I just started reading Silmans Complete Endgame Course and I think its pretty easy to understand. It shows different options depending on the pieces left on the board and the chapters are grouped into playing strengths/ratings which is nice for a beginner like myself,.
Endgame: where to start?
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At the endgame you must start at the beginning, but the beginning is not the beginning, but rather the end.
ReasonableDoubt wrote:
If you don't know much about the endgame, I'd recommend 100 endgames you must know by Jesus de la Villa. It's important stuff and it's well explained in the book.
+1. A truly well organized book.
Thank you all for your suggestions 
.
I think I'll buy de la Villa's book and then read van Perlo's.
May 6, 2011
0
#7
+1 for Silman's book. The format is very nice for starting from scratch and building your way up.
davidegpc wrote:
Maybe Capablanca fundamentals would give you a basic understanding, then you can go on with Van Perlo which from what I've seen is better than Silman's.
Saying Van Perlo is better than Silman is pointless and arbitrary. It's like saying War and Peace is better than the Yellow Pages. All depends what you're reading it for.
Silman is a much more thorough, step by step tutorial, meant to teach you technique, analysis, and important positions.
Van Perlo is a lot more one dimensional. It's a great collection of tactical puzzles and motifs. But it's nowhere near being a replacement for Silman...Just as Silman is nowhere near being a replacement for it.
Another vote for Silman's book here.
echecs06 wrote:
I am still using Basisc Chess Endings by R. Fine. Trés bonne lecture. Bonne chance!
Same here. I picked it up in a library dustbin in the farmlands and bought it for 25cents.
Silmansilmansilmansilman. It shows you what you need to know.
May 7, 2011
0
#13
I like the way that the information is organized in Silman's book so I recommend it.
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ReasonableDoubt wrote:
I wouldn't say Silman's endgame book is crap, but I think that (at a decent level to understand it) the best books are
Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual
and
How to Play Chess Endgames by Karsten Muller and Wolfgang Pajeken. Again, it's a matter of opinion, but I do think that Silman's endgame book is somewhat overrated and although very well organized lacking in some areas for content. However, unlike davidegpc I don't have a personal vendetta against Silman - a good book I'd recommend by him is The Amateur's Mind (although it's not an endgame book). The thing is that Silman's main specialty for writing is understanding the class player, which I don't think translates well into showing endgame technique as you really can't break endgames down into classes. What I mean by this is that I strongly disagree with the idea that endgames can be broken into what different classes of players must know. It doesn't matter if a 1400 or a 2200 reaches a certain known theoretical position, if they know it they'll get the desired result, if they don't then they won't. A large number of theoretical endgames have ideas that are the difference between a draw and a loss (for example, Kh1! drawing in K+P vs. Q if it's on the bishop or rook file). You can't break that into different levels, it is what it is. If a 2200 doesn't know to cut off the king along the fourth rank, he'll only draw. It truly doesn't matter what level the player is at, that's why I advocate books that focus more on technique and knowledge rather than books that systematically break endgames down into what is "necessary" for different levels of players.
Obviously if you are talking Dvoretsky and Mueller, you are way beyond a class level. As far as those endgames which cannot be broken down by class, I agree, but you can learn endgames (like tactics) based on "number-of-moves-until-mate-[or-promotion]", which is why I don't understand why more authors take this into account. Learning mating patterns from practicing problems that are 1-move then incrementally to 2-movers, 3-movers, etc. This overlaps with attacks and endgames at some point. Your Kh1 example for instance is based on simple calculation...you may "pattern-recognize" that such a move may be possible, but endgames are all about precise calculation unless you have memorized it completely. Plus, it may be hard for you more advanced players how not basic it is for weaker players to learn KBB v K or KBN v K and various KP v K or KPP v KP situations, whereas they become far easier if you are already good at tactics and calculation.
No love for Pandolfini? I like his endgame books (Endgame Course and Endgame Workshop; search for the errata for Endgame Course with google).
De La Villa's book in the first chapter I believe lists the important endgames that need to be mastered to get to 1900-2000 FIDE rating (chapters 1 & 2 and maybe 15-ish additional endings later in the book), whereas the rest of the book is supposed to take you potentially to IM level.
davidegpc wrote:
johnnyhomeless wrote:
davidegpc wrote:
Maybe Capablanca fundamentals would give you a basic understanding, then you can go on with Van Perlo which from what I've seen is better than Silman's.
Saying Van Perlo is better than Silman is pointless and arbitrary. It's like saying War and Peace is better than the Yellow Pages. All depends what you're reading it for.
Silman is a much more thorough, step by step tutorial, meant to teach you technique, analysis, and important positions.
Van Perlo is a lot more one dimensional. It's a great collection of tactical puzzles and motifs. But it's nowhere near being a replacement for Silman...Just as Silman is nowhere near being a replacement for it.
Sorry you seem to have some problems in behaving in a civilized manner. My opinion is not "Pointless" is an opinion, which evidently like your "silly pointless one" is arbitrary, since surely there is someone out there, like me, that believes that Silman's book is crap. So you are free to illustrate your opinions, but I don't understand why do you have to ATTACK my opinion, since I don't even care if you read toilet paper in order to play endgames. So just keep it to yourself, since I didn't ask your opinion about mine. Further you or Silman are not exceptional players who will go down in history as master's of endgame. Silman's books are just published because publishers make money out of naive people like you who need to idolize everything they find, since their lives are evidently empty.
When Silman will go out of fashion, also his crappy books will disappear, and with them the idolaters like you.
I can see that you're not very bright or very articulate. So I'll keep the following points brief and and simple language.
1) It doesn't matter a bit whether you asked my opinion. It's a public forum, and I've given it. If you don't like being corrected, don't post.
2) I believe both books are terrific. But one teaches endgame technique, and the other is essentially a puzzle book. They aren't comparable, and thus comparing them is silly.
If you take the world's worst engame technique book, and compare it to The Complete Works of Shakespeare, then the former will be the better book for teaching endgame technique. The same is true in this comparison. Has nothing to do with idolatry. Has everything to do with the fact that you don't know your bum from your elbow.
It's okay. You're in good company. There's a reason the average IQ is 100. It's because that's where most of you reside.
You're welcome. Sometimes it takes an outsider to hold up a mirror for you.
May 8, 2011
0
#18
TiamatBodescu wrote:
I would like to improve my endgame because I am really weak at this stage of the game
A friend lend me three books:
Endgame strategy by Shereshevsky
Fundamental chess endings by Lamprecht and Müller
Endgame tactics by Van Perlo
I've never really studied the endgame and I have only basic knowledge with pawn endings. So my question is : which one should I start with?
Any other book suggestions are welcome too
Tiamat
Best is to start with basic pawn endgames, then basic rook endgames.
In FCE : chapters 2.1, then 6.2 A1a, then 2.2
davidegpc wrote:
johnnyhomeless wrote:
You're welcome. Sometimes it takes an outsider to hold up a mirror for you.
But we know that you are not an outsider, if you need to invent an account to harass someone.
Are you hitting on me?
I would like to improve my endgame because I am really weak at this stage of the game
A friend lend me three books:
Endgame strategy by Shereshevsky
Fundamental chess endings by Lamprecht and Müller
Endgame tactics by Van Perlo
I've never really studied the endgame and I have only basic knowledge with pawn endings. So my question is : which one should I start with?
Any other book suggestions are welcome too
Tiamat