When I first flipped through Secrets of Chess Endgame Strategy and saw only the beginning of the chapters I saw many clichés like “the bishop is a long range piece”(p. 84) or that in rook endgames it is important “to activate the rook(s) and/or the king” (p. 107). I also saw that Hansen has a tendency to create lists and categorizations (for example the 15 endgame principals or the 4 types of chess-players and so on). I decided that the book will probably be boring, repetitive of other works and impractical - so I left it. As always, I ignored what others say and decided according to my own judgment which I still think was the right the decision, given the time constraints.

Yet, in a second, and this time thorough reading I really love the book. What is the magic? Simply said, Hansen does not have the best openings but he more than compensates when he gets to the real meat – his examples. He has excellent pace – that is not too slow, he has examples that show his principles in the clearest way and he always focuses on the strategic idea (rather than going too much into detailed variations). Let us see an example of the bad and good in Hansen’s writing: the section on a queen versus a rook and a minor piece starts with, “Queen vs rook and minor piece frequently occurs in practice. In pure material terms the queen is the stronger piece [I know that! Every patzer know that 9 is larger than 5+3] and in the absence of other factors (e.g. positional advantages) the queen will typically prevail by means of its larger mobility, which enables it to shift from side to side of the board, using files, ranks and diagonals [I know the queen moves on files ranks and diagonals!]” (163) So far not so good but watch how, through the diagram, Hansen turns the cliché into something you can understand, remember and apply. The first position Hansen gives is from Karpov – Hort Nice OL 1974:

“Karpov’s main target is the a7 pawn… Rather than pursuing the pawn directly (e.g. by 43 Qb2) Karpov first pushes the opponent’s pieces back by a detour to the king side before swinging back to hit the a pawn.

43 Qg5! Kf8 44 Qg6! Ng7 45 Qb1!

There it is. Following the little adventure on the kingside, the opponent’s pieces are now on passive squares.”

Now you see Hansen’s magic. After this example (and the next wonderful 10 moves are in the book) you understand what Hansen meant by saying that the queen uses “files ranks and diagonals” It is not a cliché, it is how you do it – using the queen, you put pressure on one wing and than shift the queen to the other wing.

The fact that Hansen knows to move fast does not mean that he dose not stop at length on critical positions. Consider the following position from Torre – O. Jakobsen, Amsterdam 1973.

We are already 22 moves into the endgame, where Black progress little by little when Hansen explains the winning plan, “Step 1 is to bring the knight to d2. Step 2 is to transfer the king to e2 or e3. Then Black threatens to sacrifice his knight on f3 (try it yourself for practice!) If White brings his bishop to g4 or h5 to prevent the sacrifice, Black plays the maneuver …Nb3-d4 + [= “plus” not “check”]…Ke1, after which White cannot avoid being pushed into the corner (h1) by …Ne2+, thus allowing the black king access to f2. Then another knight transfer, this time to e1, decides the game, as White cannot simultaneously cover both g2 and f3. Beautiful, isn’t it? Sometimes chess really is a logical game.” (90) I agree it is beautiful, especially if somebody chooses the positions and explains them as well as Hansen does. The examples I gave are only two partial examples of so many that the book has to offer. I chose two examples from the seventies but most of the positions are from recent times, played by the likes of Kasparov, Kramnik, Svidler, Adams, Anand and Topalov.

Going back to a more general perspective on the book I would part it into four parts (am I already being influenced by Hansen, parting everything to four?). The first chapter is an ok introduction but not too stimulating. Chapters 2-5 (134 pages out of 224) are no less than a classic work on endgame strategy – it teaches, it entertains and it exposes you to chess beauty. Chapter 6 is a very short chapter that teaches you how to think about positions where the queens have been swapped in the opening. Are you in the middlegame or in the endgame? (This is critical in making decisions such as whether you should castle or leave the king in the center) Hansen gives a nice way to think about it, not too deep but extremely practical. Chapter 7 was kind of awkward for me. Here Hansen, continuing his line of thought from Foundations of Chess Strategy ],talks about four kinds of chess players (activists, reflectors, theorists and pragmatics) and which of chess greatest players belongs to which group. I cannot strongly believe in such grouping which reminds me of astrological sign. This being said, I could not avoid asking myself to what group I belong and figured out that like Capablanca, Smyslov, Rubinstein, Petrosian, Karpov and Adams, I am a reflector. I do not know if this chapter really helped my chess but it certainly helped my self esteem!

The bottom line is that, at its worst, the book is dogmatic and at its best the book is an eye opening course on endgame strategy. The good news are that there is much more of the good stuff than there is of the bad stuff. When Hansen talks about a specific position, which is what he does for most parts of Secrets of Chess Endgame Strategy, Hansen does a wonderful work. His work on the diagrams not only compensates for his dull introductions but even pours new content into them – at the bottom line you need to remember how to use your queen against the opponent’s rook and minor piece and after you see the examples all you need is the cue word: shift the queen from side to side of the board, using files, ranks and diagonals!

The Good Things:

• Filled with practical advice and useful tips

• Deepens your understanding of the last phase of the chess games

• Excellent pace – GM Hansen does not tire you out with too many variation analyses but rather gives you many examples so you can understand the general principles and then analyze on your own.

The Bad Things:

• The introductions to the chapters are filled with clichés

• The chapters could use short summaries that repeat the material taught.

Quote: “In this game Kasparov made the right ‘last exchange decision,’ but chess literature abounds with mistakes made at this very moment – even at the highest level. You really have to be extremely alert when making this exchange, as there is no turning back if the decision is flawed! Here are two examples of this feature.”

The Bottom Line: The core of the book (chapters 2-5) took me to a different level of chess understanding. That is enough to warmly recommend Secrets of Chess Endgame Strategy by Lars Bo Hansen.

Rating: 9/10

Review written by Moshe Rachmuth.

More about Endgames in our 2008 Endgame Mania

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