Endgame

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Endgame (disambiguation).

This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

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.

The line between middlegame and endgame is often not clear, and may occur gradually or with the quick exchange of a few pairs of pieces. The endgame, however, tends to have different characteristics from the middlegame, and the players have correspondingly different strategic concerns. In particular, pawns become more important; endgames often revolve around attempting to promote a pawn by advancing it to the eighth rank. The king, which has to be protected in the middlegame owing to the threat of checkmate, becomes a strong piece in the endgame. It can be brought to the center of the board and be a useful attacking piece.

Many people have composed endgame studies, endgame positions which are solved by finding a win for white when there is no obvious way of winning, or a draw when it seems white must lose.

Endgames can be classified according to the type of pieces that remain. Some common types of endgames are discussed below.

1 When does the endgame begin?
2 Common types of endgames
3 Positions with a material imbalance
4 General considerations
5 Effect of tablebases on endgame theory
6 Longest forced win
7 Table of the most common endings
8 Bibliography
9 See also
10 Notes
11 References
12 External links

[edit] When does the endgame begin?

An endgame is when there are only a few pieces left. With the usual system for chess piece point value, Speelman considers that endgames are positions in which each player has thirteen or fewer points in material (not counting the king). Alternatively, an endgame is a position in which the king can be used actively, but there are some famous exceptions to that (Speelman 1981:7-8). Minev characterizes endgames as positions having four or fewer pieces other than kings and pawns (Minev 2004:5).

Alburt and Krogius give three characteristics of an endgame: (Alburt & Krogius 2000:12)

Endgames favor an aggressive king
Passed pawns increase greatly in importance
Zugzwang is often a factor in endgames and rarely in other stages of the game.

[edit] Common types of endgames

[edit] Basic checkmates

Main article: checkmate

These are positions in which one side has only a king and the other side has one or two pieces and can checkmate the opposing king, with the pieces working together with their king. A queen or a rook can easily checkmate a lone king. See Wikibooks - Chess/The Endgame for a demonstration of these two checkmates. Two bishops can easily checkmate a lone king, provided that the bishops move on opposite color squares. (Two or more bishops on the same color can not checkmate.) A bishop and knight can also checkmate a lone king, although the checkmate procedure is long (up to 33 moves with correct play) and is difficult for a player who does not know the correct technique.

Two knights cannot force checkmate against a lone king (see Two knights endgame), but if the weaker side also has a pawn, checkmate is sometimes possible, because positions which would be stalemate without the pawn are not stalemate with the additional pawn. If the pawn is blocked by a knight on or behind the Troitzky line, the knights have a long theoretical win. There are some other positions when the pawn is past the Troitzky line in which the knights can force checkmate, but the procedure is long and difficult. In either case, in competition the fifty move rule will often result in the game being drawn first. (While there is a board position that allows two knights to checkmate a lone king, such requires a careless move by the weaker side to execute; he cannot be driven into the corner.)

[edit] King and pawn endings

King and pawn endgames involve only kings and pawns on one or both sides. Cecil Purdy said "Pawn endings are to chess as putting is to golf."

Getting a passed pawn is crucial (a passed pawn is one which does not have an opposing pawn on its file or on adjacent files on its way to promotion). Nimzovich once said that a passed pawn has a "lust to expand". An outside passed pawn is particularly deadly. The point of this is a decoy — while the defending king is preventing it from queening, the attacking king wins pawns on the other side.

Opposition is an important technique that is used to gain an advantage. When two kings are in opposition, they are on the same file (or rank) with an empty square separating them. The player having the move loses the opposition. He must move his king and allow the opponent's king to advance. Note however that the opposition is a means to an end, which is penetration into the enemy position. If the attacker can penetrate without the opposition, he should do so. The tactics of triangulation and zugzwang as well as the theory of corresponding squares are often decisive.

[edit] King and pawn versus king

Main article: King and pawn versus king

A draw results if the defending king can reach the square in front of the pawn or the square in front of that. See King and pawn versus king for more discussion of this important ending.

[edit] Knight and pawn endings

Knight and pawn endgames feature clever maneuvering by the knights to capture opponent pawns. While a knight is poor at chasing a passed pawn, it is the ideal piece to block a passed pawn. Knights can't lose a tempo, so knight and pawn endgames have much in common with king and pawn endgames. An outside passed pawn can outweigh a central protected passed pawn, unlike king and pawn endgames. A knight blockading a protected passed pawn attacks the protector, while the knight blockading an outside passed pawn is somewhat out of action.

