Some Knight Endings

After working through the 13 knight endings in Thomas Engqvist, 300 Most Important Chess Positions (2018) over the course of several days, I put together five endings to play with some of my students. Two were from Engqvist and the others were found using ChessBase 17's research feature.

Black to move

From Sulistya,M. -- Slingerland,C., Timisoara 1988

As I beat Stockfish 16 rather easily from this position after forcing an exchange of knights, I hoped my students would do the same. That they did not suggests we might do more work on endings with a pawn majority and no pieces.

Black to move

This one is in Engqvist and from a game I cannot locate in databases: Gebhardt -- Bellman, Levelezes 1996. It is a good one to practice with. Stockfish evaluates Black's advantage as less than a pawn. I was lucky to get a draw with Stockfish 16 while playing Black. Well, not actually luck; I used the takeback feature.

White to move

In Pohjala,H.--Sulskis,S., Jyvaskyla 2013, White missed a chance for equality from this position. Against Stockfish on the iPad, I was able to hold the draw. Maybe I'll see if I can do the same against Stockfish 16 on my computer.

White to move

This position arose in Rossetto,H.--Stein,L., Amsterdam 1964 and Black won after a long struggle. The engine says the position is equal. I have not tested myself against the machine with this one.

Black to move

Black is slightly better and went on to win from this position in Lasker,E.--Nimzowitsch,A., Zurich 1934. Engqvist has this one in his book. Stockfish does not find fault with 35...h5, which all of my students played, but it seems the me that White might have more difficulties if that pawn holds back a bit.

Go to the Source

Three of the past four days, endings with a knight against pawns have been the focus as I am racing through Thomas Engqvist, 300 Most Important Chess Positions (2018). One of the positions and some of the analysis is from Yuri Averbakh and Vitaly Chekhover, Knight Endings, trans. Mary Lasher (1977). As this book was one of many that I acquired the year prior to turning 64, I pulled it from the shelf and began reading it (see "64 Endgame Books"). I skimmed the first two chapters and then looked at the analysis Engqvist referenced. 

Engqvist reaches position 41 in Knight Endings via a variation from a game played in Paris in 1848. This game is not in ChessBase Mega 2024, nor on chessgames.com, nor, as near as I can tell, anywhere else in online databases. But Engqvist offers a clue to help my search for the game: "Kieseritzky remarked that the ending was very interesting" (153).

Thanks to Chess Archaeology, it only took a minute to locate La Régence: Journal des Échecs, which Lionel Kieseritzky edited. It turns out that the source of the ending was the first game in the first issue. 

The journal offers a diagram after White's move 65. Engqvist played several training games from the position after 65...Ke5 more than twenty years before writing 300 Most Important Chess Positions. His analysis of this game, which Black could have drawn and in which both players made errors is instructive.

I played this position against the computer a couple of times on Friday and then read Engqvist's analysis more carefully yesterday. I also learned to read Kieseritzky's unusual notation: 65...E65 66. E47 E66 and entered the entire endgame into my database from the journal.

Some Easier Practice

While skimming the first chapter of Knight Endings, I paused on this statement by Averbakh and Chekhover: "Starting from any point on the board, a knight on move, can stop any pawn that has not gone beyond the fourth rank" (2).

Accordingly, I created an exercise to play against the computer. Stockfish on the iPad offered minimal resistance and was not worth the effort. I could have come to my office and used Stockfish 16 resident in Fritz, but was on the couch in the living room with my dog on my lap, so I tried using Lichess. This effort resulted in a game where I had to find a few only moves, but my composition was not as challenging as I hoped.

White to move

Almost any move works here, but I opted to only move the knight.

1.Nf7 b4 2.Nd6 Kd5

White to move

This position makes a better composition as only one move works.

3.Nf5 Ke4 4.Nd6+ Kd5 5.Nf5 Kc4 6.Ne3+ Kd3

White to move

7.Nd1

Only move, as are the next three. But they are not difficult.

7...Kc2 8.Ne3+ Kd3 9.Nd1 Kc2 10.Ne3+ Kc1 11.Nc4 b3 12.Ne5 Kc2

White to move

13.Nc4 Kc3 14.Na3

14.Nb6 and 14.Ne3 also work because 14...b2 would walk into a fork. I opted for the elementary 14.Na3 because of a known pattern.

14...b2 15.Nb1

The game went on until move 28, but there are no difficulties.

64 Endgame Books

It has been a goal of mine to acquire 64 endgame books before I reach the age of 64. That birthday comes soon and I need one more. What shall I add to my existing collection? Will it gather dust on the shelf, or will it be one that I read?

The main shelf

The category of "endgame books" is not perfectly clear. Do works on checkmate patterns fall into this group? I keep those books separate, although checkmate exercises were called "end-games" in nineteenth century chess periodicals and books. I do include studies, although some would put these in a separate category.

There are some classics on my shelves and some books published in the past two months. Most are paperbacks, but there are a few hardcover. Missing from my shelves are four of the five volumes of Encyclopedia of Chess Endings published by Chess Informant. Last summer, seven of the eight volume series edited by Yuri Averbakh were added. I have had the volume on rook endings for several years. In the months since, I've spent some time working through the early chapters on bishop endings.

Part of a second shelf is needed

For decades, the only endgame book in my possession was Irving Chernev, Practical Chess Endings, which I purchased at B. Dalton in downtown Spokane in the 1970s as a high school student. In the mid-1990s, as I was getting back into chess with some seriousness of purpose, I bought a copy of Jenö Bán, The Tactics of Endgames. Even then, my study focus remained largely openings and tactics.

