Pandolfini's Endgame Course: Basic Endgame Concepts Explained by America's Leading Chess Teacher (Fireside Chess Library) (Paperback)

by Bruce Pandolfini (Author) "This is the simplest, fastest, most basic checkmate of all..." (more)
Key Phrases: direct vertical opposition, outside critical square, previous endgame, Black's Rook, White's Rook, White's Bishop (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
These two works are as unalike as books about the same game can possibly be. Both are fine choices for their respective audiences. Pandolfini's, which uses algebraic notation throughout, is aimed at the beginning or intermediate player. It consists of 239 specific endgame positions, progressing from elementary endings to some subtle minor piece and pawn situations. Almost every example illustrates a specific principle, which is usually clearly stated. Since in many chess games, the choice of strategy is determined by the player's knowledge of what constitutes a winning endgame advantage, this is a valuable source of information. By contrast, Suetin's book, which uses the universal figurine, algebraic notation, is aimed at the more advanced club player who is trying to improve to expert or master status. Such players often find the crucial step to be the transition from the "book" position to the middle game. It is this transition that Suetin addresses. Each section has an introduction in which certain basic strategic principles are given; one or more illustrative games with some detailed analysis; and several unanalyzed sample games. Both books are recommended for libraries which have or are developing a chess collection. Harold D. Shane, Baruch Coll., CUNY
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Fireside; illustrated edition edition (October 15, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671656880
• ISBN-13: 978-0671656881
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #123,295 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great first book on endgames, February 4, 2003

By	C. Dunn "independent thinker" (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Study endgames first! This seems counter-intuitive, but it is the best way to make your brain understand how the pieces move. A combination of tactics and endgame training is the quickest route to success for the average player. Don't waste time on the openings until you are a Master, rated 2000+.

This book is perfect for learning, as opposed to simply memorizing. The reason is that each page builds on the previous page, and each section on the previous section. You don't need to wade through pages of variations because, by the time you get to a given lesson, you have already learned the positions which result from the alternate moves. That moment of Eureka makes the book great fun!

For example, he shows you how to mate with various pieces, so that you know a won endgame when you see one. In these lessons, he'll show you what a King-Bishop-Bishop v. King mate looks like in the corner. Then he'll show you how to roll the King into the corner across the edge of the board. Then he'll show you how to get that bishop-roll started. Each lesson typically ends with a position from a previous lesson, so you can play it out to reinforce what you had learned earlier.

Later, he shows you how to turn a pawn into a Queen in various pawn endings. Again, some lessons end in previously learned positions. Others are simply new positions to learn, but of gradually increasing difficulty. At appropriate times, he shows you the stalemate opportunities to watch out for. And it's all at a beginner level (around 1000-1400 USCF) avoiding deep variations to keep track of in your head.

The way to use the book is to play a lesson out on a board, to test all possible refuations yourself. When you get lost, refer back to the book. I've been going over this book that way with a friend, which is a great way to learn ALL tries and refutations!

I have several other endgame books. I wish I could obtain the Out-Of-Print Seirawan book, but this is by far the best beginner book in print. Silman's Essential Chess Endings Explained Move by Move is a good second book, with some overlap, if you can find it.

Some people complain about the many typos in Pandolfini books. To me, finding the typo is just part of solving the problem. Since he always explains in words where the pieces are generally headed, then follows with lines of chess notation, it's very easy to spot his mistake. Still, only 4 1/2 stars, because of the typos.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars review of Panfolfini's Endgame Course, November 13, 1997

By	Martin J. Erickson (Kirksville, Missouri, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Bruce Pandolfini has written another book to help the beginner to intermediate player master the principles of chess. This particular book focuses on the important subject of endgame tactics. Not exactly a "course", as the title indicates, the book is a sequence of 239 endgame positions, including a diagram of each position, a goal to be pursued (e.g., White to move and win), commentary on possible lines, and the final solution (or solutions) in boldface. The idea of a sequence of particular problems is a good one, but it should be supplemented with some summarizing material from time to time to explain the ideas pertinent to each group of problems. Pandolfini does not do this, even though there is a natural (and one would think compulsory) opportunity at the beginning of each chapter. The only such material is presented at the beginning of each of the three parts of the book (the parts are Pieces in Action, The Pawns in Action, and Pieces and Pawns in Action), but this material is very slight and does not accomplish the task indicated above. Overall I enjoyed this book and learned from it. As a B player, I found many of the positions not only instructive and interesting, but also easy to remember because of Pandolfini's descriptive tags for each problem (e.g., Stepping into the Square, and Diagonal Squeeze). However, the book's clarity and usefulness is at times diminished by the incredible number of typographical and other errors. A chess book should be free of errors which distract or confuse the student, but this book abounds in them. The goals of many of the problems are incorrectly stated, the typical error being that a position labeled "White to move and win" is merely a position to be drawn (e.g., Endgames 186, 189, 195, just to name a few). Other positions are either incorrectly diagrammed or else contain some other error. For example, in Endgame 149 White is to move and draw by allowing Black to promote a pawn and then forking the newly created piece and King. The error is that White's King is sitting on the first rank and is put into check if Black's pawn is promoted to a Queen, so White never gets the chance to apply the fork. And there are many other instances of incorrect diagrams, incorrect commentaries (i.e., they don't match the diagrams) and other "minor" errors that make the book especially difficult to read for the very audience for which it is intended. Be that as it may, this book may be enjoyed and read profitably by the beginning or intermediate chess player. Once it is thoroughly proofread it will join some of Pandolfini's most instructive books (e.g., The ABC's of Chess).

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Basic knowledge for beginner to intermediate players., November 27, 2002

By	Bryan Castro (Williamsville, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I think this book is a great start to learning the endgame. Pandolfini explains each position and the ideas behind most of the moves. It is true, some of these positions are very simple, but this book is geared towards people who have never studied the endgame. I got this book when I just started playing chess competitively (around rating 1000). I went through this book step by step, as it is ordered from easiest to more complex. This helped increase my understanding of concepts such as opposition, corresponding squares, and maneuvers with the rook. I think the most important sections in this book are the rook and pawn and king and pawn sections, as these come up very often in actual play. The format is easy to follow and it is a good book to read from front to back if you have little or no knowledge of the endgame. As you get better, you can practice your visualization by looking at the diagram and visualizing the moves without using a board while reviewing the position. After you have studied this book, you can move onto more advanced endgame instructional books.