Challenge 1

Let us start with a position you should try to win against the diagram:

You can move the white pieces, and our live diagram will defend for Black. You will need to find the one good idea required to make sure it cannot defend the position to a draw.

Challenge 2

You can try different ways to neutralize the threatening pawn promotion, but none seem to work. If the rook sacrifices itself to stop the black b-pawns, the white king cannot reach the black kingside pawns in time to promote his pawns. So what is White to do?

In the final two studies we have switched off the engine, so the diagrams will not defend for Black – or help you find good moves. You have to work everything out on your own.

Challenge 3

This is the final part of a study from the late and great Jan Timman. Can you find the clever defence for Black, and find how White can refute it – with an astonishing move?

Challenge 4

White has an extra pawn, but it is in grave danger of being lost to a rook fork – in a number of lines. Can you find the irrefutable win?

Please do not post any solutions in the feedback below – just comments on how easy or hard you found the studies. Full video solutions will be provided in a week.

The Endgame Academy Vol.2: Theoretical Rook Endgames

Grandmaster Dr. Karsten Müller, one of the world’s leading endgame experts, guides you step by step through everything you need to know in this second volume.
Picture this: you’ve outplayed your opponent move by move, you’re clearly better – and then the endgame slips into a draw, simply because you lacked the crucial theoretical knowledge. That is exactly where this course comes in. Without solid endgame skills, there’s no way forward. Rook endgames are most essential: they occur more often than any other type of endgame, and often make the difference between victory and half a point. If you master them, you’ll confidently convert your advantages into wins!
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: Bodycheck