[edit] Knight and pawn versus knight

This is generally a draw since the knight can be sacrificed for the pawn, however the king and knight must be covering squares in the pawn's path. If the pawn reaches the seventh rank and is supported by its king and knight, it usually promotes and wins (Fine and Benko 2003:7-8).

[edit] Bishop and pawn endings

Bishop and pawns endgame. Molnar-Nagy, 1966, White to move. White has a good bishop, black a bad one.

Bishop and pawn endgames come in two distinctly different variants. If the opposing bishops go on the same color of square, the mobility of the bishops is a crucial factor. A bad bishop is one that is hemmed in by pawns of its own color, and has the burden of defending them.

The diagram on the right, from Molnar-Nagy, Hungary 1966, illustrates the concepts of good bishop vs. bad bishop, opposition, zugzwang, and outside passed pawn. White wins with 1.e6! (vacating e5 for his king) Bxe6 2.Bc2! Bf7 3.Be4! Be8 4.Ke5! Seizing the opposition (i.e. the kings are two orthogonal squares apart, with the other player on move) and placing Black in zugwang — he must either move his king, allowing White's king to penetrate, or his bishop, allowing a decisive incursion by White's bishop. 4...Bd7 5.Bxg6!

[edit] Bishop and pawn versus bishop on the same color

Two rules given by Luigi Centurini apply:

The game is a draw if the black king can reach any square in front of the pawn that is not of the color of the bishop.
If the defending king is behind the pawn and the attacking king is near the pawn, the defender can draw only if his king is attacking the pawn, he has the opposition, and his bishop can move on two diagonals that have at least two squares each (Fine and Benko 2003:152).

[edit] Bishops on opposite colors

Main article: Opposite colored bishops endgame

Endings with bishops of opposite color, meaning that one bishop works on the light squares, the other one working on dark squares, are notorious for their drawish character. Many players in a poor position have saved themselves from a loss by trading down to such an endgame. They are often drawn even when one side has a two pawn advantage since the weaker side can create a blockade on the squares which his bishop operates on. Interestingly the weaker side should often try to make his bishop bad by placing his pawns on the same color of his bishop in order to defend his remaining pawns, thereby creating an impregnable fortress.

[edit] Bishop versus knight endings (with pawns)

Current theory is that bishops are better than knights about 60 percent of the time, in the middlegame and endgame. The more symmetrical the pawns are (i.e. Black's pawns are on the same files as White's pawns), the better it is for the knight. The knight is best suited at an outpost in the center whereas the bishop is strongest when it can attack targets on both sides of the board or a series of squares of the same color (Beliavsky and Mikhalchishin 1995:122).

Fine and Benko (Fine and Benko 2003:205) give four conclusions:

In general the bishop is better than the knight.
When there is a material advantage, the difference between the bishop and knight is not very important. However, the bishop usually wins more easily than the knight.
If the material is even, the position should be drawn. However, the bishop can exploit positional advantages more efficiently.
When most of the pawns are on the same color as the bishop (i.e. a bad bishop), the knight is better.

[edit] Bishop and pawn versus knight

This is a draw if the defending king is in front of the pawn or sufficiently close. The defending king can occupy a square in front of the pawn of the opposite color as the bishop and can't be driven away. Otherwise the attacker can win (Fine and Benko 2003:206).

[edit] Knight and pawn versus bishop

This is a draw if the defending king is in front of the pawn or sufficiently near. The bishop is kept on a diagonal that the pawn must cross and the knight can't both block the bishop and drive the defending king away. Otherwise the attacker can win (Fine and Benko 2003:209).

[edit] Rook and pawn endings

Rook and pawn endgames are often drawn in spite of one side having an extra pawn. (In some cases, two extra pawns are not enough to win.) An extra pawn is harder to convert to a win in a rook and pawn endgame than any other type of endgame except a bishop endgame with bishops on opposite colors. The great master Tartakower once jocularly said "All rook and pawn endings are drawn". (It may have been Siegbert Tarrasch who said this - see the article on Tartakower.) Rook endings are probably the deepest and most well studied endgames. They are the a common type of endgame in practice, occurring in about 10 percent of all games (including ones that don't reach an endgame) (Emms 1999:7).