In the twenty-first century, two books provoked serious study of endgames on my part. First, Karsten Mūller and Frank Lamprecht, Fundamental Chess Endings, published in 2001 and acquired that year. Then with purchase of Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual shortly after it was published in 2003, I began to both work on and enjoy endgame study. When I started studying Dvoretsky, I was USCF C Class. Today, it is often suggested that Dvoretsky is too hard for a class player, who should begin with Silman's Complete Endgame Course. Waiting four years for Silman would have deprived me of many hours of productive study. In any case, I rarely read a chess book cover-to-cover. Dvoretsky improved my game (see "Ten Books to Achieve 1800+").

Sometime before then, I had acquired Reuben Fine, Basic Chess Endings, but I always found this book difficult to use with too few diagrams and small print lacking sufficient paragraph breaks. Even so, it was a reference I turned to often when a specific question arose.

As the number of volumes slowly increased, I became a collector, still favoring those that I think I'll read.

The newest book in my collection was published this year and is a reprint, edited with a light hand, of one of the oldest endgame books in existence. Carsten Hansen brought Horwitz and Kling, Chess Studies and Endgames (1851) back into print as part of his Alexander Game Books Classics series.

Endgame Bibliography

Aagaard, Jacob. Excelling At Technical Chess: Learn to Identify and Exploit Small Advantages. London: Gloucester Publishers, 2004.

_______. A Matter of Endgame Technique. Grandmaster Knowledge. Glasgow: Quality Chess, 2022.

_______. Conceptual Rook Endgames. Grandmaster Knowledge. Glasgow: Quality Chess, 2023.

Averbakh, Yuri, and I. Maizelis. Pawn Endings, trans. Mary Lasher. Dallas: Chess Digest, 1974.

Averbakh, Yuri. Queen and Pawn Endings, trans. K. P. Neat. London: Batsford, 1975.

_______. Bishop v. Knight Endings, trans. K. P. Neat. London: Batsford, 1976.

_______. Bishop Endings, trans. Mary Lasher. London: Batsford, 1977.

_______, and Vitaly Chekhover. Knight Endings, trans. Mary Lasher. London: Batsford, 1977.

Averbakh, Yuri. Rook v. Minor Piece Endings, trans. K. P. Neat. London: Batsford, 1978.

_______, V. Chekhover, and V. Henkin. Queen v. Rook/Minor Piece Endings, trans. K. P. Neat. London: Batsford, 1978.

Averbakh, Yuri. Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge, new algebraic edition. London: Everyman Chess, [1971] 1993.

Bán, Jenö. The Tactics of Endgames. Mineola: Dover, [1963] 1997.

Barden, Leonard. How to Play the Endgame in Chess. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1975.

Bezgodov, Alexey. Opposite-Colored Bishop Endings: 174 Master Classes. Elk and Ruby, 2024.

Missing from the shelves because I’m reading it

Chernev, Irving. Practical Chess Endings. New York: Dover, 1961.

_______. Capablanca’s Best Chess Endings: 60 Complete Games.  New York: Dover, 1978.

_______. 200 Brilliant Endgames.  New York: Fireside, 1989.

Donaldson, John. Essential Chess Endings for Advanced Players. Dallas: Chess Digest, 1995.

De la Villa, Jesus. 100 Endgames You Must Know: Vital Lessons for Every Chess Player. 4^th ed. Alkmaar: New in Chess, 2015.

_______. The 100 Endgames You Must Know Workbook: Practical Endgame Lessons for Every Chess Player. Alkmaar: New in Chess, 2019.

_______. 100 Endgame Patterns You Must Know: Recognize Key Moves & Motifs and Avoid Typical Errors. Alkmaar: New in Chess, 2021.

Dvoretsky, Mark. Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual. Milford: Russell Enterprises, 2003.

_______. Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual, 5^th ed. Rev. by Karsten Mūller. Milford: Russell Enterprises, 2020.

Emms, John. Starting Out: Minor Piece Endgames. London: Gloucester Publishers, 2004.

Fine, Reuben. Basic Chess Endings. New York: David McKay, [1941] 1969.

Fishbein, Alex. King and Pawn Endings. Macon, GA: American Chess Promotions, 1993.

Three on pawns

Flear, Glenn. Improve Your Endgame Play. London: Everyman Chess, 2000.

_______. Mastering the Endgame. London: Everyman Chess, 2001.

_______. Test Your Endgame Thinking. London: Everyman Chess, 2002.

Guliev, Sarhan. The Manual of Chess Endings, vol. 4 of Chess School. Moscow: Russian Chess House, 2021.

Horwitz, Bernhard, and Josef Kling. Chess Studies and Endgames, updated and ed. Carsten Hansen. Bayonne, NJ: Alexander Game Books, 2024.

Karolyi, Tibor, and Nick Aplin. Endgame Virtuoso Anatoly Karpov. Alkmaar: New in Chess, 2007.

Kasparyan, Ghenrikh M. Domination in 2,545 Endgame Studies, trans. A. Krivoviaz. Moscow: Progress Pubishers, 1980.

_______. 888 Miniature Studies. Belgrade: BeoSing, 2010.

Keres, Paul. Practical Chess Endings, with modern chess notation. London: Batsford [1974] 2018.

Lakdawala, Cyrus. Tactical Training in the Endgame. London: Gloucester Publishers, 2021.

_______, and Carsten Hansen. The Chess Wizardry of Wotawa. Bayonne, NJ: CarstenChess, 2022.

_______. Beyond Chess Basics: Endgame Planning. Bayonne, NJ: CarstenChess, 2023.

Levenfish, Grigory, and Vasily Smyslov. Rook Endings, trans. Philip J. Booth. Dallas: Chess Digest, 1971.

Matanović, Aleksandar, et al. Encyclopedia of Chess Endings, vol. 4. Belgrade: Chess Informant, 1989.

Mednis, Edmar. Practical Rook Endings. Coraopolis, PA: Chess Enterprises, 1982.

