Endgame knowledge and calculations !

Of course right now the chess world and this blog is focused on the Magnus vs Ian world championship in Dubai.

And the chess world awaits whether Magnus or Ian will surprise his opponent in the Catalan, the Queen's Gambit, the Ruy Lopez or another opening ....

It is tempting to think that top level chess is foremost about winning the opening battle.

But top GMs are also very strong in many areas, like middlegame,strategic plans, and also endgame technique. They also excel in psychology and pausing when need be but calculating extremely quickly at other times.

Here's my short endgame quiz today. In a way endgames should be easier as there are less pieces on the board, so less possible moves to consider.

But is the endgame an easy phase to master in the game of chess ?

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Position 1: Can you figure out this position ? 

 White to play and win   

Position 2  White to play, is White lost or White can save half a point and draw ?

Position 3  White to play, How do you evaluate this endgame ? White to play

It would be interesting to compare what you think of the position #3 after 30 seconds on it and after 3 minutes or even after a 10 minutes thought . did you change your mind ? this is about intuition and calculation in the endgame. Endgame "technique" is hard.

I will post the answers another day, but maybe the readers can post the solutions in the comment section. take your time, no rush !! Carlsen and Nepo are on a break right now....