Three rules of thumb regarding rooks are worth noting:

Rooks should almost always be placed behind passed pawns, whether one's own or the opponent's (the Tarrasch rule). A notable exception is in the ending of a rook and pawn versus a rook, if the pawn is not too far advanced. In that case, the best place for the opposing rook is in front of the pawn.
Rooks are very poor defenders relative to their attacking strength. So it is often good to sacrifice a pawn for activity. This is especially so in the following case
A rook on the seventh rank can wreak mayhem among the opponent's pawns. The power of a rook on the seventh rank is not confined to the endgame. The classic example is Capablanca–Tartakower, New York 1924 (see annotated game without diagrams or Java board)

An important winning position in the endgame of a rook and pawn versus rook is the so-called Lucena position. If the side with the pawn can reach the Lucena position, he wins. However, there are several important drawing techniques such as the Philidor position, the back rank defense (rook on the first rank, for rook pawns and knight pawns only), the frontal defense, and the short side defense. A general rule is that if the weaker side's king can get to the queening square of the pawn, the game is a draw and otherwise it is a win, but there are many exceptions.

[edit] Rook and pawn versus rook

Main article: Rook and pawn versus rook

Generally (but not always), if the defending king can reach the queening square of the pawn the game is a draw (see Philidor position), otherwise the attacker usually wins (if it is not a rook pawn). The winning procedure can be very difficult and some positions require more than sixty moves to win, so the fifty move rule comes into play. If the attacking rook is two files from the pawn and the defending king is cut off on the other side, the attacker normally wins (with a few exceptions) (Fine and Benko 2003:294).

The most difficult case of a rook and pawn versus a rook is when the attacking rook is one file over from the pawn and the defending king is cut off on the other side. Siegbert Tarrasch gave the following rules for this case: "For a player defending against a pawn on the fifth or even sixth ranks to obtain a draw, even after his king has been forced off the queening square, the following conditions must obtain: The file on which the pawn stands divides the board into two unequal parts. The defending rook must stand in the longer part and give checks from the flank at the greatest possible distance from the attacking king. Nothing less than a distance of three files makes it possible for the rook to keep on giving check. Otherwise it would ultimately be attacked by the king. The defending king must stand on the smaller part of the board." See the short side defense at Rook and pawn versus rook.

[edit] Queen and pawn endings

In Queen and pawn endings, passed pawns have paramount importance, because the queen can escort it to the queening square alone. The advancement of the passed pawn outweighs the number of pawns. The defender must resort to perpetual check. These endings are frequently extremely long affairs. For an example of a Queen and pawn endgame see Kasparov versus The World — Kasparov won although he had fewer pawns because his was more advanced. For the ending with a queen versus a pawn, see Queen versus pawn.

[edit] Queen and pawn versus queen

This combination is a win less frequently than the equivalent ending with rooks, and it is very difficult to play. According to Fine and Benko (Fine and Benko 2003:538), this ending is a draw unless the pawn is a bishop pawn or a center pawn (i.e. king pawn or queen pawn) and the pawn is in the seventh rank and is supported by its king. If the defending king can get in front of the pawn, the game is a draw; otherwise it is best for the defender to keep his king far away from the pawn. The defender should keep checking until he runs out of check, and then pin the pawn. Based on computer analysis, Müller and Lamprecht (Müller and Lamprecht 2001:316) give a slightly different description. According to them, normally the defending king needs to be in front of the pawn. A rook pawn or knight pawn is a theoretical draw if the defending king is in front or near the pawn or if the king is in the opposite corner. A knight pawn has more practical winning chances than a rook pawn. A bishop pawn or central pawn is a win if the defending king is not in front of the pawn. A bishop pawn has better winning chances than a central pawn.

[edit] Endings with no pawns

Main article: Pawnless chess endgames

Besides the basic checkmates, there are other endings with no pawns. They do not occur very often in practice.

[edit] Positions with a material imbalance

A rook is worth roughly two pawns plus a bishop or a knight. A bishop and knight are worth roughly a rook and a pawn, and a queen is worth a rook, a minor piece (bishop or knight) and a pawn (see chess piece point value). Three pawns are often enough to win against a minor piece, but two pawns rarely are.