_______. Practical Knight Endings. Moon Township, PA: Chess Enterprises, 1993.

Mieses, Jacques. Modern Endgame Studies: Selected for the Purpose of Practical Play, trans., updated, and ed. by Carsten Hansen. Bayonne, NJ: Alexander Game Books, 2023.

Minev, Nikolay. A Practical Guide to Rook Endgames. Milford: Russell Enterprises, 2004.

Mūller, Karsten, and Frank Lamprecht. Fundamental Chess Endings: A New Endgame Encyclopedia for the 21^st Century. London: Gambit Publications, 2001.

Nunn, John. Nunn’s Chess Endings, 2 vols. London: Gambit Publications, 2010.

Pandolfini, Bruce. Pandolfini’s Endgame Course. New York: Fireside, 1988.

Polgár, László. Chess Endgames. Köln: Könemann, 1999.

Rabinovich, Ilya. The Russian Endgame Handbook, trans. James Marfia. Newton Highlands, MA: Mongoose Press, 2012.

Roycraft, A. J. The Chess Endgame Study: A Comprehensive Introduction, 2^nd ed. Garden City: Dover, 1981.

Shankland, Sam. Small Steps to Giant Improvement: Master Pawn Play in Chess. Glasgow: Quality Chess, 2018.

_______. Theoretical Rook Endgames. Glasgow: Quality Chess, 2023.

Shereshevsky, Mikhail. Endgame Strategy, trans. K.P. Neat. London: Cadogan, [1985] 1994.

Silman, Jeremy. Silman’s Complete Endgame Course: From Beginner to Master. Los Angeles: Siles Press, 2007.

Speelman, Jonathan. Analysing the Endgame. London: Batsford, 1981.

_______. Endgame Preparation. London: Batsford, 1981.

Smyslov, Vasily. Vasily Smyslov: Endgame Virtuoso, trans. Ken Neat. London: Gloucester Publishers, [1977] 2003.

Van Perlo, G. C. Van Perlo’s Endgame Tactics: A Comprehensive Guide to the Sunny Side of Chess Endgames, new, improved and expanded edition. Alkmaar: New in Chess, 2014.

Znosko-Borovsky, Eugene. How to Play Chess Endings, trans. J. Du Mont. New York: Dover, [1940] 1974.

Edit: 13 April

Two days ago, the 64th book arrived. C.J.S. Purdy, On the Endgame. Davenport, IA: Thinkers Press, 2003.

 

 

 

 

Building a Lesson

A Partial DVD Review

I was stunned at seeing the number of instructive themes that Karsten Müller was able to extract from a short endgame played by Jose R. Capablanca as part of a simul. The lesson appears as part of the Fritz Trainer DVD, Master Class 04: Jose Raul Capablanca (2015). Then tracking down Müller's reference to Edward Winter revealed a fascinating history of the position as well, including some debate within Chess Notes that spanned more than a decade (see Edward Winter, "Capablanca v. Kalantarov", Chess Notes [updated 17 December 2019]).

Winter's story begins in 1988 with Chess Notes 1715. Ken Neat brought to Winter's attention a position that appeared in Isaak Linder, and Vladimir Linder, Kapablanka v Rossii (1988).* Linder and Linder reference an account by Peter Romanovsky that was published in Shakhmaty v SSSR (1959). Winter published Neat's translation. One of the later additions to Winter's notes present Romanovsky's entire article in three images. Those who read Russian might enjoy it.

Note 1715 inspired Rene Olthof to use the position in one of his training sessions, and he then sent in a note, which Winter published. Olthof found the position "nothing special". The first two notes were republished in Winter, Chess Explorations (1996) under the title, "Knight Ending" (25-26).

Twelve years later, Müller offered a refutation of Olthof's idea (Chess Notes 2402). As noted in the sequence of notes published by Winter over several decades and collated in the article, "Capablanca v. Kalantarov", Müller has published his analysis in The Chess Cafe Puzzle Book (2004). Encyclopedia of Chess Endings, vol. 5 (1993) also contains the position and some analysis, but not a key refutation of an error. Pal Benko also analyzed the ending in two issues of Chess Life.

The analysis begins with this position. We know from Winter that Capablanca's opponent was Kalantarov, about whom little is known, and that it was part of a thirty board simul in St. Petersburg in 1913. Capablanca scored +26-3=3. Romanovsky's story suggests that he and others were assisting Kalantarov.

White to move

The game concluded 46.Kf7 Ng5+ 47.Nxg5 fxg5 48.g4 Kh7 49.h4 Kh6 50.Kf6 Kh7 51.h5 a5 52.Ke5.

White wins because he has a protected passed pawn and his king is in the square of Black's passed pawn.

Müller's Diagram, Black to Move

Müller carries the analysis another twelve moves to show how White employs triangulation (although he omits this term) to regain the opposition and reach the point where outflanking will win Black's g-pawn.

Along the way, he presents several unplayed variations that lead to checkmate, even in one case allowing Black to promote first, but white plays a check, promotes with check, and then has the option of skewering the king to pick up Black's queen, or checkmate (the better option, of course).

White to move

After the move that Encyclopedia of Chess Endings missed, White also gets a supported passed pawn and stops Black's a-pawn. However, in this case, Black is able to maintain the distant opposition to keep the White king on the queenside, while at the same time staying in the square of the passed h-pawn.

Müller's Diagram, White to Move

Had Capablanca missed 48.g4, he could have lost the game because Black's outside passed pawn takes his king too far away and Black has time to round up White's pawns.

White to move

The DVD contains Müller's brief historical background, the note that with correct play Black should have drawn the game, and then finding 48.g4 is the first exercise. I made the same error as Olthof because I underestimated the complexity of the position. Following that error, however, I was able to play through the lesson and choose the correct answers. Capablanca's entire idea beginning with the surprising 46.Kf7 is an instructive breakthrough idea.

