Endgame book. Silman or Dvoretsky?

I need an endgame book. I've narrowed it down to Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual and Silman's Complete Endgame Course. From what I gather, Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual is slightly complicated, but people have also said that about My System which I am half way through and not struggling too much to understand. The only other book I've really considered is Fundamental Chess Endings.

Any help choosing would be greatly appreciated

I consider Dvoretsky's book to be the best available on the market, as a reference book. Silman's book is an excellent book to actually learn from. I own both, and a few others. If you are relatively new to endgame material, get Silman's book and progress through it cover to cover. Yes, I mean even re-read the sections that are basic to you...never hurts to reinforce the basics. Once you have all the Silman material pat, then think about getting Dvoretsky's book as a very nice reference. Pandolfinis Endgame Course is more geared toward beginners, but isn't half as bad as a lot of comments I have seen on it.

Happy hunting.

Have you considered "100 Endgames you must know"?

Sorry, I am not all sure of the title/author. My copy is elsewhere

Simple answer: Dvoretsky if you are a professional player or you are retired or you have plenty of time to study. Silman if chess is a hobby and you have just a limited amount of time to study it. I think that these are the two main choices.

It seems to me the best idea would be to get both if you can budget for it.

Silman, Seirawan, and Pandolfini are all better choices for a first endgame book than Dvoretsky, considering your current level of play. De La Villa's "100 Endgames You Must Know" is an excellent bridge between Silman and Dvoretsky.

Shenandoah> I consider Dvoretsky's book to be the best available on the market, as a reference book.

Dvoretsky wouldn't be my first choice as a reference. It wasn't intended to be one--the introduction explains it's a great tool to help players 2200+ become masters by teaching essential master-level endgame knowledge.

If I had to choose only one endgame reference book, it would be Averbakh's Comprehensive Chess Endings with 7,000+ annotated positions.

TomBird> Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual will be much too advanced for me. Jumping straight into the deep end may help me improve more quickly.

His explanations are extraordinarily good, so a determined player of 1200+ rating can make it through in a year, if they enjoy endgames.

I simply propose that below the 2000 fide level, a knowledge of basic endings is valuable and helps one gain rating points, but the difference between a Silman, De La Villa, and Dvoretsky understanding doesn't translate into too much. Also, the easier books take a small fraction of the time to read and master.

If you see 2000 fide as a mere bump on the road, feel free to try a harder book. I'm working on De La Villa's "100 Endgames You Must Know", intended for 1900-2300.