Chess Writing GOATs: Jesús de la Villa
In order to improve your game, you must study the endgame before everything else. For whereas the endings can be studied and mastered by themselves, the middle game and opening must be studied in relation to the end game. - José Raúl Capablanca Chess Quotes by Jose Capablanka
This is my take on the greatest chess authors of all time...and some who didn't quite check the box. Today I present the sixth in this new series, presented one at a time and in alphabetical order...mostly...unless I add someone midway through, or I just felt like mixing things up.
The Author - Jesús de la Villa
So, who are the chess writing GOATs? Who didn't quite make the cut, but certainly merited consideration? Do you have an opinion? What about those who wrote prolifically, but not necessarily great stuff? Or perhaps their subject matter just didn't appeal to me or thee, or at least to peers of mine when I was a rising teen.
Hey, it's no problem if you haven't considered the issue! I'm more than willing to fill that particular void in your thoughts with my own opinions!! An opinion informed by decades of chess and a (diminished) chess library that takes up multiple shelves in my library. And if you don't fully agree with my opinions (though I can hardly imagine such a contumacious state of mind) then chess.com generously provided a comments section so you can express your agreements, disagreements, quibbles, corrections, expansions, nominations, and questions. Some of which I will respond to!
Heads up! Some of these authors are not the nicest, most accurate, or necessarily ethical people. Over the course of this series, you'll encounter a multiple plagiarizer and at least one famous player who altered history to present brilliant analytic lines as though they were played in the game. Then there are the ones who couldn't be bothered with gathering the actual facts or providing both good and salient analysis.
Furthermore, it cannot be known which ancient authors made up games out of whole cloth. They certainly didn't adhere to modern considerations about plagiarism, as those notions didn't have much if any moral traction at the time those individuals wrote. Plus, some of today's "authors" used ghost writers for much of their so-called personal efforts.
The Author - Jesús de la Villa
It's time to introduce our next potential Chess Author GOAT. We'll be meeting them in alphabetical order, so...
Jesús de la Villa, born 30 June 1958, is a Spanish GM, FIDE Senior Trainer, and author. A two-time Spanish CC with a peak rating of 2525 in 1996 according to my ChessBase DB. His rating has declined to 2420 as of March 2026. ChessMetrics placed his peak rating about twenty points higher, at 2546, with his top ranking at #300 in July 1995.
I will not be providing a list of all the works written by most of the authors. Some of them penned nigh on a hundred books, and I find myself disinclined to fit that many images together in a single page, or to bore the casual reader with a bulleted list.
Jesus de la Villa's biggest marks in the chess author’s pantheon are his three 100 Endgames books. That began with 100 Endgames You Must Know : Vital Lessons for Every Chess Player, a masterpiece I found particularly useful as I sought to breach the 2200 OTB rating barrier. It is on chessable.com in English, German, and Spanish. There are two companion books: The 100 Endgames You Must Know Workbook: Practical Endgame Exercises for Every Chess Player and 100 Endgame Patterns You Must Know: Recognize Key Moves & Motifs and Avoid Typical Errors. Surely those must make him a competitor in the Longest Book Titles category.🙄
He also co-authored an opening book, Dismantling the Sicilian. An admirably brief title unless you include the subtitle! His latest book is 50 Mistakes You Should Know, published in 2024.
I purchased 100 Endgames You Must Know on chessable.com. I found it both approachable and informative. It is ranked at #35 on the 100 Best Chess Books of All Time (Updated for 2025). Here's what others had to say about the book.
This book presents 100 critical endgame scenarios, each carefully chosen for its practical importance and educational value. The book emphasizes understanding over memorization, providing clear explanations and strategies to turn knowledge into victory. 40 Best Chess Books [Your Ultimate Guide to Chess Mastery]
The selection of endgames in this book is tailored for real-game applicability, setting it apart from more theoretical texts. The approach balances technical detail with understandable explanations, making complex concepts accessible to anyone. [Ibid]
It’s an essential guide for players aiming to navigate the crucial final phase of the game with expertise. [Ibid]
The book covers endgames that are fundamental for every chess player, making it a crucial addition to a player’s library. [Ibid]
The book emphasizes practical endgames that are most likely to occur in real games, making the learning directly applicable. [Ibid]
Benefiting fully from the book requires much time and study, which may not suit all readers. [Ibid]
The heavy text and many notations might overwhelm readers who like visual or interactive learning. [Ibid]
The book is ideal for intermediate to advanced players and may not be as valuable for beginners or casual chess players. [Ibid]
There’s not much to say about it – you just have to buy it and read it! De la Villa does a truly wonderful job of explaining useful endgames in a calm and measured manner that is clear enough for any strength of player to understand while still being interesting for stronger players. If you’ve never read an endgame book before, this is the one you should start with.” - GM Matthew Sadler
His choice of positions to cover is excellent. The focus is on technical, practically important critical positions, i.e. those where one side can just about draw or win. This allows the careful reader to draw conclusions about many less critical positions en passant. To get the most out of this approach, I believe the reader should already be a strong tournament player. Alternatively, this book is a very useful tool for coaches to guide their endgame lessons. FM @Schemato (Arne Jochens) Comprehensive Endgame Works: One-Volume
A clear exposition of the most important endgames, with exercises to test your knowledge. - British Chess Magazine
Some quotes from 100 Endgames You Must Know.
