German Grandmaster. World Champion from 1894-1921. The following ending is of historical interest because for the first time the world sees Lasker's great skill in the final phase of the game. In his day his superb endgame play stood out from among his contemporaries. Experts might argue about various aspects of his playing style but they all were all agreed about his brilliant endgame play. The secret of this success was his positional awareness, deep calculating abilty, fighting spirit (no early draws) and his endless patience. He had no equal in this phase of the game, that is until Capablanca arrived on the scene.

Lasker with the following exchanges heads for the queenless ending. Although he will be a pawn down, he has calculated that Black will not be able to contain the advance of the kingside pawns and he has no counter chances on the other side of the board. It is commonsense chess. The main line are the moves played in the actual game.

Vancura Drawing Position Josef Vancurra, 1924 1.Kb5 Rf5+ 2.Kc6 Rf6+ 3.Kd5 Rf5+ 4.Ke6 Rf6+ 5.Ke5 Rb6 6.Kd5 Rf6 7.Ra7+ Kg6 8.Ra8 Kg7; White cannot make progress. The ending is drawn.

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I would like to briefly summarise the type of endings found on the site. These are; (a) Basic endings. (b) Practical chess endings. (c) The Endgame study.

(a) Basic Endings. These are theoretical positions in which we know the correct result with optimum play by both sides. They may consist of three pawns or less and also include all the non-pawn and five piece endings which have now been extensively analysed by computer and of which we have tablebases. In the days when we had adjournments some of these endings could be looked up in text books to give us some idea how to play the position. As we no longer can do this, knowledge and memory of these endings has become important in practical play. Fundamental Chess Endings (2001) by Muller and Lamprecht and Basic Endings (1992) by Balashov and Prandstetter and the earlier A Pocket Guide to Chess Endgames (1970) by David Hooper are good introductions to these endings.

(b) Practical Endings. These occur in over-the-board play where usually more pawns are present. The above ending is an example of this type. Some of these endings are in the process of being transformed to basic endings but often they finish before this stage is reached. Endgame strategy is very different from the middlegame and has its own set of rules and exceptions. Fine's book Basic Chess Endings (1941,2003) recently revised by Pal Benko and Batsford Chess Endings (1993) by Speelman, Tisdall and Wade are about basic and practical endings and both can be recommended.

(c) Endgame Studies. These are positions which have been composed and will contain elements of one or both of the above types of endings. But there are important differences between these types and the study, such as artistic form and economy of construction. An endgame study has to follow strict rules of composition, especially if it is entered into a composing competition. One of these rules states there should only be one solution. If there is an unintended second solution then the study is unsound and said to be "cooked".