A look into how study composers make their studies.
Introduction
You've all heard of famous studies like the Réti endgame study. Have you ever wondered how we compose studies?
Unlike what people think, we don't think about it a lot. Sometimes, while doing other things, an idea just pops into our heads, and we must immediately work on that. Sometimes it takes some time to flesh out, other times it's immediately done and we find no cooks.
I enjoy White to play and draw studies more than the White to play and win ones because I find that I can compose spectacular solutions easier.
Endgame tablebases are also a big help in finding cooks. The computer is of course invaluable. We shouldn't rely on the computer, though, because some fortress positions it cannot find.
Overall, study composition isn't a hard thing, and you can usually do it with some general endgame knowledge, the help of a computer, and an endgame tablebase.
Sometimes we like to compose spectacular solutions 20+ moves long, other times we like to compose short puzzles.
