancouver 1971 left an intriguing puzzle. Was the adjourned position already lost or was Taimanov's 42th move, played after the adjournment session, a decisive mistake? We asked our readers to help settle the historical debate. And they helped our endgame expert GM Karsten Müller to settle the question.

5/19/2020 – Knights can fork king and queen but in endgames they are often helpless against king and pawn. Knights often seem to be slow but then they suddenly catch pawns that are close to queening. No wonder knight endings are tricky - and often fun.