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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
How to Win in the Chess Endings--48 years later!,
By Knightstalker (Davie, FL USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: How to Win in the Chess Endings (Paperback)
This book was published in 1957 by David McKay Company, Inc. It has 18 chapters, 234 pages, and the chess moves are recorded in descriptive notation (e.g.,1. P-K4 P-K4 2. N-KB3 N-QB3 3. B-N5 P-QR3, etc.). This was the fourth and last book in Horowitz's "How to Win ..." series on the openings (2 books), the middlegame, and the endgame. Excluding the last chapter, a 55 page discussion of practical endgames by Max Euwe, Horowitz devotes 40% of his book to K and P endings and 15% of his book to R and P endings. These are the very endings that, in my opinion, should be emphasized in an introductory book on the endgame. A perusal of this book indicates that Horowitz based a great deal of his material on Reuben Fine's "Basic Chess Endings" (1st ed.). It should also be noted that Fine devoted 13% of his book to K and P endings and 30% to R and P endings. Since R and P endings are so important, I am surprised that Horowitz did not devote more space to this topic. This is one of the reasons that I gave this book three stars instead of four.Since this is an introductory book, don't expect an in-depth coverage of the subject. In his first chapter, "Why the End Game?," Horowitz gives a very clear explanation of the "rule of the square" (probably the single most important concept in learning the endgame). This is followed, in the next chapter, by a thorough discussion of King maneuvers (some of these concepts are counterintuitive as was brilliantly shown in a study by Reti in 1921 [W: Kh8, Pc6; B: Ka6, Ph5] and Prokes in 1947 [W: Kd8, Pa5; B: Kd6, Ph7], so this chapter is very important). The "opposition" is another pivotal idea covered by Horowitz; in particular, how a lone King can draw against a K and P using the concept of "vertical" opposition. No book on the endgame would be complete without a thorough discussion of Philidor's drawing technique and the Lucena position. Both are covered in chapter 16, although Horowitz does not identify the Philidor method by name. Each chapter is relatively short (averaging approximately 10 pages per chapter), so you never feel overwhelmed. The explanations are succinct, the examples well chosen, and the writing crisp. The final chapter, by Max Euwe, is an additional bonus. The only mistake in analysis that I noted was to the Kling and Horwitz (1851) study given on page 128 [White: Kf7, Ng1, Pe6; Black: Kh8, Bh4]. Horowitz gives this as a win for white [1 N-B3 B-Q1 2 N-K5 K-R2 3 N-N4 K-R1 4 N-B6 Resigns]; in fact, this position, as was shown by Andre Cheron, is drawn. The solution should have read 1 N-B3 B-N4 2 N-K5 K-R2 3 N-N4 B-Q1 4 N-B6 K-R3 draws. Instead of Horowitz's book, I would recommend one of the following: If you want a brief introduction to the endgame, then read Jeremy Silman's "Essential Chess Endings: Explained Move by Move"; if you want a more thorough introduction to the endgame, then read Paul Keres's "Practical Chess Endings." As a first book on the endgame, Keres's book can be very demanding. If you plan on purchasing only one book on the endgame, then "Silman's Complete Endgame Course" would be my choice, although I would want to supplement it with Muller and Lamprecht's "Fundamental Chess Endings." In summary: If you have never read a book on the endgame, and you don't mind descriptive notation, then this is a good book to start with. A REAL BARGAIN: David McKay Company, Inc., published all four of the books in this series as a single volume under the title How to Win at Chess. Although long out-of-print, this 817 page tome is a treasure trove of information. There are two disadvantages to this book: (1) the opening section is dated and (2) the book is in descriptive notation; otherwise, highly recommended! _____________________________ If you would like to pursue the study of the endgame, then these are my recommendations: Mastery of the first four books in this list should be your first priority. By "mastery," I mean that you should thoroughly study these four books. (1) "Silman's Complete Endgame Course" by Jeremy Silman [Published January 2007]. (Without question the most innovative endgame book ever written. Each section of this book covers the endings that you need to know based on your rating. For example, Part One is devoted to "Endgames for Beginners (Unrated-999)," Part Two focuses on "Endgames for Class 'E' (1000-1199)," ... Part Eight covers "Endgames for Masters (2200-2399)," and Part Nine ends the book with "Endgames for Pure Pleasure." 