gewgaw wrote on 03/04/10 at 16:13:07:


Wow, three days is impressive. It is a lot of material to really adsorb. What did you do? Sequest yourself?

gewgaw wrote on 02/12/10 at 22:22:32:


"Improvement starts at the edge of your comfort zone", I remember someone said.

I agree (at least) one good book on technical and (at least) one on practical/strategic endings is ideal.

Technical: 
Howell and Rosen sounds like a great suggestion by chk! I don't have Howell myself but everyone raves about it. Rosen I use constantly for repetition. If you're thinking further ahead you could get Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual straightaway and just start with the essential stuff (in blue ink).

Strategic: 
Shereshevsky is a bit advanced maybe. Soltis is an engaging writer (as long as it's not an opening book); try "GM Secrets: Endings" and "Turning Advantage Into Victory in Chess".  I also like Speelman's "Endgame Preparation".

Tactical:
Maybe not strictly necessary, but a favorite subject of mine. Bán: "The Tactics of End-games" and the multi-lingual booklet "Endspiele für Fortgeschrittene" by Dobrinetzki are good basic introductions.

I suggest 2 short and not extremely technical books (imo OK for people >1600 ELO):

a) Essential Chess Endings: The Tournament Player's Guide by James Howell. Not boring at all, it is based on examples from practical games and will give you a good ground on the basics (I've seen it recommended here at ChessPub and that's how I picked it). At the end of each chapter it has 8 exercises. I recommend to progress slowly with this book if needed and possibly re-read and practice with a PC some of the examples/defences. As you begin to practice some of these endgames in your games you will also begin to remember the theory. But even if at first you forget the theory, you will at least have a decent plan.

b) Chess Endgame Training by Bernd Rosen. This is a practical book based on exercises (by theme, e.g. pawn endgames). It is about the same level with the other book and you can think of it as an extra 30 exercises per Howell's chapter. If you are searching for fun there is no better way to do it than through practical exercises on the endgame - but you need first to know the basics of theory (Howell). Moreover, while giving the results to the exercises, Rosen takes also some time to explain the key aspects of the theory behind the moves/plans.

Of course I expect that you will work hard on this (trust me!) fun & interesting subject and that you will use 100% of your tactical sense & calculation abilities in order to solve as many exercises as possible.

You will also start winning more games 

Is there anybody out there, who worked through a chess endgame book? If there`s someone, could you reveal me, how did you do it? I´ve Mueller´s "Fundamental Chess Endings" and I know I´d improve, if I work it through, but the book is better than any sleeping pill: one page and I got tired and due to my obliviousness I even forget the single page I read .
Any recommendations?