Inn addition to video lessons on the endgame by Müller, the DVD includes video lessons on strategy by Mihail Marin, tactics by Oliver Reeh, and openings by Niclas Huschenbeth. In addition to the videos, there are 103 games with training questions, and 14 endgames analyzed by Marin. The collection is enhanced by a biography of Capablanca with links to important games, and a database of 1223 Capablanca games. There are also opening trees for White and Black based on Capablanca's play.

*An English edition was published in 2009 under the title, Jose Raul Capablanca: Third World Chess Champion.

Knight vs. Pawns

 This position came up this afternoon in a youth tournament. Black won some material in the opening and exchanged into an ending that should have been won. Moreover, he did win the ending. However, here White might have made matters more difficult.

White to move

White played 43.Kb3 and his position became hopeless.

Endgame Books

As the decade of the twenty-teens comes to an end, I thought it appropriate to consider the value of endgame books. I posted a photo on Facebook of the shelf that holds my collection of endgame books, offering a witty remark about ends and beginnings. I have long been in agreement with Jose Capablanca, Chess Fundamentals (1934) that aspiring players need to begin with the endgame.

I thought it would be a simple matter to list the books on this shelf and one or two other places, and then write brief annotations about all or most. However, the limits of this simple project became clear. Before basic pawn endings, Capablanca presents checkmates. Should checkmate pattern books be on the list? Pandolfini's Endgame Course is listed below and begins with simple checkmates. Why exclude others? 

Then, there is the matter of ebooks. Listed below are a few that are available from Amazon. For beginning chess players, no other author offers clearer analysis and better diagrams that the self-published work of Rodolfo Pardi. And yet, I exclude from the list the many classic texts in my Google Books library that are the result of scanning rare books from libraries. For instance, Johann Berger, Theorie und Praxis der Endspiele (1890) is perhaps the originator of the genre. Why not list it?

So, the list below starts with one shelf of books, listing a few other that might be on that shelf if they fit. As print books, they are the core of the reference materials I turn to frequently while studying or teaching the endgame. Studying the endgame positions in GM-RAM: Essential Grandmaster Knowledge (2000) by Rashid Ziyatdinov, for example, sends me looking through other works because Ziyatdinov offers no solutions. Thomas Engqvist, 300 Most Important Chess Positions (2018) contains many endgames with explanations, but the books on the shelf offer greater detail. I study because I enjoy the process as much as for the benefits to my game.

Alburt, Lev, and Nikolay Krogius. Just the Facts!: Winning Endgame Knowledge in One Volume. New York: Chess Information and Research Center, 2000.

This book is part of a set of seven that claimed to bring secrets of Soviet chess training to an American audience. I have not read it, but the Chess Training Pocket Book that is also part of the series is one of very few chess books that I have read cover-to-cover. And, I've done so twice. 

Averbakh, Yuri. Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge. London: Everyman Chess, 1993.

When someone asks where they should start in their study of endgames, this book is the first that comes to mind. It is short, focused, and written by one of the all-time great chess teachers. Averbakh produced a longer set of books on the endgame that belong in any complete library. I have PDF copies that someone gave me.

Ban, Jeno. The Tactics of Endgames. Mineola, NY: Dover, 1997 [1963].

When I bought this book about the year it came out, my chess library still numbered in the dozens of volumes. I spent some time working through part of it and my play improved.

Barden, Leonard. How to Play the Endgame in Chess. Indianapolis, NY: Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1975.

This book looks good, although I have not spent any time with it.

Chernev, Irving. Practical Chess Endings. New York: Dover, 1961.

I bought this book as a teenager, spent minimal time on chess in my twenties, and returned to serious play in the 1990s after graduate school. For two decades, it was my only endgame book. I studied it a bit in the 1970s, and still pull it off the shelf from time to time. Many of the exercises are composed.

_______. Capablanca's Best Chess Endings. New York: Dover, 1968.

In 2012, after beating me in the match for title of Spokane City Champion, John Julian credited his study of this book for guiding him in an endgame we had played. I bought it later that year, if I recall correctly. In November and December 2020, I worked through ten of the sixty games with my students. Although, in truth, I pay little attention to Chernev's analysis. Capablanca often simply outplayed his opponent from positions that could have been drawn with best play, but errors were made. Good examples of practical play.

De la Villa, Jesus. 100 Endgames You Must Know: Vital Lessons for Every Chess Player, 4th ed. Alkmaar, The Netherlands: New in Chess, 2015.

If any book supersedes Averbakh's Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge, it is this terrific book by Jesus de la Villa. Chessable also has a course based on this book that I understand has been very useful for promoting its innovative approach. Before I had a copy, I watched a video of Magnus Carlsen being taken through the Chessable course. One hundred endgames seems like a reasonable beginning and the explanations are well-written.

Donaldson, John. Essential Chess Endings for Advanced Players. Dallas: Chess Digest, 1995.

I bought this book from the author in February at the only OTB tournament I played this year. I spent my morning coffee time with it much of the next few weeks. It offers good challenging instructive positions. 2020 became a much busier year when my teaching went online, and chess suffered until mid-summer.

Dvoretsky, Mark. Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual. Milford, CT: Russell Enterprises, 2003.

This book is not for beginners, and some have suggested that it is only for players substantially stronger than me (i.e. masters). Of course, I've beaten masters quite a bit in online blitz, and some in online correspondence. I've also held my own in two rook endgames with a FIDE Master in the 2008 Spokane City Championship. Credit time spent with this book. It is a standard reference that I use frequently. I have a newer edition in Kindle format on my iPad. The most recent edition has been revised by Karsten Muller because Dvoretsky is no longer with us. See "Pawn Endings Flash Cards".

Emms, John. Starting Out: Minor Piece Endgames. London: Everyman Chess, 2004.

I keep pulling this book off the shelf with some intent to study, but then doing something else.

