ChessBase´26 – Tips for Beginners, part 31: Endgame expert with the "LiveBook"

by Stefan Liebig
9/13/2026 – How do you train endgames? To be honest, the question might be better phrased as: Do you even train endgames at all? After all, the magical richness of the final phase of a game is something not everyone appreciates. This makes it all the more important that training is enjoyable and not bogged down by unnecessarily long searches for the right solution. In this regard, the LiveBook feature of ChessBase´26 may not be familiar to everyone. All the more reason, then, to introduce this highly practical tool in this tutorial.
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LiveBook in Practical Use

Most ChessBase´26 users will probably use the LiveBook in connection with opening training, together with the Opening Book and/or the Reference function. That’s also how it is described in the online manual. Here’s a brief example:

This Spanish variation appeared recently in a game between Vincent Keymer and Frederik Svane at the Grand Swiss Tournament in Samarkand. On the right-hand side, the statistics for the game are displayed, and with the practical "Find in Shop" button, products on the Spanish Opening can be easily located in the shop (anyone wanting more detailed results can quickly find them under "Openings A–Z"):

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Data, plans, practice – the new Opening Report In ChessBase there are always attempts to show the typical plans of an opening variation. In the age of engines, chess is much more concrete than previously thought. But amateurs in particular love openings with clear plans, see the London System. In ChessBase ’26, three functions deal with the display of plans. The new opening report examines which piece moves or pawn advances are significant for each important variation. In the reference search you can now see on the board where the pieces usually go. If you start the new Monte Carlo analysis, the board also shows the most common figure paths.

Endgame Analysis with LiveBook

In this installment, however, the focus is on a less well-known but still very useful application of the LiveBook: endgame analysis with LiveBook.

In the game mentioned above between the two German top players, the following endgame arose, which we have simply brought up on the board here using "Set up position (S)":

At this point, we first notice that we see nothing! The results area on the right is empty. This is because, when you are logged in with your account, LiveBook accesses the Seven-Piece Endgame Database (if you are not connected, click on "Connect" — to the right of the board, above the results window). However, there are still nine pieces on the board.

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As so often in the endgame, the question may arise of how the position should be evaluated once the minor pieces are exchanged. Is the pawn advantage then enough to win? In this example the answer may seem straightforward, but the same approach can be applied to any more complicated endgame. We will demonstrate this with several further positions:

Even while "rebuilding" the position, you will see games appear in the results window on the right (provided the checkmark for "Search automatically" is activated) in which this basic structure occurred (see also: Set up positions and analyze).

Without the pieces, White’s position is simply winning thanks to the passed pawn and the extra pawn. This is also clear in the results display, which is now active for this seven-piece position. But what does it look like without the b-pawn?

In this powerful new course, endgame expert Karsten Müller teams up with rising star Leon Mendonca to deliver what truly matters: 10 essential rules that every player must know.
Endgames decide more games than any opening preparation ever will and yet they are often the least understood phase of chess. In this powerful new course, endgame expert Karsten Müller teams up with rising star Leon Mendonca to deliver what truly matters: 10 essential rules that every player must know.
Free Video sample: Introduction
Free Video sample: Activate the king

Suddenly White is worse and has to play accurately in order not to lose. As you can see in the "Evaluation" column, there are five drawing moves and three losing moves. As usual, you can click through the line of play by selecting the row with the move you want. You can also click once or several times on "Evaluation." The column will then be sorted into winning, drawing, and losing lines:

Very practical, finally, is the option to search for a position in the MegaDatabase 2026: to do this, move the mouse pointer over the board, right-click, and select "Find position in MegaDatabase 2026…" (shortcut: SHIFT+F7):

Somewhat surprisingly, this position is not found in the MegaDatabase 2026. It looks different, however, if you remove the f-pawn and move the king two squares forward:

Here at the top right you see the variation statistics, and below them the corresponding games including a mini-board for preview. How to adjust the windows to your preferred size has already been explained earlier in this series: Standard layout or custom layout?

Conclusion

The LiveBook in ChessBase´26 is too often misunderstood as merely an opening tool. With just a few simple steps, however, you can also use it effectively for comprehensive endgame training. Give it a try and improve your endgame knowledge by quickly seeing, in any position, which moves are correct and which are not.

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ChessBase has developed over decades to become what it is now in its 2026 version. The program has countless options, which we will present here in small portions – so you can design your interface for pleasant daily use and keep learning about new options and how to use them to get the most out of ChessBase´26 and save time.

We hope that this tip will help you to have more fun and be more successful when using ChessBase´26. You can find more tips and hints on our support pages and FAQ pages.

All parts of the series and more links:

In this powerful new course, endgame expert Karsten Müller teams up with rising star Leon Mendonca to deliver what truly matters: 10 essential rules that every player must know.
Endgames decide more games than any opening preparation ever will and yet they are often the least understood phase of chess. In this powerful new course, endgame expert Karsten Müller teams up with rising star Leon Mendonca to deliver what truly matters: 10 essential rules that every player must know.
Free Video sample: Introduction
Free Video sample: Activate the king

In this video course, GM Surya Ganguly joins IM Sagar Shah and drawing from his colossal experience, shares some uncommon endgame wisdom. The material mostly features positions with rook against rook and a pawn, and starts by covering the fundamentals.

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Topics: ChessBase´26, Tutorial
Stefan Liebig, born in 1974, is a journalist and co-owner of a marketing agency. He now lives in Barterode near Göttingen. At the age of five, strange pieces on his neighbour’s shelf aroused his curiosity. Since then, the game of chess has cast a spell over him. Flying high in the NRW youth league with his home club SV Bad Laasphe and several appearances in the second division team of Tempo Göttingen were highlights for the former youth South Westphalia champion.
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ChessBase 18 – Tips for Beginners, part 31: Endgame expert with the "LiveBook"

9/14/2025 – How do you train endgames? To be honest, the question might be better phrased as: Do you even train endgames at all? After all, the magical richness of the final phase of a game is something not everyone appreciates. This makes it all the more important that training is enjoyable and not bogged down by unnecessarily long searches for the right solution. In this regard, the LiveBook feature of ChessBase 18 may not be familiar to everyone. All the more reason, then, to introduce this highly practical tool in this tutorial.
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