American Grandmaster. One of the great charismatic figures of chess. He was in the top four from 1895 to 1903. His victory at Hastings (1895) when he had no previous international experience was a remarkable achievement.  Not since the time of Morphy had an American made such an impact on Europe. He was a sponsor's dream; always outgoing and entertaining. For a number of years he operated AJEEB, the chessplaying automation and he was an outstanding blindfold player. He would often play a number of chess and draught games blindfolded whilst playing whist. These displays made Pillsbury very famous. 

This is a wonderful ending which seems to have been overlooked by many commentators. Pillsbury had a keen understanding of the strategy of the endgame, and with his great calculating ability, was a match even for the then World Champion.

Gens Una Sumus

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8X8 Basic Endings for Success

Tarrasch, 1906

White to move: 1.Rg1+ Kh7 (1...Kf6 2.Kf8 wins) 2.Re1! (2.Rg4 also wins i.e., building the bridge Lucena style) 2...Rd2 3.Kf7 Rf2+ 4.Ke6 White Wins easily. Black to move: King is on the short side and his Rook has the required checking distance of three squares to draw the ending: 1...Ra8+ 2.Kd7 Ra7+ 3.Kd6 Ra6+ 4.Kd5 Ra5+ 5.Kc6 Ra6+ 6.Kb7 Re6 Black Draws.

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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.

All these are interrelated and important and you cannot understand (b) or (c) without a knowledge of (a).

(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".

Endgame studies are important to the practical player because they enhance his imagination and help him learn and enjoy areas of theory without too much effort.