French Endgame Composer. A brilliant composer and a very prolific creator of studies. He is regarded as one of the founders of modern endgame composing. He settled in Spain in 1910 and remained there for the rest of his life. In the 30s and 40s he became interested in the positional ideas of many pawnless studies. This work was a valuable contribution to the theory of these types of position and has only recently been superseded by the use of endgame tablebases compiled by computers. Author of 1414 Fins de Parties (1952) which contains all his best studies.

White cannot stop the h-pawn directly from promoting so instead has to work up a mating attack against the Black monarch. But White only has limited forces and will have to act quickly as Black will gain a Queen

B. Horwitz, 1885 White to play and WIN

1.Kc7 Ke7 2.Kc8! [White must not be tempted to win the Bishop 2.Kb8? Kd8! 3.Kxa8 Kc7! and the White King can never leave the corner ] 2... Ke8 3.Nc4! Ke7 4.Kb8 Kd8 5.Nd6 Kd7 6.Nb7! [now the Bishop can be won safely] 6...Kc6 7.Kxa8 Kc7 8.Nd6 WINS.

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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".