Practical Chess Endings

by Paul Keres

Book Overview

An essential and practical book for all chess players, from one of the world's greatest grandmasters. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of good endgame play--and rather than trying to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0713410612
• ISBN13: 9780713410617
• Release Date: June 1984
• Publisher: Batsford
• Weight: 1.11 lbs.

Customer Reviews

You need to work hard - the result - Wonderful !

This is not a book that promise You the quickest way to master the Endgame, but with hard work and good discipline You will get Your REWARD ! It would be an insult for this extraordinaryMaster of playing chess to sell cheap ideas. Paul Keres did understand this very well ! His book is very efficient and it's up to You to make it amusing by getting the Best out of it. Step by step You will notice Your progress.A good result after hard work is always amuzing !arielmar2001 - Ingemar Ariel LINDGREN

Outstanding

I can't understand how a 2089 player can say this book is no good. Keres was one of the strongest players in the world and as a teacher, chess annotator and author was unsurpassed. His games are among the most impressive and technically accurate. All his books are of very high quality, and this one is NO exception. This book is complete, methodical, clear and the section on rook endings in outstanding. Anyone who reads this book conscientiously will reap handsome dividends. Keres's book is NOT for the TOTAL beginner, but for someone who has a rudimentary notion of endings, i.e., a beginner who has read books like Learn Chess, Vols., I and II by Alexander, for example, which introduces the notions of the endgame. After that, this book is ideal.Keres was a master of the endgame, and this book shows it through and through. I highly recommend it. Once mastered it will raise your rating by at least 100 points.

Systematic and instructive

As a FM who first read this book when I was pre or early teens, I couldn't disagree more with the reviewer who found this dull. Rather, this great master of attack goes through a number of pawnless endgames, pawn endgames, and those where each side has no more than one piece. There are many basic positions as well as examples from practical play. For endgames with more pieces, go to Fine's "Basic Chess Endgames" or for more advanced material try Shereshevsky's "Endgame Strategy". But for an introductory endgame book, this is pretty good.The book by the same name by Chernev is not so practical, comprising endgame studies, which doesn't mean it's not pretty good anyway.

A very good endgame book by a great player

This book has improved my endgame knowledge and understanding. Long before there was Jeremy Silman's book (Essential Chess Endings)which is a great book in t's own right there was this great book by Keres. This book provides basic endgame positions and plenty of positions that occurred over the board as well as a few studies. Make no bones about it this book is very thorough in it's teaching of the endings and the basic ideas needed to understand and play these endings well. Don't be lazy READ IT!!! Take your time and slowly digest what Grandmaster Keres has to teach and you will be rewarded. Although I am not even of master level this was one of the first books I read on the endgame. I have a friend who I've been playing for years and I've consistently beaten him in endgames that should have been drawn and drawn plenty of games that should have been won by him. Also he hasn't been my only victim. I have drawn and won many games with players of class B to expert strength because they did not understand how to win certain types of endings. I think anyone who reads this book can only improve in this phase of the game.

Very practical,as the title suggests

This is a great book for those who want to improve their endgameUnless you have the time and money to spend on something like `Basic chess endings'( by Reuben Fine),or you are a master,you should buy this.