Erwich, Frank. Endgame Tactics: Magnus Carlsen. Alkmaar, The Netherlands: New in Chess, 2018. ebook.

Frank Erwich has produced a series of short ebooks for New in Chess. The general pattern is to offer one hundred exercises from the games of the featured player. A diagram is presented with the solution on the next page. I work through a problem or two every now and then. I'm 45% through this one.

Fine, Reuben. Basic Chess Endings. New York: David McKay, 1969 [1941].

The formatting of this book makes this book hard to read. There, I have said it. For its day, it was a mammoth achievement. I mostly look at it when someone else has referred to it. Most recently, Harold van der Heiden referenced it in his Endgame Study Database in an endgame I was studying (see "Textbook Ending"). Dvoretsky proved more useful.

Fishbein, Alex. King and Pawn Endings. Macon, GA: American Chess Promotions, 1993.

Someone was raving about this book, and it seemed to offer insights helpful with one or two of the exercises in GM-RAM. I found a copy online and ordered it. I found it useful. I might spend more time with this book in the future. Unfortunately, it is out of print.

Flear, Glenn. Improve Your Endgame Play. London: Everyman Chess, 2000.

I have probably opened this book a few times, as well as the other two in the set. 

_______. Mastering the Endgame. London: Everyman Chess, 2001.

_______. Test Your Endgame Thinking. London: Everyman Chess, 2002.

Kasparian, Genrikh Moiseyevich. 888 Miniature Studies. Belgrade: BeoSing, 2010.

Genrikh Kasparian has another book on the endgame that I should buy, Domination in 2545 Endgame Studies. It is not cheap in a quality edition. These studies are challenging miniatures (problems with few pieces). When I first acquired a copy, I spent a bit of time most days for several weeks working through the problems. Terrific book, but not necessarily ideal for improving practical play.

Levenfish, Grigory, and Vasily Smyslov. Rook Endings. Dallas: Chess Digest, 1971.

Vasily Smyslov was a terrific endgame player. Positions that he played correctly appear in standard reference works, and you can bet the authors of these books studied this one. I dip into it from time to time.

Matanovic, Aleksandar, et al. Encyclopedia of Chess Endings (Queens). Beograd: Sahovski Informator, 1989.

Part of a five volume set. I picked this book as my prize after a blitz tournament at the Spokane Chess Club a few years ago. It is a terrific reference work.

Mednis, Edmar. Practical Rook Endings. Coraopolis, PA: Chess Enterprises, 1982.

This book is another that I bought from John Donaldson in February. I have not made the time to study it, but Donaldson told me the time would be rewarded.

Minev, Nikolay. A Practical Guide to Rook Endgames. Milford, CT: Russell Enterprises, 2004.

This little book belongs in a small collection of books like Averbakh's Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge. It goes to the heart of the subject in a few pages. terrific beginning point before getting lost in the rook endings in Dvoretsky.

Muller, Karsten, and Frank Lamprecht. Fundamental Chess Endings: A New Endgame Encyclopedia for the 21st Century. London: Gambit Publications, 2001.

This book has served me well as a companion to Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual. It is a terrific endgame reference work that sometimes explains matters more clearly than Dvoretsky.

Nunn, John. Nunn's Chess Endings, vol. 1. London: Gambit Publications, 2010.

When Borders Books opened in my city, they started by stocking nearly everything. Then, the local market affected the selection, and there was a diminishing supply of vital texts like chess books and the works of William Faulkner. In the last few months of its existence, these two were the only ones in stock that were worth having and I did not already own. Owning copies is one thing; reading them is another. Nunn's books are challenging.

_______. Nunn's Chess Endings, vol. 2. London: Gambit Publications, 2010.

Pandolfini, Bruce. Pandolfini's Endgame Course. New York: Fireside, 1988.

I worked through much of this book in a short period of time about twenty years ago, and many of the fundamental positions became central to my teaching. I gave away my copy as a prize at a youth chess tournament. A few years later, I acquired another copy.

Pardi, Rodolfo. Opposition and Critical Squares. Self-Published, 2014. ebook.

This book concerns one elementary chess endgame position and a few that are derived from it. The diagrams are the best I have seen in an ebook. This explanations are clear. Perfect choice for young players starting out.

Polgar, Laszlo. Chess Endgames. Koln: Konemann, 1999.

This is part of a set of three massive reference works that one might assume formed part of the curriculum for training the Polgar sisters. However, Susan Polgar has claimed online that at least one of them was her work when she was a teenager. Chess Training in 5334 Positions is the best known, and the most widely available. This endgame book has more than 4000 endgame positions organized by 171 themes. It has been a useful resource.

Seirawan, Yasser. Winning Chess Endings. London: Everman Chess, 2003.

During the broadcast of a grand master chess tournament a few years ago, Wesley So came into the broadcast booth with Yasser Seirawan to go over the game he had just won. Then they talked more generally. So credited the Winning Chess series that Seirawan wrote with having helped him when he was starting out. I find the story credible and think that Seirawan's books are all very good. They are not comprehensive, but well-written and the examples are quite instructive.

Shereshevsky, Mikhail. Endgame Strategy. London: Cadogan Chess, 1994 [1985].

I bought this book a few years ago from John Donaldson who always brings a batch of new and used books to a tournament in my city that he has attended twenty times or so. Most often, he wins the event. He sells these books at low prices. Shereshevsky's text has a good reputation, but my time with it has been too limited to offer much insight.

Silman, Jeremy. Silman's Complete Endgame Course: From Beginner to Master. Los Angeles, Siles Press, 2007.

Jeremy Silman structures this book as the endgames a player should know at different rating levels. The overall structure tends toward superficiality, which makes it the perfect resourse for those who do not want to spend much time studying. I find the positions that Silman lists for master and above where my current study takes me. I worked through the whole book up to my rating level in the space of a few hours the day I bought it. Now, it mostly gathers dust. Nonetheless, it has influenced me substantially in the material I choose to teach. Silman convinced me to cease teaching checkmate with bishop and knight as a regular practice, and he offers no instruction concerning that elementary checkmate in this book. He also convinced me of the importance of the Philidor and Lucena rook endings.

