Latvian chessplayer and study composer. He won the first Latvian championship in 1924 and the first FIDE world amateur championship in Paris in the same year. He played first board for the Latvian team at the Prague Olympiad in 1931 and scored wins against Alekhine, Vidmar and Rubinstein. He composed over 60 studies, many of which are of great artistic value.

There is an interesting story behind position 382 which is really the work of two endgame composers. The original setting of this study is shown below and was published in 1914.

 

Mattison intended the solution to be: 1. Bh2 Nf3 2.Bg1! Nxg1 3.Ne5 Ne2 4.Nf3 Nd4+ 5.Kg4 Nxf3 6.K4h3 g1Q(R) stalemate; or 6...g1B 7.Kg2 drawn. This makes sense but what if the pawn is promoted to a Knight?

Mattison assumed that the promotion to a Knight: 6... g1N leading to a NNvP ending was drawn. He failed to take into consideration the findings of the Russian composer A. A. Troitzky that in certain circumstances this class of ending NNvP was won for the side with the Knights. This flaw in the Mattison study was only discovered many years later by a Dutch composer, C.J. de Feijter (1907-83) who also corrected the study, thus we have position 382. By reversing the colours and adding an extra Black pawn he was able to turn it into a successful study showing a winning promotion to a Knight.

The ending two Knights vs pawn which position 382 resolves into is extremely difficult to play in practise and even Grandmasters have had difficulty with it. Fortunately it doesn't occur very often in over-the-board play. I have discussed this class of ending previously in position 329. 

(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".