What is the best endgame chess book
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I like Silman’s book
+1 to Silman’s book
@Maglrashin Based on your rating here, Silman's Complete Endgame Course is a solid recommendation that will serve you well for a long time. You probably do not need another endgame book till you reach 1800-2000+.
Dec 2, 2018
0
#8
bong711 wrote:
Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge by Averbach is the best endgame book for intermediate players.
Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge is the
Ok thanks guys
Three good ones for different needs/purposes are Silman's Complete Endgame Course, Paul Keres Practical Chess Endings, and Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual.
Basic Chess Endings.
"... I'm convinced that Silman's [Complete Endgame Course] will take its place in history as one of the most popular endgame books ever. It has already caught on with the average player in a big way, confirming Silman's status as the king of instructional writers. He writes in a clear and casual style, and time and again has shown the ability to reach those who feel intimidated by the lofty approach that a grandmaster will often take. ... Silman ... defines what he thinks is necessary to know at specific rating levels. For example, the beginner or unrated player needs to know ... Silman's idea is to wait until you climb in strength before you worry about more advanced material. Then, as a Class 'E' player (that's 1000-1199), one must learn ... Silman's book emphasizes to the student that the important thing is to master the strictly limited material at hand, rather than get confused by endings that won't help your results at that level. Perhaps even more importantly, Silman is able to use his teaching experience and talk to his readers in a way that they can handle, in a friendly manner and without condescension. ... I'll also repeat the point that David Ellinger in ChessCafe makes: '[This ...] demonstrates who this book will truly serve best: anybody who coaches chess. For me, as a perpetually near-2000 player who does part-time coaching, I’ve got in my hands a great resource that will have something for every student, no matter the rating.' ..." - IM John Watson (2007)
http://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/theres-an-end-to-it-all
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708103149/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review594.pdf
https://www.silmanjamespress.com/shop/chess/silmans-complete-endgame-course/
bong711 wrote:
Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge by Averbach is the best endgame book for intermediate players.
http://chessimprover.com/averbakhs-chess-endings-essential-knowledge/
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708101138/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review373.pdf
"... before discussing the specifics of Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual [henceforth 'DEM'], a word of warning is in order. I must emphasize that this is a terribly advanced work that I don't think is a very good way for the average player to study the endgame. The majority of the examples are complex and position-specific, and neither the average student nor even strong masters will follow or play over most of the hundreds of positions that are given extensive analysis, not to mention the subvariations derived from those positions. Even when introducing 'the basics', Dvoretsky's approach is often more complex than is necessary for an average student, and in any case such a thick book will seldom be used for the sake of elementary instruction. The majority of the other material is frankly very difficult. So take note: I don't want to be blamed, in praising this book, for your purchasing something that you find intimidating, relatively dull, or otherwise unsatisfying. That said, if you are up to a real challenge and have a great deal of time to devote to reading and playing over examples you will inevitably derive great value from this work. ..." - IM John Watson (2005)
http://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/the-end-game-comes-before-we-know-it
http://www.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/Dvoretskys-Endgame-Manual-3rd-Edition-78p3502.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708233815/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review399.pdf
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/2703.pdf
"... The only real problems with [Basic Chess Endings] are the errors and the fact that it is now very dated. ... the book is now in algebraic notation and the layout has in some ways been improved. ... Perhaps the greatest disappointment ... lay in the failure to correct many of the errors in Fine's book. ... I don't think it is acceptable in the 21st century to produce an endgame book without computer- and database-checking. ... the book can be recommended for Fine's groundbreaking general explanations. Just don't expect complete accuracy or up-to-date endgame theory." - GM John Nunn (2006)
Dec 2, 2018
0
#16
I don't endorse Basic Chess Endings at this point because there is better stuff out there now. But in the early 1970s I spent many hours with that book and learned a tremendous amount from it. Forget the analytical errors: I gained a conceptual understanding of a good bit of endgame theory. For example, earlier this year I was going through Khmelnitsky's "Chess Exam". One of the positions was a B and P ending with same color Bs. I aced it with little effort because Fine's explanation of a similar position came to mind immediately, more than 45 years later.
This, by the way, is a good example of the value of pattern recognition. This one just happened to pop into my brain; if I could do that with another 10,000 or so patterns I might get back to USCF Class A. 
The criticism of BCE is usually that it contains errors. First, all books contain errors. Second, while errors have been published over the years, those refutations have themselves been refuted. The value of this work is that it is the only one-volume end game book in English that covers so much and gives really good principles. Read his chapter on rook and pawn endings, memorize some of those positions, watch yourself winning ending after ending using those principles. And I know because I have.
Nwap111 wrote:
... BCE ... while errors have been published over the years, those refutations have themselves been refuted. ...
Do you have refutations of specific examples identified by GM John Nunn?
Probably not. I understand that he uses a computer to check. But beware the computer is not always right. The ending can be tricky even for a computer. There are drawn endings that computers thought won and won endings some computers thought drawn. Still an excellent book to learn the endgame.
What is a good endgame chess book?