Smyslov, Vasily. Vasily Smyslov: Endgame Virtuoso. London: Everyman Press, 2003 [1997].

I used this book as supplementary material while studying some of Smyslov's own rook endings via Dvoretsky.

Stripes, James. Essential Tactics: Building a Foundation for Chess Skill. Self-Published, 2017. ebook.

This book was my first self-published book through Amazon. Previously, I had used the copiers and spiral binding services at Kinkos (now FedEx Office). It is not an endgame book, bit rather a primer on tactics aimed at beginning players that was inspired by the success that I found taking some young students through Bruce Pandolfini, Beginning Chess. Every position has ten or fewer pieces and a simple tactic, the idea I got from Pandolfini. I composed slightly more than 130 of the 150 exercises included here. However, after solving the tactic, one often finds an endgame where there may be a series of only moves. I offer reasonable explanations of these endings in the text.

Van Perlo, C. G. Van Perlo's Endgame Tactics, new ed. Alkmaar, The Netherlands: New in Chess, 2014.

The exercises in this book are unmatched and the quality of the analysis is first rate. However, this is more of a workbook than textbook. It offers not systematic study of endgame themes, but rather a generous collection (1300+) of problems to challenge and entertain.

Dancing Knight

The first problem in the Basic Test in Jesus de la Villa, 100 Endgames You Must Know, 4th ed. (2015) inspired my search for instructive positions with which to build a lesson for my students this week. Naturally, a few games in Chess Informant gave me what I needed. These are the positions in the sequence I used.

Black to move

From Van Wely,L -- Epishen,V, Ter Apel 1995, Informant 63/437

Black to move

Variation from the previous exercise.

Black to move

From Bronstein,D. -- Podgaets, M., Soviet Championship 1974, Informant 18/646

Black to move

My composition

White to move

From de la Villa's test. Can White draw?

White to move

From da la Villa's test. Can White draw?

White to move

From Eingorn,V. -- Beliavsky,A., Soviet Championship 1986, Informant 41/555

White to move

From Varga,Z. -- Dinev,D., Novi Sad 2016, Informant 130 Endings.

Fidelity Chess Challenger

Several years ago, my wife's uncle gave me an old stand alone chess computer, Fidelity Chess Challenger. Last night, I searched and found an instruction manual online for Chess Challenger 7, which appears to have the correct instructions. I played a game on its top level--level 7. Based on research presented in the HIARCS chess forum, I believe the device was manufactured in 1980.

In the image above, the machine has played its move as O-O-O by indicating that it moves its king from e8 to c8. That move puts my king in check.

In my game, I played quickly while also reading a book. On its top level, Chess Challenger requires several minutes per move for most moves. I was reading in another room, would read a page or two, and then check on the machine. I recorded the moves on another device that allowed me to quickly email the completed score to myself.

Chess Challenger played a decent opening, reached a winning position in the middle game, and then revealed substantial weaknesses in endgame understanding. It demonstrated understanding of exploiting a pin, and using forks. It also set a simple stalemate trap near the end of the game.


Stripes,James -- Fidelity Chess Challenger [C68]
14.09.2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d4

Probably a weak move on my part. I rarely play the Spanish Opening, and the exchange variation is not my usual choice when I do.

5...Bg4

5...exd4 6.Qxd4 Qxd4 7.Nxd4 seemed okay to me.

6.dxe5 Qxd1+ 7.Kxd1

This is the position in the photograph.

7....0-0-0+ 8.Ke2

Black to move

8...Bc5

This move struck me as odd.

8...Re8 9.Bf4 f6 10.Nbd2 fxe5 11.Bg3 Nf6 12.Rhe1 Bd6 (a later game continued 12...Nh5 13.Kf1 Nxg3+ 14.hxg3 Bc5 15.Nc4 Rhf8 16.Ncxe5?? Rxe5 17.Re2 Rh5 18.Rd2 0-1 Luptak,P (2086) --nZvarik,M (2245), Slovakia 2010.) 13.Kf1 Nh5 14.Kg1 Nxg3 15.hxg3 h5 Black won in 61 moves Aleksandrova,D (2015) -- Yilmaz,G, Albena 1977.

8...f6 9.h3 (9.Nbd2 Re8 10.h3 Bh5 11.Nf1 fxe5 12.Ng3 Bg6 13.Be3 Nf6 14.Nd2 Nd7 15.Rhd1 Be7 16.f3 Rhf8 White won in 54 moves Kieninger,G (2509) -- Rellstab,L (2478), Bad Oeynhausen 1941) 9...Bxf3+ 10.gxf3 fxe5 11.Bd2 Ne7 12.f4 exf4 13.Bxf4 Ng6 14.Bg3 Re8 15.Nd2 Bd6 Black won in 46 moves Babula,M -- Dobrovolsky,L, Brno 1969.

9.Be3 Bxf3+

This move does not exist in my database.

9...Bxe3 10.Kxe3 f6 11.Nbd2 Re8 12.exf6 Nxf6 13.Rae1 Nd5+ 14.Kd4 Nf4 15.h3 Bh5 16.g3 Ne6+ 17.Kc3 Bxf3 18.Nxf3 Rhf8 19.Re3 Nc5 and Black went on to win a pawn ending after a lot of middle game manuevering in Toumaniantz,R (2162) -- Duflot,S, Le Touquet.

If there was any sort of opening tree built into the software, it could have included moves from Lasker -- Pollock 1892.

9...Be7 My database shows four games with this move 10.h3 No other game in the database has this position. 10...Bh5 11.Nbd2 f6 12.Rhd1 fxe5 13.g4 Be8 and Black won in 42 moves Lasker,E -- Pollock,W, Baltimore 1892.