530 pp. This book is destined to be a classic!) This should be your main text. The following three books should only be read after you have thoroughly mastered Silman's book. (2) "The Final Countdown" by Willem Hajenius and Herman van Riemsdijk. [If you are going to master pawn endings (and no one ever has!), then you must read this book. 128 pp.] (3) "A Practical Guide to Rook Endgames" by Nikolay Minev. [Buy two copies of this book, so that you will have a spare when you wear out your first copy. Since rook endings make up the majority of endgames played, it is imperative that you master these endings. I cannot overemphasize the importance of studying rook endgames. 114 pp. You might want to supplement, not replace, your reading of Minev's book with Chris Ward's "Starting Out: Rook Endgames," 128 pp. This book is also available as an eBook, in CBH format, from Chess4Less. You will need a software program, such as Fritz, that can read the ChessBase format. If you don't have such a program, then you can download ChessBase Light for FREE from the chessbase website. This ebook makes learning rook endgames a pleasure!] (4) "100 Endgames You Must Know" by Jesus de la Villa. [Published July 2008. If you have persevered and thoroughly mastered the preceding three books, then you are to be congratulated! Villa's text will be far more challenging than the books you have studied up to this point, but, at the same time, it will prove to be most rewarding. Are you up to the challenge? 248 pages.] Now you can focus on some endgame concepts that can be applied to a variety of endgames. (5) "Endgame Strategy" by Mikhail Shereshevsky. [As Don C. Aldrich pointed out in his article "Endgame Erudition," "Shereshevsky addresses various topics that span the types of endings--When to exchange pieces, King centralization, schematic thinking..., the principle of two weaknesses, etc." According to Dvoretsky, Shereshevsky's book was based on "some endgame lectures" that Dvoretsky gave "to the chess faculty of the Moscow High School for Sports" and on "a series of lectures on the general principles of endgame play" that followed. Of course, Shereshevsky did this with Dvoretsky's permission. 218 pp.] There are a number of excellent endgame references, but the following is my favorite. (6) "Fundamental Chess Endings" by Karsten Muller and Frank Lamprecht. [It is both a reference book and a textbook. 416 pp.] Unlike "Basic Chess Endings" and "Batsford Chess Endings," Muller and Lamprecht's book is noted for its pedagogical approach. This reference belongs on every serious chess player's bookshelf. Consider the following endgame books only if you are highly motivated, since the preceding six books are more than adequate for honing your endgame skills. Knight and Bishop endings are not as important as Rook endings, so don't feel rushed into reading these books. (7) Practical Knight Endings by Edmar Mednis. [This 188 page book will give you some fascinating insights into Knight endings, but it should not be read until you have studied and mastered the first four books mentioned above.] (8) Practical Bishop Endings by Edmar Mednis. [This 134 page book is as good as it gets, but heed the warning given in the previous note.] If you feel confident in your endgame skills, then it is time to study the following book: (9) Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual (2nd edition) by Mark Dvoretsky. [To get the most out of this book, you need to have a substantial background in the endgame. This is not an easy book. Caveat lector. 402 pp.] Yuri Averbakh's five volume work on the endgame is now out-of-print, but fortunately Convekta, Ltd. has made these books available as a software program. If you're a masochist (or a future Bobby Fischer), then go through this entire CD; otherwise, pick and choose the topics that are of interest to you. Highly recommended! (10) Comprehensive Chess Endings by Yuri Averbakh. [This software program (for the PC) comes with a 40 page user's manual. It is a software program that anyone interested in the endgame should own. In one word: Superb!] After studying the first four books in this list, you might want to purchase some books on endgame studies. The following are two of my favorites. (11) Test Tube Chess by Arthur John Roycroft. [This book is subtitled "A Comprehensive Introduction to the Chess Endgame Study." The subtitle says it all! 370 pp. Note: This book was reprinted by Dover as The Chess Endgame Study (2nd rev.ed.), unfortunately, it is presently out-of-print.] (12) Domination in 2,545 Endgame Studies by Ghenrikh M. Kasparyan. [In the introduction to his book, Kasparyan states that "'domination' should be viewed...as the trapping of pieces in various ways." This is an absolutely fascinating... Read more ›
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
How to Win in the Chess Endings--49 years later!,