However, with rooks on the board, the bishop often outweighs the pawns. This is because the bishop defends against enemy rook attacks, while the bishop's own rook attacks enemy pawns and reduces the enemy rook to passivity. This relates to Rule 2 with rooks (above).

A bishop is usually worth more than a knight. A bishop is especially valuable when there are pawns on both wings of the board, since it can intercept them quickly.

[edit] General considerations

In general, the player with a material advantage tries to exchange pieces and reach the endgame. In the endgame, the player with a material advantage should usually try to exchange pieces but avoid the exchange of pawns. There are some exceptions to this: (1) endings in which both sides have two rooks plus pawns – the player with more pawns has better winning chances if a pair of rooks are not exchanged, and (2) bishops on opposite color with other pieces – the stronger side should avoid exchanging the other pieces.

In the endgame, it is better for the player with more pawns to avoid too many pawn exchanges, because they should be won for nothing. Also, endings with pawns on both sides of the board are much easier to win. A king and pawn endgame with an outside passed pawn should be a far easier win than a middlegame a rook ahead.

With the recent growth of computer chess, an interesting development has been the creation of endgame databases which are tables of stored positions calculated by retrograde analysis (such a database is called an endgame tablebase). A program which incorporates knowledge from such a database is able to play perfect chess on reaching any position in the database.

[edit] Effect of tablebases on endgame theory

Endgame tablebases have made some minor corrections to historical endgame analysis, but they have made some more significant changes to endgame theory too. (The fifty-move rule is not taken into account in these studies.) Major changes to endgame theory as a result of tablebases include (Müller and Lamprecht 2001:8,400-406):

Queen versus rook (see Philidor position#Queen versus rook). There are two changes here enabling the rook to put up a better defense, but the queen still wins. (a) People usually opt for a second-rank defense with the rook on the second rank and the king behind it (or symmetrical positions on the other edges of the board). Tablebases show that a third-rank defense takes a while to breach, and is difficult for a human to do. (b) People had assumed that the rook needs to stay as close to the king for as long as possible, but tablebases show that it is best to move the rook away from the king at some earlier point (Nunn 2002:49ff).

Queen and pawn versus queen. Tablebases have shown that this can be won in many more positions than was thought, but the logic of the moves is presently beyond human understanding (Nunn 1995:265).
Queen versus two bishops. This was thought to be a draw due to the existence of a drawing fortress position, but the queen can prevent the bishops from getting to the fortress and win most of the time. However, it can take up to 71 moves (Nunn 2002:290ff).

Was thought to be drawn, but White to move wins in this position. Some similar positions are actually drawn (e.g with the queen on e2).

Queen versus two knights. This was thought to be a draw and generally it is, but the queen has more winning positions than was previously thought. Also, many analysts gave a position (see diagram) that they thought was a draw but it is actually a win for the queen (Nunn 2002:300ff). In the diagram, white checkmates in 43 moves, starting with 1. Qc7 (the only winning move). Note that Nunn says "The general result is undoubtedly a draw, but here are many losing positions, some of them very lengthy." On the other hand, Batsford Chess Endings states that 89.7 percent of the starting positions are wins for the queen (Speelman, et al. 1996:7). However, these percentages can be misleading, and most "general results" are based on the analysis of grandmasters using the tablebase data (Müller and Lamprecht 2001:406), (Nunn 2002:324). For instance, although nearly 90 percent of all of these positions are wins for the queen, it is generally a draw if the king isn't separated from the knights and they are on reasonable squares (Müller and Lamprecht 2001:339).

Was thought to be drawn, but White wins. Kling and Horowitz, 1851

Two bishops versus a knight. This was thought to be a draw but the bishops generally win. However, it takes up to 66 moves. The position in the diagram was thought to be a draw for over one hundred years, but tablebases show that White wins in 45 moves. All of the long wins go through this type of semi-fortress position. It takes several moves to force Black out of the temporary fortress in corner; then precise play with the bishops prevents Black from forming the temporary fortress in another corner (Nunn 1995:265ff).

Queen and bishop versus two rooks. This was thought to be a draw but the queen and bishop usually win. It takes up to 84 moves (Nunn 2002:367ff).

