12/20/2021 – Only four more days and our beautiful endgame magic calendar is over. Could you find the move for the "King of the Umbrellas" yesterday? It was Ke6! Today we have an absolute classic in door 20. But who actually made this study?

12/19/2021 – In door number 18, "Zugzwang is the sharpest endgame weapon" with Ka2!!! In today's door we take a closer look at a game by Jan Timman and find out: "Not all rook ending games end in a draw" if the right move is found.

12/18/2021 – Sometimes there are endgame puzzles that end quite surprisingly. The move Kd4, was the interesting idea yesterday to secure the draw. But we couldn't upset the majority of all the participants. You know your endgames too well. But maybe with door 18? Once again, a very witty move that has to be found.

12/17/2021 – In yesterday's door it was a matter of finding Anand's move. g5+! Queen and knight do the rest, as they are stronger here than queen and bishop. Today, the king has four moves to choose from. A tricky puzzle, and a clever idea.

12/16/2021 – So many people knew very well that yesterday the Centurini draw position was on the board, and it could only be achieved with the cunning move B. Kf4. Bravo! On Day 16 Anand and Radjabov duel, but what move did the Indian grandmaster make in this game, and what is the "queen and knight attacking duo" called against "queen and bishop"?

12/15/2021 – Were you able to force "Stamma's" mate with the knight yesterday? It only works if the king goes to the square f3. The rest should be easy. Now it's getting more difficult again! Today, it looks like you can give up immediately. But the riddle will end in a draw if the right move is found for Black.

12/14/2021 – Fortunately, most of you knew that the correct solution for door 13 was "A". Far fewer, however, were aware that the green squares are called "key squares". Another lesson learned. In the video, there is more information about the squares, and the task for today. We checkmate the opponent's king with nothing more than a knight!

12/14/2021 – Endings with opposite coloured bishops often have drawish tendencies. But things are rarely that simple. In the diagram position material is equal but Black's king and Black's bishop are far more active than their counterparts. How should Black proceed to exploit these advantages?

12/13/2021 – Robert Ris is Karsten Müller's guest in the Endgame Magic Show #175. Robert and Karsten will look at games 6-10 of the World Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi, which Carlsen won convincingly 7.5-3.5. Karsten and Robert will focus on the endgames that occured in these games, but they will also take a brief look at the openings played in the match. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

12/13/2021 – The bishop was hanging, and yet it was not allowed to be taken! But almost everyone knew that, and took the knight instead. Today there is a correct move again, and if you like, a correct designation of the green marked squares.

12/12/2021 – You only had to find the correct move Bd3 yesterday, but a huge amount of participants also knew about "Rauser's drawing zone". I congratulate you, for your endgame knowledge. Today, your task is to find a rather beautiful way to win, and as always, only one move is the right one!

12/11/2021 – Vladimir Kramnik thought he was already completely lost in yesterday's task a few moves earlier anyway. The readers knew almost without exception that Sb1 with sacrifice was enough to win. In today's exercise it's all about 30 green squares!

12/10/2021 – The rook moves to the square f2. Most people knew that yesterday, which is wonderful! As always, the detailed solution is in the video, and there are many details to consider. We are briefly confused ourselves during the analysis. Today we have to solve a problem, starring Magnus Carlsen!

12/9/2021 – The "body-check" is the right solution from yesterday, instead of an immediate "opposition". If the king goes to d4, the game can be won. The good news is, almost everyone knew that too. In door number 9 we again have only four pieces on the board, and again it is a really instructive endgame prime example.

12/8/2021 – Oh dear! The last door really was a tough cookie. Rarely have we received so many different answers, so we decided to draw two more winners for the day. In the video, we see the details of the solution Kc2, which lay dormant for more than 100 years. Today we have only four pieces on the board, and yet the solution is not crystal clear.

12/7/2021 – First, thank you very much for all the answers! We are delighted that this calendar is so well received. Door number 6 proved to be one of the most difficult ones, although the majority were able to find the somewhat bizarre move Kh8. If you thought door 6 was tough already, today we raise the difficulty even more. Good luck!

12/7/2021 – In queen endgames having the initiative is crucial. In the diagram position it is Black to move and it is Black who has the initiative. But how should he proceed?

12/6/2021 – In the Endgame Magic Show #174 Karsten Müller and Arne Kähler continue to follow the World Championship match and take a close look how Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi played in games 3 to 5 of the match. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

12/6/2021 – The absolute majority of the answers were "B", which proves that you saw a stalemate motif that actually escaped the Komodo engine. Thank you again for the many detailed answers. We'll stay with the engines because the next task could only be solved by Karsten Mueller and Alexei Shirov thanks to "Fritz 3"! Attention, the task is not easy!

12/5/2021 – The bishop had to move to h1 to hold a draw. A ludicrous move, but one that the absolute majority had on their minds. In door 5 is a puzzle that an engine from 2019 couldn't figure out. Are you better than the computer?

12/4/2021 – Despite the most difficult task to date, a large number of clever players were able to find the solution, C. Kc4. Karsten Müller explains in the video exactly why only Kc4 wins and no other move. By the way - thanks for the lively participation. We have received more responses to our calendar than last year at the same time! That's wonderful! Today's example is about holding a draw, although it's with only one pawn against three pawns.

12/3/2021 – How to checkmate a king with a knight and bishop was clear to most! There were also many answers that knew the "W" motif of the knight. You surely know your endgames! Solution B. Lh7 was correct. Should Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi think a little longer about their moves today, it is worthwhile to take a closer look at the somewhat more demanding third door. Quite a difficult task for a change!

12/2/2021 – In the Endgame Magic Show #173 Karsten Müller and Arne Kähler do what most chess fans all over the world do these days: they take a look at the World Championship match between World Champion Magnus Carlsen and challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi in Dubai. Karsten and Arne were particularly intrigued by White's strong knight on d6 in game 2. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

12/2/2021 – The second day of our magical endgame calendar. Yesterday, you had to solve the famous endgame move by Shirov vs. Topalov. And of course, most of you knew the correct answer, and also mentioned the game. More of this, please! But we also had quite some participants answer with A. Be4, which won't do the trick. But no worries, you have 23 more tries. Today, we look at a famous check-mate in 18 moves. Luckily, you only need to know the first move to start this combo.