Endgames are known as boring.. Why is that:
1. For the amateur player, is more amusing to study openings with fancy names. I play the Najdorf, the Marshall defence, the Fried Liver attack… In this way, we sense paired in someway with the GMs. “My repertoire is the same than Fischers, or Kasparov”
2. Amateurs are more focused in tactics which will boost their rating in a more effective way than endings they will hardly reach. Beside, tactics are more rewarding aesthetically than middlegame strategy or endgame technic. Even pros quote their best game as one full of tactical brilliancies.
3. Let’s suppose that an amateur decides to study endgames as part of a whole training program. How to study that? The frequent step is to get one of the best endorsed books available. I.ex. Dvoretsky’s “Endgame Manual”, Muller’s “Fundamental Chess Endings” or Nunn’s “Chess Endings, vol.1 & 2”. The problem is that these are encyclopedic works targeted to the master level. Thou, the amateur will randomly choose some positions, go through a load of variations, understand almost nothing and leave the book back in the shelf (beside others who he hardly understands too). And the sense that endings are boredom.
Now, the first question is:
It’s necessary to study endgames through books? The answer is NO. Today, there are lots of non printed material that will make studying easier. I.ex. videos. They are loads of them in YT, Chessvideos.tv…Even paying sites like chess.com or ICC are uploading some of their videos in YT. Beside of videos the are also quite a bunch of training software. Computer workout is available in sites like chess.com, ICC; Playchess.com or Chesstempo. Chessbase and Convetka also sell specialized training software. I.ex. Convetka’s Total Chess Endings by Pandenko, has about 2500 exercises plus theory tips in a wide range of endgames (target, 1500 to 2400 ELO).
Now. Let’s say we buy a book. Which one?
As mentioned, “big books” are targeted to advanced-master players. The fact is that endgame study should be adapted to players strength. The amount of time delivered to endgames and the type of endgames one should now. They are some basic endgames everybody should know. Basic checkmates, single pawn endings… The intermediate player should achieve some more knowledge but NOT MUCH MORE. Two books we endorse for the U2000 player are:
- DE LA VILLA: “100 endgames one should know”. Really, one may not learn the 100. Less than half is enough. The plus of this book is that the examples are very well explained and help to grasp THE IDEA more than memorizing positions.
- SILMAN: “Complete endgame course”. The advantage of this one, unlikely of its pairs, is that the book is structured according to the readers chess strength. So one will find endgames for beginners, intermediate, advanced and master level. Good guidance of what one should learn and may not.
Time to invest studying endgames?
Again, it depends of the player strength. The beginner should just know basic checkmates and how to promote a pawn. Intermediates should focus more in tactics, which will be the most rewarding. Thus, the time spent in endgames could be about 10/20% of the whole. This may increment considerably in the advanced/master level. The reason is that their chess understanding, globally speaking, will be higher and their games will more likely reach the endgame.
Finally, how to study the endgame?
Watching videos and computer workout (problem solving) don’t require much effort. Reading articles online is also an easy task. We recommend an added training mode. Use an engine. Take a problem, from a book or the web, and display the position on the board. Then play it against the computer. First, the computer plays the side who has to reach the goal (win/draw). After few tries and grasping the idea read and played by the engine, switch sides and try to reach the goal yourself. Switching engines is also a plus. The reason is that each engine is programmed differently, thus, reacts to some moves with different variations (i.ex. more stubborn vs. more flexible defence). There are plenty of free engines online.
ENDGAME Study Group