Rook and bishop versus bishop and knight, bishops on opposite colors. This was thought to be a draw but the rook and bishop generally win. It takes up to 98 moves (Nunn 2002:342ff).

[edit] Longest forced win

White to move has a forced win, starting with 1. Rg1+ (the only winning move). White wins a rook on move 290. Sixty-eight of the moves are the only move which preserves the win.

In October 2005, Marc Bourzutschky and Yakov Konoval announced that a position in the ending of a king, two rooks and a knight versus a king and two rooks requires 290 moves to convert to a simpler winning endgame. This type of ending is thought to be a draw in general. The old record was 243 moves from a position in a rook and knight versus two knights endgame, discovered by Lewis Stiller in 1991. (Endings of a rook and knight versus two knights are generally draws.) The fifty move rule is ignored in the calculation of these results and lengths.

Black to move, White converts to a simpler winning position in 330 moves.

On March 10, 2006 Marc Bourzutschky and Yakov Konoval announced a new record for the longest endgame, requiring 330 moves to conversion to a simpler ending.

With Black to move, White forces a win in 517 moves.

In May 2006 a record-shattering 517-move endgame was announced. Mark Bourzutschky found it using a program written by Yakov Konoval (see diagram). Black's first move is 1. ... Rd7+ and White wins the rook in 517 moves.

[edit] Table of the most common endings

The table below lists the most common endings in actual games by percentage (percentage of games, not percentage of endings. Generally pawns go along with the pieces.) (Müller and Lamprecht 2001:11-12, 304)

Pieces	Percentage
Rook versus rook	8.45
Rook & bishop vs. rook & knight	6.76
Two rooks versus two rooks	3.45
Rook & bishop vs. rook & bishop (same color)	3.37
Bishop versus knight	3.29
Rook & knight vs. rook & knight	3.09
King and pawns vs. king (and pawns)	2.87
Rook & bishop vs. rook & bishop (opposite color)	1.92
Queen versus queen	1.87
Rook & bishop versus rook	1.77
Bishop versus bishop (same color)	1.65
knight versus knight	1.56
Rook versus bishop	1.51
Rook & knight versus rook	1.42
Bishop versus bishop (opposite color)	1.11
Bishop versus pawns	1.01
Rook versus knight	0.97
Knight versus pawns	0.92
Queen & minor piece versus queen	0.90
Rook versus pawns	0.75
Queen versus rook & minor piece	0.69
Rook and pawn versus rook	0.67
Rook and two pawns versus rook	0.56
Queen versus pawns	0.42
Queen versus rook	0.40
Queen versus two rooks	0.31
King and one pawn versus king	0.23
Queen versus minor piece	0.17
Queen and one pawn versus queen	0.09
Queen versus two minor pieces	0.08
Bishop and knight versus king	0.02
Queen versus three minor pieces	0.01

[edit] Bibliography

Here are some books on chess endgames:

[edit] Small, general one-volume books

Winning Chess Endings, by Yasser Seirawan, 2003, Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-348-9. A good introductory book.

Improve Your Endgame Play, by Glenn Flear, 2000, Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-246-6. A good introductory book.

Just the Facts!: Winning Endgame Knowledge in One Volume, Lev Alburt and Nikolai Krogius, 2000, Newmarket Press. ISBN 1-889323-15-2. A good introductory book.

Essential Chess Endings: the Tournament Player's Guide, by James Howell, 1997, Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-8189-7. A small but comprehensive book.

Grandmaster Secrets: Endings, by Andrew Soltis, 1997, 2003, Thinker's Press, ISBN 0-938650-66-1. An elementary book.

Pandolfini's Endgame Course, by Bruce Pandolfini, 1988, Fireside, ISBN 0-671-65688-0. Many short elementary endgame lessons.

Chess Endings Made Simple: How to Approach the Endgame with Confidence, by Ian Snape, 2003, Gambit Publications, ISBN 1-901983-97-8

Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge, by Yuri Averbakh, 1966, 1993, Everyman Chess (possibly out of print in book form but available on CD). ISBN 1-85744-022-6. Contains some elementary material and a few more advanced topics, but is not comprehensive.

Practical Chess Endings, by Paul Keres, 1973, R.H.M. Press. ISBN 0-89058-028-6. Highly regarded but out of print.