10.Kxf3

10.gxf3 might not be bad.

10...Bxe3 11.Kxe3 Nh6 12.h3 Rhe8 13.f4 f6

White to move

14.exf6??

14.Nc3 fxe5 15.g3 exf4+ 16.gxf4 Nf5+ 17.Kf3 Nd4+ 18.Kg3 Nxc2 19.Rad1 Black should win the ending;

14.g4! fxe5 15.f5 White's kingside majority is more dangerous than Black's queenside. Such endings, as I understand, are a principle reason for playing the exchange variation of the Spanish.;

14.Nd2 fxe5 15.f5.

14...Nf5+

I had underestimated this move, having mainly assured myself that I would not lose the rook on a1.

15.Kf2

15.Kf3 Nd4+ 16.Kg4 Nxc2 and Black wins material.

15...Rxe4

15...Nd4? 16.Nc3 Nxc2 17.f7 (17.Rad1 Rxd1 18.Rxd1 gxf6).

16.g3

I realized by this point that I was clearly worse.

16...gxf6 17.Nc3

Black to move

17...Re3?

I expected 17...Rd2+ 18.Kf3 Re8 19.Kg4 Ne3+ 20.Kh4 Rxc2-+

18.Rad1 Rxd1 19.Rxd1 Rxg3 20.Ne4

Black to move

20...Rxh3 21.Nxf6 Rh2+ 22.Kf3 Rxc2 23.Rg1 Nh4+

23...Kd8 24.Rg8+ Ke7 25.Ne4

24.Ke4

24.Kg4 Ng6 25.f5 Ne7 26.Nxh7

Black to move

This is the type of position I like putting in front of my students. Black is clearly better, but must find a plan to neutralize White's threats. For brute force calculation with limited depth, positional understanding is vital. Chess Challenger showed the weakness in its primitive programming at this point.

24...Rg2?

This move surprised me, as my f-pawn seems dangerous in the knight ending.

24...Ng6 Before playing Rg1, I had looked at 25.f5 Ne7 26.Rg7;

24...b5! avoids the checkmate threat and gives White queenside problems that cannot be met.

25.Rxg2 Nxg2 26.Nxh7

This move was not so much to grab the pawn, although useful, as to clear the f-file and control the promotion square.

26...b6

Chess Challenger's moves stopped making sense to me here. Prior to this point in the game, I had foreseen most moves.

26...Kd7 27.f5 (27.Ke5 Ne3 (27...Ke7 28.f5 Nh4) 28.b3 Ke7 29.Nf6) 27...Nh4 28.Kf4

27.f5

Black to move

27...Ne1??

This move is a game losing blunder that highlights that Chess Challenger is oblivious to the dangers presented by my passed pawn.

27...Kd7 or Kd8 are the only moves that do not lose. 28.Ke5 Nh4 29.f6 Ng6+ 30.Kf5=.

28.f6+- Nd3

28...Kd7 29.f7 Ke7 30.f8Q+

29.Kxd3

However, it is possible that the software saw 29.f7 Nc5+ 30.Kf5 Nd7 in which case the knight is still lost, but White does not yet have a queen and there is a lot of work to do to use the knight to convert a pawn minority into a passed pawn.

29...c5 30.f7 a5 31.f8Q+ Kd7 32.Nf6+ Kc6 33.a4 c4+ 34.Kxc4 Kb7 35.Qf7 Ka8!

I was impressed with the stalemate trap set here.

White to move

36.Kb5

36.Qxc7 b5+ 37.axb5 (37.Kxb5 stalemate) 37...a4 38.Nd5+-

36...Ka7 37.Qxc7+ Ka8 38.Ka6 b5 1-0

Chess Challenger made this move and then lit the "I lose" light.

Playing against the Isolani

In the Inland Empire Open last weekend, I was on board two in the last round, fighting for second place. My opponent and I stood at 3.0 points, while those on board one stood at 3.5 and 4.0. There were other players with 3.0 as well. I faced Pat Herbers, who is at his rating floor of 1900. Several prior games against Pat have been draws, and I have lost a few. I have never beat him.

Stripes,James (1889) -- Herbers,Pat (1900) [D30]
Inland Empire Open Spokane (5), 19.05.2019

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.cxd5! exd5 5.Bf4?!

5.g3

5...Nc6 6.e3

6.Nc3 Nf6 7.e3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Be7 9.Be2 0–0 10.0–0 Be6 11.Rc1 Rc8 12.Qd2 Nxd4 13.exd4 Bb4 14.Bd3 Ne4 15.Qe3 Bxc3 16.bxc3 Nd6 Schleifer,M (2240)--Polacek,J (2250), Toronto 1992 was drawn in 47 moves.

6...Nf6 7.Be2 Bd6 8.Bxd6 Qxd6 9.dxc5 Qxc5 10.0–0 0–0

White to move

11.Nbd2

An instructive game appears in the database.

11.Nc3 Rd8 12.Rc1 Qb4 13.Qc2 d4 14.a3 Qe7 15.Nxd4 Nxd4 16.exd4 Rxd4 17.Nb5 Rd8 18.Nxa7

Black to move

Analysis Diagram

18...Bf5

(18...Rxa7 19.Qxc8 Rxc8 20.Rxc8+ Ne8 (20...Qe8 21.Rxe8+ Nxe8) 21.Bb5)

19.Qxf5 Qxe2 20.Qb5 Re8 21.Qxb7 Rab8 22.Qc6 Rxb2 23.Nc8 Re6 24.Qc7 h6 25.Nd6 Kh7 26.h3 Rd2 27.Nf5 Rd7 28.Qb8 Qd3 29.Ng3 Qxa3 30.Rc8 g6 31.Kh2 Qd6 32.Qa8 h5 33.Rd1 Qe7 34.Rxd7 Nxd7 35.Rh8+ Kg7 36.Qg8+ Kf6 37.f4 Rb6 38.Qc8 Kg7 39.Nf5+ gxf5

(39...Kf6 40.Nxe7)

40.Qg8+ 1–0 Morozevich,A (2678)--Grischuk,A (2701), Togliatti 2003.

