Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge [Paperback]

Iuri Averbakh (Author), P. H. Clarke (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Cadogan Chess Books | Publication Date: July 1993

By concentrating on the basic principles the average player is not only given a working knowledge of the endgame but also a firm foundation on which to further develop his or her interest and technique in this fascinating stage of a chess game.

The author, a Russian Grandmaster and endgame expert, takes the reader from the most elementary checkmates, through the exploitation of positional and material advantage, right up to the analysis of actual endings from master play.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Everyman Chess (July 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857440226
• ISBN-13: 978-1857440225
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #338,366 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crib Notes to the Endgame :)..., May 27, 2002

By 

Blaze Jericho "Beretorn" (Blashyrkh, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge (Paperback)

This is a must have book I think for anyone U1800... Figure the lower you are the more you need to get this book :)... This is like Crib Notes to the Endgame to be really honest with you... He makes it really simple and the book has lot of chapters making it easy to look stuff up... You can get a pretty good idea how to play the Endgame from this book... This is like the DNA to the Endgame... The building blocks that you need to go to the next level... Yes he deals with mating with King, Bishop and Knight vs. King... He does not give much time in it but if you play out the example enough... Once You understand the basic technique its really not that hard... He breaks down the book and gives least 1 example for just about anything...

The book is only about 100 pages so you will not be blitzed with too much info... I figure you get this book and if you need something more advanced later on so be it... This should get you to the stage of playing least a decent endgame... If You understand the concepts in this book you should be pretty set...

This book helped take my endgame from a disaster into winning lost endgames :)... Also just teaching the basic concepts and expanding on them really helped... The small chapters make it easy to find what you are looking for fast...

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfectly sized booklet on the endgame, January 14, 2006

By 

Matthew T. Deluca (Jupiter, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge (Paperback)

This book attempts to provide a foundation of endgame information for the beginning chess student. After an introduction and a brief discussion about the scope of each piece the book presents five chapters meant to introduce the reader to the basics of endgames. Since there is no "Search Inside" option for this book the table of contents is reproduced here:

1 - MATING THE LONE KING
Mate with a Queen
Mate with a Rook
Mate with Two Bishops
Mate with Bishop and Knight
Mate with Two Knights
2 - VARIOUS PIECES IN COMBAT
Queen versus Rook
Queen versus Minor Piece
Rook versus Knight
Rook versus Bishop
3 - VARIOUS PIECES IN COMBAT WITH A PAWN
Queen versus Pawn
Rook versus Pawn
Minor Piece versus Pawn
4 - QUEENING A PAWN
King and Pawn versus King
King, Minor Piece and Pawn versus King
Knight and Pawn versus Knight
Bishop and Pawn versus Bishop
Bishop and Pawn versus Knight
Knight and Pawn versus Bishop
Rook and Pawn versus Rook
Queen and Pawn versus Queen
5 - PRACTICAL ENDINGS
Pawn Endings
Knight Endings
Bishop Endings
Bishops of the Same Colour
Bishops of Opposite Colours
Endings with Bishop versus Knight
Rook Endings
Queen Endings

One of the best things about this book is that it is the perfect size for digestion in just a few study sessions. For those starting with little or no endgame knowledge this means that at least a basic understanding of endgame concepts is attainable in a reasonably short period of time.

If you are inexperienced with endings, the information in this book is sure to not only increase your confidence at the chessboard but also provide a nice bridge to other more advanced endgame books. After studying this book one could move on to Seirawan's "Winning Chess Endings", which is still aimed at the beginner but contains slightly more in-depth information, or the superb "Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual" by Dvoretsky, which is more suited for the advance player.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Introduction, May 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge (Paperback)

Any beginning student of the chess end-game should read this book. It focus primarily on simple minor piece endgames, simple king and pawn endgames, and simple imbalanced endgame. The book is incomplete without being supplemented by a more thorough text, but is gives the beginner a solid introduction to the subject.