A Pocket Guide to Chess Endings, by David Hooper, 1970, Bell & Hyman. ISBN 0-7135-1761-1. Small yet relatively comprehensive book.

A Guide to Chess Endings, by Dr. Max Euwe and David Hooper, 1959, 1976, Dover. ISBN 0-486-23332-4. Analysis of positions of many types, but little overall discussion of principles.

Practical Chess Endings, by Irving Chernev, 1961, Dover. ISBN 0-486-22208-X. Analysis of positions of a few types, but little overall discussion of principles.

[edit] Large, more comprehensive one-volume books

Fundamental Chess Endings, by Karsten Müller and Frank Lamprecht, 2001, Gambit Publications. ISBN 1-901983-53-6. Highly regarded - comprehensive and modern.

Basic Chess Endings, by Reuben Fine and Pal Benko, 1941, 2003, McKay. ISBN 0-8129-3493-8. The mother of all modern endgame books. A classic book by Fine – recently revised by Benko.

Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual, by Mark Dvoretsky, 2003, Russel Enterprises. ISBN 1-888690-19-4. A modern manual book by a noted chess teacher.

Silman's Complete Endgame Course: From Beginner To Master, Jeremy Silman, 2007, Siles Press, ISBN 1-890085-10-3. Has a unique approach, it presents material in order of difficulty and the keed to know of various classes of players. It starts with material for the absolute beginner and progresses up to master level material.

Batsford Chess Endings, by Jon Speelman, Jon Tisdall, and Bob Wade, 1993, Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-4420-7. More of a catalog of positions and analysis with little discussion (probably out of print).

[edit] Multi-volume works

Comprehensive Chess Endings, by Yuri Averbakh, et. al., 1983. In five volumes. A pretty detailed, advanced, and comprehensive look at various endings. Out of print in book form, but available on computer CD-ROM.
- Volume 1: Bishop endings/Knight endings, Yuri Averbakh and Vitaly Checkover, ISBN 0-08-026900-1.
- Volume 2: Bishop versus knight, rook versus minor piece, Yuri Averbakh, ISBN 0-08-026902-8.
- Volume 3: Queen and pawn endings, queen versus rook, queen versus minor piece, Yuri Averbakh, Vitaly Checkover, and V. Henkin, ISBN 0-08-026904-4.
- Volume 4: Pawn endings, Yuri Averbakh and Ilya Maizelis, ISBN 0-08-026906-0.
- Volume 5: Rook endings, Yuri Averbakh and Nikolai Kopayev, ISBN 0-08-026908-7.

Encyclopedia of Chess Endings, Šahovski informator (Chess Informant). For experts and masters only.

[edit] Some books on specific endings

[edit] Pawn endings

Starting Out: Pawn Endings, by Glenn Flear, 2004, Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-362-4. A good book for advancing and intermediate players.

Secrets of Pawn Endings, by Karsten Müller and Frank Lamprecht, 2000, Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-255-5. An in-depth book for king and pawn endgames.

Comprehensive Chess Endings: Pawn Endings, volume 4, by Yuri Averbakh and Ilya Maizelis, see above.

[edit] Rook endings

Starting Out: Rook Endings (2004). Chris Ward, Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-374-8. A good book for advancing and intermediate players.

The Survival Guide to Rook Endings, John Emms, 1999, Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-235-0. An in-depth book for rook and pawn endgames.

Practical Rook Endings, by Victor Korchnoi, 1999, 2002, Olms. ISBN 3-283-00401-3. 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, 1971, Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-0449-3. Considered a classic study of rook and pawn endings (may be out of print).

Secrets of Rook Endings, by John Nunn, 1992, 1999, Gambit Publications. ISBN 1-901983-18-8. Goes deeply into the intricate details of the ending of a king, one rook, and one pawn versus a king and one rook – culled from a computer endgame tablebase. Considers positions based on every starting position of the pawn.

Practical Rook Endings, by Edmar Mednis, 1982, Chess Enterprises. ISBN 0-931462-16-9. A small book on rook and pawn endgames.

Minev, Nikolay (2004), A Practical Guide to Rook Endgames, Russell Enerprises, ISBN 1-888690-22-4

Comprehensive Chess Endings: Rook Endings, volume 5, by Yuri Averbakh and Nikolai Kopayev, see above.