11...Be6 12.Nb3 Qe7 13.Nbd4 Rac8

White to move

I have a clear plan to play against the isolani.

14.a3 Bg4 15.Qa4 Nxd4 16.Nxd4 Bxe2 17.Nxe2 a6 18.Rfd1 Rfd8 19.Rd3 Rc7 20.Rad1 Rcd7

White to move

21.Qf4

I had a vague sense that I would want my queen on the kingside after Nd4. Perhaps I could have found some other way to probe for weaknesses.

21...Qe4 22.f3

22.Qxe4 dxe4 23.Rxd7 Rxd7

(23...Nxd7 24.Ng3 Kf8 25.Nxe4)

24.Rxd7 Nxd7 25.Ng3 Nf6 should be equal

22...Qxf4 23.Nxf4 Kf8 24.Kf2 Ke7 25.Rd4

25.Ke2 g5 26.Nh3 Rc8 27.R3d2
25.g4!

25...h6 26.R1d3 Rd6 27.Rc3 Rc6

White to move

28.Rxc6?!

Abandoning my plan against the isolani in exchange for temporary control of an open file.

28.Rb4 maintains my opening edge.

28...bxc6

I have converted my opponent's isolani into hanging pawns.

29.Rb4 c5 30.Rb6 Rd6

White to move

My opponent offered a draw here. We both thought my position was slightly better. Conversing with several players in the room while we were waiting for the round's pairings, I pontificated that if any of us were there for money or for chess rating, we were delusional. All of us are relatively weak players compared to professionals, and none of us will earn substantial money for chess. We are there because we enjoy the game.

Naturally, I needed to play on. I paid an entry fee to play chess.

31.Rb8 Rd8 32.Rb3

32.Rxd8 Kxd8 33.Nd3 Nd7 34.b4 Kc7 35.bxc5 a5 36.e4 dxe4 37.fxe4= The computer says equal, but this ending can be very difficult to play.

32...g5 33.Nd3 Nd7

33...c4 34.Rb7+ Rd7 35.Rxd7+ Kxd7 36.Nc5+ Kc6 37.Nxa6 Kb5 38.Nb4=

34.Rb7 c4 35.Ne5 Ke6

White to move

36.Nc6

I considered exchanging into a pawn ending, but could not see clearly that I was better. When I arrived home from the tournament, I entered the game this far into the database and played the pawn ending against Stockfish. I lost.

36...Rc8 37.Nd4+ Kd6 38.Ra7

38.g4 seems unclear
38.Nf5+ Kc6 39.Ra7 Rb8 40.Nd4+ Kd6 41.Rxa6+ Kc7 42.Rc6+ Kd8 43.g4 perhaps White is slightly better.

38...Rb8 39.Rxa6+ Kc7 40.Rxh6

40.Rc6+ gains a critical tempo in the play of kings. 40...Kd8 see at 38.Nf5+. Hastily grabbing the pawn on h6 without first driving back the king let the initiative slip away. It was easy to spot this error after the game.

40...Rxb2+ 41.Kg3 Ne5

White to move

42.Rf6?

42.f4 gxf4+ 43.exf4 Rb3+ 44.Kh4 Ng6+ 45.Kg5 Rd3 with an edge for Black
42.Ra6 seems best.

42...Rd2 43.Rf5

43.Nb5+ Kc8 44.Rf5 Nd7 45.Rxg5 Rd3 46.Rg4 Nb6 47.h4±

43...f6

White to move

44.Nb5+

44.f4 gxf4+ 45.Rxf4=

44...Kc6

44...Kb6 45.a4 Ka5 46.Rxf6 Kxa4 47.Nd4 c3 Black is better.

45.Nc3

45.a4

45...Nd7 46.f4??

Black to move

This move would have been useful a couple of moves back, but now simply gives up a pawn for nothing.

46...Rd3

Pat could have ended my hopes sooner with 46...d4! 47.Nd5 gxf4+ 48.exf4 Rb2 49.Nxf6 Nb6–+ White is ahead two pawns and irredeemably lost.

47.Ne2

47.Na2 Rxe3+ 48.Kg4 Re4 49.Nb4+ Kd6 50.Rxd5+ Ke6 51.Kf3 Rxf4+ 52.Ke3

47...Rxe3+ 48.Kf2 gxf4

White to move

49.Nxf4?

49.Rxf4
49.h4

49...Re5 50.g4

I looked at 50.Rxe5 fxe5 51.Nxd5 Kxd5 and thought that Black should win

50...d4

50...Rxf5 51.gxf5 d4 52.h4= I was optimistic about this line, but the engine says it is equal.

51.Ne2 Re4 52.Rf4

52.h3

52...Rxf4+ 53.Nxf4 Ne5

White to move

54.h3??

54.h4! may salvage the draw 54...Nxg4+ (54...d3 55.Ke3 Nxg4+ 56.Kd2) 55.Ke2.

54...c3–+ 55.Ke2 Kc5 56.g5

Desperation.

56.Ke1 Kc4 57.h4 Nd3+ 58.Nxd3 Kxd3–+

Black to move

56...fxg5 57.Ne6+ Kc4 58.Nxg5 Kb3 59.Ne6 d3+ 60.Ke3 d2 61.Ke2 Kb2 62.Nc5 d1Q+ 63.Kxd1 c2+ 0–1

Herbers finished in second place and won $100. I still have not beat him, although I had some chances. We went over the game quickly together and were the last to leave the playing venue.