Difference between Pandolfini's Endgame Course and Endgame Workshop?

Pandolfini's Endgame Course, first published in 1988 (at least according to the data at Simon & Schuster), is regularly recommended as a first book on endgames. I don't have that book but I have Bruce Pandolfini's Endgame Workshop: Principles for the Practical Player, which was published in 2009, after Pandolfini had acquired 20 years additional experience as a chess coach.

Both books have been recommended on these forums in the past, but I could not find any description of the differences between them. Endgame Workshop contains 30 lessons. Lesson 1 covers opposition, using only kings; whereas king and pawn endgames aren't covered until lesson 13; critical squares are covered in lessons 15 and 16. The bishop + knight endgame, which Silman would not cover so early, is covered in lesson 6. And since Endgame Workshop was publsihed in 2009, it also recommends other books for further study that have been published since the 1980s, such as Silman's Complete Endgame Course, Van Perlo's Endgame Tactics, Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual and Müller and Lamprecht's Fundamental Chess Endings.

How is Pandolfini's Endgame Course organised? And should Endgame Workshop be seen as a slightly more advanced (and apparently drier) companion to the first book?

I assume very few people have access to both books.

Yes, you are perfectly right. "Endgame workshop" is absolutely a companion volume to "Endgame course", it's slightly more advanced, and it's undeniably drier. "Endgame course" is designed not to be read like a normal book, but to be used as a structured workbook or dictionary of essential endgame knowledge. There are exactly 239 lessons. Every lesson is exactly one page. That's what makes the book unique. "Endgame workshop" is a "field manual" for applying those positions when the board get messy. It's more advanced, it's drier and it's a companion piece. "Workshop" bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical execution. I suggest reading "Endgame course" first, it's the best "first" endgame book ever written for a beginner-to-intermediate player (up to roughly 1500 ELO), and then move on to "Endgame workshop" only after you have mastered the concepts in the "Course" (suited for players in the 1500-1900 ELO range). Ciao

Kromok2,

Thanks for the description. I don't have the Endgame Course, but I have a number of other books that cover the basics, such as chapter 8 in The Soviet Chess Primer by Maizelis, three books that are based on the Dutch Steps method (levels 3, 4 and 5), an old book by Euwe, and Averbakh's basic endgame book (in a German translation). These should keep me busy for a while ;-)

I think you are in absolutely fantastic shape. The collection you just described is actually "better" for building a deep endgame understanding than the Pandolfini books. Don't get me wrong though: Pandolfini's "Endgame course" is a great reference book, but the books you have will teach you "the logic" behind those positions, that's why your current library is so strong. You have a perfect "University level" endgame curriculum, and frankly, you can skip Pandolfini with absolutely "zero regrets" !. Ciao