...there are neither magical formulae, nor wisdom pills: your own personal effort is essential.
One of my first decisions, a rather drastic one, actually, was to buy Rook Endings, by Levenfish & Smyslov, a book as excellent as it is boring. I had to start reading it several times, as I found it extremely difficult to get beyond the first one or two chapters.
if you intend to reach a certain rating, I will not say that a good command of the endgame is essential, but it is certainly very useful. On the other hand, if you neglect this part of the game, many half points, or even full points, will now and then elude you. And you will rarely get wins in the opening to make up for those lost (half-) points, as nowadays everyone comes to their games armed to the teeth with opening preparation.
...the analysis of contemporary endgames is often more useful as Laughter Therapy than as a chess lesson.
If you are running out of time and do not have a clue about how to handle the position, the game is much more likely to end in disaster.
..most endgame books have been written as reference books, that is, compiling and presenting knowledge without the least intention of explaining. Most such books cover the ground very rapidly, and thus provoke their readers to read them equally fast. That is why I have set out to explain the endings slowly and I recommend their study be slow as well.
That's a wrap!! I'm intending to keep these relatively short. Hope you enjoyed it! If you'd like to read more about de la Villa, I've provided a few links below. Well, more than a "few" if you're going to be pedantic about my not infrequent abuses of the King's English (not the opening, the language).
It's an alphabetic list...who do you think will be next? Another GOAT? Or someone who didn't quite fit onto my list of the greatest?
Care for a journey down memory lane? Just pick your path! The whole purpose of this section is to address some obvious questions that might pop into your head. How come Kevin didn't talk about this? Or that? Not to mention the other thing! Well, just call me lazy! Or you could appreciate the fact I'm limiting the word count that is imposed on you😏.
Nonetheless, in the series I'll be using this little section to provide links to more fulsome discussions that revolve around some well-known and lesser-known facets of the featured chess giant. That might range from videos to links to other chess.com articles and blogs, usually by Top Bloggers. Enjoy or skip, it's your call, as always.
- Top Blogger @ForwardChess 100 Endgames: Vital Lessons for Every Chess Player Lots of quotes on why this is a good book, plus a few samples of the teaching.
- Jesús de la Villa - Wikipedia
- GM Jesus Maria De La Villa Garcia (quietsunset) Blitz rating 2992, bullet 2969, as of 13 Feb 2025
- Jesus Maria De La Villa Garcia | Top Chess Players - Chess.com
- The Best Chess Games of Jesus Maria De La Villa Garcia - Chess.com
- 100 Best Chess Books of All Time (Updated for 2025)
- The 20 Chess Books That Helped Me To Become a Grandmaster | Rafael Leitão
- The Very Best Chess Books (list by Edward Winter)
- The Best Chess Books Ever - Chess.com IM Jeremy Silman
- Five chess books that have helped me become a Grandmaster - Chess.com Ginger_GM
- 40 Best Chess Books [Your Ultimate Guide to Chess Mastery]
- 25 Books Guaranteed to Improve Your Chess - Chess.com NM Sam Copeland
- Chess Writing GOATs: Alexander Alekhine
- Chess Writing GOATs: David Bronstein
- Chess Writing GOATs: Alexander Alekhine
- Chess Writing GOATs: David Bronstein
- Chess Writing GOATs: José Raúl Capablanca
- Chess Writing GOATs: Irving Chernev
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Chess Writing GOATs: Pedro Damiano - Chess.com
SOURCES:Data on the authors was compiled from sources in Wikipedia, my chess library, chess.com, chessable.com, Chess Notes by Edward Winter, archived news articles, individual's websites, FIDE, and my faulty memories. Any and all errors should be deemed the fault of gremlins in the system or glitches in the matrix.
