A couple of months ago, we gave our loyal reviewer, Moshe Rachmuth, the golden key to the Chessbug Library and a mission – to find the best endgame products that are out there. Moshe has just come back, dusty and red-eyed, with the results. So we will give him the stage.

Tamar Hammer. 

From Beginner to Master in the Endgame

Dear Chessbug readers,

First I would like to refute the myth that so many endgame books start with, “there are hardly any books on the endgame.” There are actually many books on the endgame and many that came out in the last 10 years (as you can find from a quick search at Amazon or any other internet bookstore) In fact, there are also many good books and CDs about the endgame available in the market today. That is why I concentrated here only on those products that I found outstanding. Obviously, I did not have the time (or resources) to check all that was done on the endgame in the last years but I am sure that the harvest I gathered here today is excellent. The different books will suit different readers with different levels of knowledge in the endgame and different styles of reading (some like to have fun while other prefer to work seriously and so on) so browse through the reviews and see what might suit your needs and wishes.      

* chessbug@chessbug.com

For players who want a thorough product that covers everything from basic ideas (King + Pawn vs. King) to the greatest subtleties of technical endgame, I recommend Averbakh and Convekta’s Comprehensive Chess Endings, a CD that is not very new on the market (2003) but still highly effective. For players who know something about the endgame (not complete beginners) and would like to read a book that is both instructive and entertaining I warmly recommend Steve Giddins’ 101 Chess Endgame Tips. If you are not sure you like endgames Giddins’ book will change your mind - have it by your bed and read one tip per day. For those who are past the technical endgames and would like to learn interactively the strategic endgames, I advocate Müller and Chessbase’s outstanding DVD Chess Endgame 4: Strategical Endgames where Müller mostly covers endgames where each side has two pieces or more. Last but not least, I want to mention a review that has already been on Chessbug for sometime – Esben Lund’s Rook vs. Two Minor Pieces, a book that teaches you not only about the specific imbalance of rook vs. two minor pieces but also teaches you how to learn a specific endgame and how to connect the endgame with your opening repertoire – a deep and worth reading piece of work.

Written by: Moshe Rachmuth

PS.

The last entry to our endgame mania recommendations: Secrets of Chess Endgame Strategy by Lars Bo Hansen, a fine and very needed book in the chess book market. This book takes you, in a systametic and entertaining way, beyond the technical endgames and into complex endgames.