By Knightstalker (Davie, FL USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: How to Win in the Chess Endings (Paperback)
This book was published in 1957 by David McKay Company, Inc. It has 18 chapters, 234 pages, and the chess moves are recorded in descriptive notation (e.g.,1. P-K4 P-K4 2. N-KB3 N-QB3 3. B-N5 P-QR3, etc.). This was the fourth and last book in Horowitz's "How to Win ..." series on the openings (2 books), the middlegame, and the endgame. Excluding the last chapter, a 55 page discussion of practical endgames by Max Euwe, Horowitz devotes 40% of his book to K and P endings and 15% of his book to R and P endings. These are the very endings that, in my opinion, should be emphasized in an introductory book on the endgame. A perusal of this book indicates that Horowitz based a great deal of his material on Reuben Fine's "Basic Chess Endings" (1st ed.). It should also be noted that Fine devoted 13% of his book to K and P endings and 30% to R and P endings. Since R and P endings are so important, I am surprised that Horowitz did not devote more space to this topic. This is one of the reasons that I gave this book three stars instead of four.Since this is an introductory book, don't expect an in-depth coverage of the subject. In his first chapter, "Why the End Game?," Horowitz gives a very clear explanation of the "rule of the square" (probably the single most important concept in learning the endgame). This is followed, in the next chapter, by a thorough discussion of King maneuvers (some of these concepts are counterintuitive as was brilliantly shown in a study by Reti in 1921 [W: Kh8, Pc6; B: Ka6, Ph5] and Prokes in 1947 [W: Kd8, Pa5; B: Kd6, Ph7], so this chapter is very important). The "opposition" is another pivotal idea covered by Horowitz; in particular, how a lone King can draw against a K and P using the concept of "vertical" opposition. No book on the endgame would be complete without a thorough discussion of Philidor's drawing technique and the Lucena position. Both are covered in chapter 16, although Horowitz does not identify the Philidor method by name. Each chapter is relatively short (averaging approximately 10 pages per chapter), so you never feel overwhelmed. The explanations are succinct, the examples well chosen, and the writing crisp. The final chapter, by Max Euwe, is an additional bonus. The only mistake in analysis that I noted was to the Kling and Horwitz (1851) study given on page 128 [White: Kf7, Ng1, Pe6; Black: Kh8, Bh4]. Horowitz gives this as a win for white [1 N-B3 B-Q1 2 N-K5 K-R2 3 N-N4 K-R1 4 N-B6 Resigns]; in fact, this position, as was shown by Andre Cheron, is drawn. The solution should have read 1 N-B3 B-N4 2 N-K5 K-R2 3 N-N4 B-Q1 4 N-B6 K-R3 draws. Instead of Horowitz's book, I would recommend one of the following: If you want a brief introduction to the endgame, then read Jeremy Silman's "Essential Chess Endings: Explained Move by Move"; if you want a more thorough introduction to the endgame, then read Paul Keres's "Practical Chess Endings." As a first book on the endgame, Keres's book can be very demanding. If you plan on purchasing only one book on the endgame, then "Silman's Complete Endgame Course" would be my choice, although I would want to supplement it with Muller and Lamprecht's "Fundamental Chess Endings." In summary: If you have never read a book on the endgame, and you don't mind descriptive notation, then this is a good book to start with. A REAL BARGAIN: David McKay Company, Inc., published all four of the books in this series as a single volume under the title How to Win at Chess. Although long out-of-print, this 817 page tome is a treasure trove of information. There are two disadvantages to this book: (1) the opening section is dated and (2) the book is in descriptive notation; otherwise, highly recommended! ___________________________________ If you would like to pursue the study of the endgame, then these are my recommendations: Mastery of the first four books in this list should be your first priority. By "mastery," I mean that you should thoroughly study these four books. (1) Silman's Complete Endgame Course by Jeremy Silman [Published January 2007. Without question the most innovative endgame book ever written. Each section of this book covers the endings that you need to know based on your rating. For example, Part One is devoted to "Endgames for Beginners (Unrated-999)," Part Two focuses on "Endgames for Class 'E' (1000-1199)," ... Part Eight covers "Endgames for Masters (2200-2399)," and Part Nine ends the book with "Endgames for Pure Pleasure." 