How to Play Chess Endgames (Endgame Strategy)

A comprehensive guide to endgame strategy"Karsten Müller rose to the Mount Olympus of endgame literature with Fundamental Chess Endings. ... His latest book, How to Play Chess Endings, with colleague Wolfgang Pajeken, is a sequel to that standard work." - Harry Schaack, KARLIn this companion volume to Fundamental Chess Endings, Müller and Pajeken focus on the practical side of playing endgames. They cover all aspects of strategic endgames, with particular emphasis on thinking methods, and ways to create difficulties for opponents over the board.Using hundreds of outstanding examples from modern practice, the authors explain not only how to conduct 'classical' endgame tasks, such as exploiting an extra pawn or more active pieces, but also how to handle the extremely unbalanced endings that often arise from the dynamic openings favoured nowadays. All varieties of endgames are covered, and there are more than 200 exercises for the reader, together with full solutions.Major topics include:Basic Principles and MethodsActivitySchematic ThinkingThe Fight for the InitiativeProphylaxis and Preventing CounterplayThe Bishop-Pair in the EndgameDominationThe Art of DefenceTypical MistakesRules of ThumbGrandmaster Karsten Müller is a world-renowned expert on all aspects of endgame play. He is co-author (with Frank Lamprecht) of the acclaimed Secrets of Pawn Endings and Fundamental Chess Endings. He finished third in the German Championship in 1996, and was runner-up in 1997.Wolfgang Pajeken is a FIDE Master from Hamburg who plays frequently in the German Bundesliga, and other team and individual championships. He is also a chess trainer, organizer and arbiter."What I particularly like about this book is the clarity of thought that has gone into the explanations. Although the amount of actual text is kept to a minimum, what there is is a model of conciseness and clarity that other authors could learn from. A word of praise too for the translator, Phil Adams. As an ex-languages teacher myself, I understand the difficulties of producing readable translations of foreign works, and Phil has done an excellent job here." - Alan Sutton, En Passant"This constitutes a complete course on practical endgame play at the highest tournament level, and I know of no previous work like it." - Harald Keilhack, Schach"How to Play Chess Endgames is something different. Authors Müller and Pajeken adopt a unique approach. Their aim is to teach basic endgame skills rather than theory. ... The authors introduce and illustrate their themes with well chosen examples and clear explanatory prose. Each chapter concludes with a series of exercises designed to test the student's mastery of the material. I can highly recommend How to Play Chess Endgames. With faster time-controls and no adjournments, the premium on good endgame skills has never been higher." - IM John Donaldson, USA Team Captain"This is an A+ book. Brilliantly useful. Superb examples from everywhere. A long bibliography." - Bob Long, chessco Read more