Endgame

In chess, the endgame (or end game or ending) refers to the stage of the game when there are few pieces left on the board.

Books on endgames

Here are some books on chess endgames:

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Small, general one-volume books:

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• Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge, by Yuri Averbakh, Everyman Chess (possibly out of print in book form but available on CD) Mostly elementary - a good place to start but not comprehensive enough.
• Essential Chess Endings: the Tournament Player's Guide, by James Howell, Batsford. A very good small, comprehensive book.
• Practical Chess Endings, by Paul Keres, R.H.M. Press (out of print). Great but out of print.
• A Pocket Guide to Chess Endings, by David Hooper, Bell & Hyman. Pretty good and interesting.
• A Guide to Chess Endings, by Dr. Max Euwe and David Hooper, Dover. Not as instructive as the others in this section.
• Practical Chess Endings, by Irving Chernev, Dover. Looks at individual endgames, so isn't as instructive as the others.

Large, more comprehensive one-volume books:

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• Fundamental Chess Endings, by Karsten Müller and Frank Lamprecht, Gambit Publications. One of the best - comprehensive and modern.
• Basic Chess Endings, by Reuben Fine and Pal Benko, McKay. The mother of all modern endgame books. An old classic by Fine - recently revised by Benko.
• Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual, by Mark Dvoretsky, Russel Enterprises. A very good modern teaching book.
• Silman's Complete Endgame Course: From Beginner To Master, Jeremy Silman, Siles Press (to be released October 2005)
• Batsford Chess Endings, by Jon Speelman, Jon Tisdall, and Bob Wade, Batsford (probably out of print). More of a catalog of actual positions than a general book, so not as useful or instructive as the others in this section.

Multi-volume works:

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• Comprehensive Chess Endings, by Yuri Averbakh, et. al., five volumes. A pretty detailed and comprehensive look at various endings. Probably out of print in book form, but available on computer CD-ROM.
• Encyclopedia of Chess Endings, Šahovski informator (Chess Informant). For experts and masters only.

Some books on specific endings:

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• Secrets of Pawn Endings, by Karsten Müller and Frank Lamprecht, Everyman Chess. A good book for king and pawn endgames.
• The Survival Guide to Rook Endings, John Emms, Everyman Chess. A good book for rook and pawn endgames.
• Practical Rook Endings, by Victor Korchnoi, Olms. An introductory chapter on fundamental positions followed by detailed analysis of fourteen of rook endgames from his actual games.
• Rook Endings, by Grigory Levenfish and Vasily Smyslov, Batsford. A classic study of rook and pawn endings (may be out of print).
• Secrets of Rook Endings, by John Nunn, Gambit Publications. A very detailed look at K+R+P vs. K+R endings using a computer tablebase. Not recomended for the general reader.
• Practical Rook Endings, by Edmar Mednis, Chess Enterprises, 1982. ISBN 93146-16-9.
• Secrets of Pawnless Endings, by John Nunn, Gambit Publications. A detailed look at critical endings without pawns. Not recomended for the general reader.
• Secrets of Minor Piece Endings, by John Nunn, Gambit Publications. A detailed look at minor piece and pawn versus minor piece endgames. Not recomended for the general reader.
• Starting Out: Pawn Endings, by Glenn Flear, Everyman Chess. Looks elementry/introductory.
• Starting Out: Rook Endings, by Chris Ward, Everyman Chess. Looks elementry/introductory.
• Starting Out: Minor Piece Endings, by John Emms, Everyman Chess. Looks elementry/introductory.

Endgames by specific players:

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• Capablanca's Best Chess Endings: 60 Complete Games, by Irving Chernev, Dover. Complete games with good endgame lessons.
• Vasily Smyslov: Endgame Virtuoso, by Vasily Smyslov, Everyman Chess. Endings plus some complete games that illustrate endgames.

Miscellaneous endgame books:

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• Winning Chess Endings, by Yasser Seirawan, Everyman Chess. Looks elementry/introductory.
• Pandolfini's Endgame Course, by Bruce Pandolfini, Fireside. Looks elementry/introductory.
• Grandmaster Secrets: Endings, by Andrew Soltis, Thinker's Press. Looks elementry/introductory.
• Just the Facts!: Winning Endgame Knowledge in One Volume, Lev Alburt and Nikolai Krogius, Newmarket Press. Looks elementry/introductory.
• Six Hundred Endings, by Lajos Portisch and Balázs Sárközy, Pergammon. Examines specific endgames from actual games and studies, categorized by the basic type of ending.
• Winning Endgame Technique, by Alexander Beliavsky and Adrain Mikhalchishin, Batsford. Explores several key types of endgames.
• Endgame Secrets: How to plan in the endgame in chess, by Christopher Lutz, Batsford. Examines 45 endgames from actual play.
• Analysing the Endgame, by Jonathan Speelman, Arco Chess Library. Analysis of some basic endgames and some more complex ones. Can be difficult going.
• Endgame Preperation, by John Speelman, Batsford. Covers some endgame topics. Can be difficult going.