Best way to improve EndGame

Like most rookies I spent to much time on openings when I started thinking it was the openings fault. After accepting it was me, I quickly started to improve once I started doing many tactics and read some on long term strategy. But now Im really trying to improve my very late middle game and end game but simply am not too sure how. There's "opening principles", books on strategic ideas, and a never ending world of tactic puzzles but how does one strictly focus on end game improvement? I do some mate in 3 4 5 puzzles but I'd like some other ways to learn. Is there "end game principles"? Or basically what's your recommendation on improvements in my end game study?

Silmans Complete Endgame Course.

100 Endgames You Must Know: Jesus de la Villa.

Both excellent ways to start.

Best of all "Chess Endgames: Essential Knowledge" BY Averbakh.

Such a slim book that it is not intimidating.  Short enough that you really can learn it inside-out.  And he does not talk down to you either in the slimy way of so many books aimed at novices and mid-ranking players.

And while playing actual games, never resign.

I got the book. It's very good but it took me twice as long to read, be warned it uses "old style" notation. I struggled a lot to keep up as my brain is used to the newer style. But! I should have known as the book is very old. 

It's available in algebraic notation too.

You can buy it for less than a fiver:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chess-Endings-Essential-Knowledge-Cadogan/dp/1857440226

Includes excellent explanation of B+N+K v K, amongst other stuff

Sure it helped. But for a fraction of the time I'd prefer a video. Some real good St. Louis ones on middle and endgame. 

I've gone through most of "Pandolfini's Endgame Course" and after enough examples I began to realize a generality about endgames I never noticed or heard about before: Almost all positions that are winnable (or drawable under unfavorable conditions) in a nonobvious way have a *trick* to them. This is just one reason I've begun to believe that learning chess well is largely a matter of collecting a large bag of tricks, sort of like a street smart criminal who uses a combination of psychological and dexterity tricks. My intent is eventually to list and describe each trick at the start of each problem in Pandolfini's book so that I can see them clearly and review them more easily, instead of having to go through each problem in full before remembering the trick that allows the superior side to win.

Below are a couple examples of what I mean. In the first example Pandolfini uses the word "key resource" instead of the word "trick," and in this case he explicitly mentions the trick, but sometimes he doesn't. In the second example he doesn't even mention the trick other than implied in the title and saying "can work wonders": to hasten greatly a rook mate via a cordon.

----------

(p. 231)

ENDGAME 182

W: Ke7, Qg6, Pf7 B: Kc8, Qe3

White moves and wins

Cross-Check 1

A key resource to stop enemy Queen checks is to give a cross-

check--block a check with a check. After 1. Qe6+ Qxe6+ 2.

Kxe6, Black is helpless to halt the f-pawn's advance to become a

new Queen.

1. Qe6+ Qxe6+

2. Kxe6 Kc7

3. f8/Q

   (1-0)

----------

(p. 26)

ENDGAME 9

W: Ke6, Rd5 B: Kf8

White moves and wins

The "Cut-Off" Mate

A conscientious Rook can work wonders. The right tempo or

cut-off can reduce Black's King to an automaton, with no op-

tions. Instead of taking the 7th rank here (1. Rd7), White gains

more by cordoning off the g-file, forcing Black to oppose

White's King. A back-rank mate in two moves can thus be

realized. In the final position, the three pieces form a right

triangle, with Black's King at the base.

1. Rg5 Ke8

2. Rg8 mate

      (1-0)

Pandolfini, Bruce. 1988. Pandolfini's Endgame Course. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster.

Sqod awesome stuff. It would be sick if you did like a 5 page post of puzzles and your down to earth commentary.

Thanks. I doubt it would be considered fair usage to quote too much of one book, but below is one more example before I sign off for the day. The trick to mate there is to lose a tempo by shifting the bishop along the same diagonal it needs to keep covered.

As for your question about endgame principles, yes, there are definitely endgame principles. For example, look up "the square of the pawn," "opposition," "cut-off" (same as "cordon"), "leading pawn," and "triangulation." There exist many more such endgame concepts that appear across many types of endgame positions, especially where there exist pawns.

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(p. 36)

ENDGAME 18

W: Kg6, Bb4, Ng7 B: Kg8

White moves and wins

Mate in Four

6k1/6N1/6K1/8/1B6/8/8/8 w - - 0 1

This position comes from inching Black's King step by step from

a8 to h8. On the previous move, the Bishop checked the King at

f8, forcing it to g8. The next square White must control is g8 by

mobilizing the Knight. But the Knight must not block the

Bishop's diagonal. Also, White must avoid giving stalemate,

which would happen if he attacked g8 while Black's King was

still on h8. Everything clicks, thanks to a temporizing Bishop

shift along the a3-e7 diagonal.

1. Nf5 Kh8

2. Be7 Kg8

3. Nh6+ Kh8

4. Bf6 mate

   (1-0)

Pandolfini, Bruce. 1988. Pandolfini's Endgame Course. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster.

I don't know. I'm using a library copy!

There's no need to learn the end game if you can finish your opponents off in the middle game and opening. Just memorize about 50 different openings, and practice tactics. This should get you to at least 2500 rating. The only time the end game is important is at the super gm level where everyone plays for draws. 

Never resign. You will never learn playing inferior endgame position unless you are behind a rook.

Various endgame study possibilities discussed at:

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708103149/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review594.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708105702/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review645.pdf

https://www.newinchess.com/Shop/Images/Pdfs/9026.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708234309/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review704.pdf

http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Understanding_Chess_Endgames.pdf

https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/chess-endgames-for-kids/

http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Chess_Endgames_for_Kids.pdf

http://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/endings-endings-endings

http://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/the-end-game-comes-before-we-know-it

http://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/theres-an-end-to-it-all

Before buying any particular book, I suggest going to the publisher site to see if it is possible to view a sample.

If one likes the Pandolfini approach, perhaps one would like to try Endgame Workshop.

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708095144/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review701.pdf

Sacrifice your mom at the temple of Capablanca.

Here you go 2Q:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pandolfinis-Endgame-Course-Concepts-Explained/dp/0671656880

It's not a great book IMO, since it has a few mistakes in it - but I see that you can buy a used copy "from £0.83" so you can't go wrong at that price

The ChessKing Android course "Chess Endings for Beginners" gets a 4.8/5 rating on the Google Play Store.  It costs a mere £3.99. In fact, all the ChessKing Android courses I have seen get very high ratings. I have bought two of their courses, "Chess Tactics for Beginners" and "Chess: From Beginner to Club Player" (the latter for the PC).

Hmm, ChessKing do leads of stuff for the iphone too. What do you get for your money in those courses Ed?

The ones I've tried, anyway, I think are good value. For example, with Chess Tactics for Beginners you get more than 1300 exercises. The interface is attractive, intuitive and easy to use. I really enjoy my daily tactics.

You can read more blurb on these apps:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chessking.android.learn.ctforbeginners&hl=en

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chessking.android.learn.endingsforbeg&hl=en

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chessking.android.learn.beginnerstoclub&hl=en

Just click on READ MORE to read the full blurb on these apps.