530 pp. This book is destined to be a classic!] This should be your main text. The following three books should only be read after you have thoroughly mastered Silman's book. (2) Final Countdown by Willem Hajenius and Herman van Riemsdijk. [If you are going to master pawn endings (and no one ever has!), then you must read this book. 128 pp.] (3) A Practical Guide to Rook Endgames by Nikolay Minev. [Buy two copies of this book, so that you will have a spare when you wear out your first copy. Since rook endings make up the majority of endgames played, it is imperative that you master these endings. I cannot overemphasize the importance of studying rook endgames. 114 pp. You might want to supplement, not replace, your reading of Minev's book with Chris Ward's Starting Out: Rook Endgames, 128 pp. This book is also available as an eBook, in CBH format, from Chess4Less. You will need a software program, such as Fritz, that can read the ChessBase format. If you don't have such a program, then you can download ChessBase Light for FREE from the chessbase website. This ebook makes learning rook endgames a pleasure!] (4) 100 Endgames You Must Know by Jesus de la Villa. [Published July 2008. If you have persevered and thoroughly mastered the preceding three books, then you are to be congratulated! Villa's text will be far more challenging than the books you have studied up to this point, but, at the same time, it will prove to be most rewarding. Are you up to the challenge? 248 pages.] Now you can focus on some endgame concepts that can be applied to a variety of endgames. (5) Endgame Strategy by Mikhail Shereshevsky. [As Don C. Aldrich pointed out in his article "Endgame Erudition," "Shereshevsky addresses various topics that span the types of endings--When to exchange pieces, King centralization, schematic thinking..., the principle of two weaknesses, etc." According to Dvoretsky, Shereshevsky's book was based on "some endgame lectures" that Dvoretsky gave "to the chess faculty of the Moscow High School for Sports" and on "a series of lectures on the general principles of endgame play" that followed. Of course, Shereshevsky did this with Dvoretsky's permission. 218 pp.] There are a number of excellent endgame references, but the following is my favorite. (6) Fundamental Chess Endings by Karsten Muller and Frank Lamprecht. [It is both a reference book and a textbook. 416 pp.] Unlike Basic Chess Endings and Batsford Chess Endings, Muller and Lamprecht's book is noted for its pedagogical approach. This reference belongs on every serious chess player's bookshelf. Consider the following endgame books only if you are highly motivated, since the preceding six books are more than adequate for honing your endgame skills. Read the Mednis book followed by the appropriate chapter in Muller and Lamprecht's text. Knight and Bishop endings are not as important as Rook endings, so don't feel rushed into reading these books. Rely on Muller and Lamprecht for knowledge of specific positions and Mednis for general principles. (7) "Practical Knight Endings" by Edmar Mednis. [This 188 page book will give you some fascinating insights into Knight endings, but it should not be read until you have studied and mastered the first four books mentioned above.] (8) "Practical Bishop Endings" by Edmar Mednis. [This 134 page book is as good as it gets, but heed the warning given in the previous note.] If you feel confident in your endgame skills, then it is time to study the following book: (9) "Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual" (2nd edition) by Mark Dvoretsky. [To get the most out of this book, you need to have a substantial background in the endgame. This is not an easy book. Caveat lector. 402 pp.] Yuri Averbakh's five volume work on the endgame is now out-of-print, but fortunately Convekta, Ltd. has made these books available as a software program. If you are a masochist (or a future Bobby Fischer), then go through this entire CD; otherwise, pick and choose the topics that are of interest to you. Highly recommended! (10) "Comprehensive Chess Endings" by Yuri Averbakh. [This software program (for the PC) comes with a 40 page user's manual. It is a software program that anyone interested in the endgame should own. In one word: Superb!] After studying the first four books in this list, you might want to purchase some books on endgame studies. The following are two of my favorites. (11) "Test Tube Chess" by Arthur John Roycroft. [This book is subtitled "A Comprehensive Introduction to the Chess Endgame Study." The subtitle says it all! 370 pp. Note: This book was reprinted by Dover as "The Chess Endgame Study" (2nd... Read more ›
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A classic,
By A Customer
This review is from: All About Chess (Hardcover)
As beginners my son and I have found that playing through the
games contained in this book are very educational. One of the
best ways to learn about chess is to actually re-enact previously
(well) played games. This book contains many, many chess
games from the past, with comments
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