[edit] Minor piece endings

Starting Out: Minor Piece Endings, by John Emms, 2004, Everyman Chess, ISBN 1-85744-359-4. A good book for advancing and intermediate players.

Comprehensive Chess Endings: Bishop Endings/Knight Endings, volume 1, by Yuri Averbakh and Vitaly Checkover, see above.

Secrets of Minor-Piece Endings, by John Nunn, Batsford. A very detailed look at the endgames of one minor piece and a pawn versus one minor piece, plus two bishops versus one knight (with no pawns), based on computer tablebase, ISBN 0-8050-4228-8.

[edit] Other endings

Secrets of Pawnless Endings, by John Nunn, 1994, 2002, Gambit Publications. ISBN 1-901983-65-X. A very detailed look at relatively rare critical endings without pawns, based on computer tablebase.

[edit] Endgame strategy

Strategic endgames are endgames that begin at the end of the middlegame. Usually each player has several pieces, making the position too difficult to analyze in detail. Therefore, it is usually not certain what the outcome should be or what is the best line of play.

Hansen, Lars Bo (2006), Secrets of Chess Endgame Strategy, Gambit, ISBN 1-904600-44-1

Shereshevsky, Mikhail (1994), Endgame Strategy, Everyman Chess, ISBN 1-85744-063-3

[edit] Endgames by specific players

Capablanca's Best Chess Endings: 60 Complete Games, by Irving Chernev, 1978, Dover. ISBN 0-486-24249-8. Complete games with good endgame lessons.

Vasily Smyslov: Endgame Virtuoso, by Vasily Smyslov, 1997, Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-198-2. Endings plus some complete games that illustrate endgames.

[edit] Miscellaneous endgame books

Mastering the Endgame, by Glenn Flear, 2001, Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-233-4. A good follow-up to the elementary books.

Six Hundred Endings, by Lajos Portisch and Balázs Sárközy, 1981, Pergamon. ISBN 0-08-024137-9. Examines specific endgames from actual games and studies, categorized by the basic type of ending.

Winning Endgame Technique, by Alexander Beliavsky and Adrian Mikhalchishin, 1995, Batsford, ISBN 0-7134-7512-9. Explores several key types of endgames.

Endgame Secrets: How to plan in the endgame in chess, by Christopher Lutz, 1999, Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-8165-X. Examines forty-five endgames from actual play.

Analysing the Endgame, by Jonathan Speelman, 1981, Arco Chess Library. ISBN 0-668-05242-2. Analysis of some basic endgames and some more complex ones. Can be difficult going.

Endgame Preparation, by Jon Speelman, 1981, Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-4000-7 (limp) ISBN 0-7134-3999-8 (cased). Covers some selected endgame topics. Can be difficult going.

360 Brilliant and Instructive End Games, by A. A. Troitzky, 1968, Dover Pubns. ISBN 0-486-21959-3. Collection of studies. Ingenious, Incredible.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

Lev Alburt and Nikolai Krogius (2000). Just the Facts!: Winning Endgame Knowledge in One Volume. Newmarket Press. ISBN 1-889323-15-2.
Alexander Beliavsky and Adrian Mikhalchishin (1995). Winning Endgame Technique. Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-7512-9.
John Emms (1999). The Survival Guide to Rook Endings. Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-235-0.
Reuben Fine and Pal Benko (1941, 2003). Basic Chess Endings. McKay. ISBN 0-8129-3493-8.

Minev, Nikolay (2004), A Practical Guide to Rook Endgames, Russell Enerprises, ISBN 1-888690-22-4

Karsten Müller and Frank Lamprecht (2001). Fundamental Chess Endings. Gambit Publications. ISBN 1-901983-53-6.
John Nunn (1995). Secrets of Minor-Piece Endings. Batsford. ISBN 0-8050-4228-8.
John Nunn (2002). Secrets of Pawnless Endings. Gambit Publications. ISBN 1-901983-65-X.

Jonathan Speelman (1981a). Endgame Preparation. Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-4000-7 (limp) ISBN 0-7134-3999-8 (cased).

Jonathan Speelman, Jon Tisdall, and Bob Wade (1996). Batsford Chess Endings. Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-4420-7.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../e/n/d/Endgame.html"

Categories: Chess endgames | Chess terms