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Chad Lieberman

Many chess players spend far too much time studying opening variations attempting to learn every little nuance in order to gain what turns out to be a rather insignificant advantage in the middlegame. Then they study tactics and strategy to no end and solve diagram after diagram of puzzles.

Despite endless hours of study, they continue to lose many tournament games. Unfortunately for these players, they are occasionally reaching an even endgame.

There are thousands of endgame books on the market and many of them are very methodical in the way they present the material. However, I often find that simply playing through the diagrams in a book is not entirely useful. It is really important that the ideas and concepts of endgame play get drilled into your head. For this reason, I suggest the following idea for endgame study:

Start an endgame journal. Buy a notebook at any local supplies store and begin with any diagram. It could be one that you have invented or taken from a book. Then, divide the opposite page into two sections. The first part should describe (in words) how one side goes about achieving the final result. And the other section should give the move by move analysis of how that player wins or draws, depending on the situation.

If you continue to do this at least three times a week (it should only take you about 30 minutes), I can guarantee that you will become a more proficient endgame player and you will enjoy more tournament wins.

White to mate in two moves.
Link to solution at the bottom.