Endgame Study Routine?

Hi. I've been able to enjoy and appreciate the world of chess for a number of years now, however, my endgame still tends to be quite weak.

The majority of the games I play could be called "low-skill", as they tend to lack positional depth and are usually won or lost due to blatant material blunders early on. Because of this, I rarely get to play a game through to the endgame. 

My problem is that endgame study is diffucult. To reiterate, at my level, studying the opening takes little effort; it's easy to grab a chess board, open up a website and develop a cohesive repoitoir. In the endgame, where do I start to learn? What good resources are out there to help me develop my endgame skills? I was able to get my hands on a copy of Silman's endgame book, however, while it is a good teaching material, it doesn't offer me much scope to practise the positions it teaches, and isn't very all-encompassing.

I understand the basic checkmates and endgame positions, as well as beginner concepts such as opposition, passed pawns, etc. Where can I look to get help with this issue; what options do I have?

This one is beyond me.  I'd say to go by what a GM tells you, or if you study them in the chess mentor, which I have good examples of endgames, at advanced levels.  I studied some right in the chess mentor program, and it was, a bit, helpful.  There's still more, though.

If you have Silman's book go through it with a board. More lively and difficult is Van Perlo - Endgame Tactics. The latter needs an additional book about basic concepts. You must have fun or you will not do it.

Thank you!!  I'm glad to have been shown this, about to look at some old games right now. :3

hpmobil wrote:

Maybe it is. Personally I prefer Dworetzki, Fine, Müller. Having over 50 endgame books and liking to buy chess books I went through Silman in a book store for two hours and didn't buy it. The concept of letting away some endings because they are to rare, was off my attitude to teaching and learning. Nothing against those liking the book.

To start off: there is Practical Rook Endings (Mednis). About 50% of all endgames are rook endgames. You can use this book as a starting point. It's a simple booklet that explains in words more than variations.

Continue with Silmans Conmplete Endgame Course.  Its not meant to be all encompasisng.

Chess Mentor endgame courses.

Setup basic King and Pawn endings, and then add another pawn.  This will help drill into you what to do to get to a King and Pawn ending that benefits you.

Thanks, everyone. It's encouraging to know there are a lot of options avaliable.

pro tip: you have to checkmate your opponent :D kidding

Stick with Silman's (in)Complete Endgame Course. The name might be wrong, but it's still the best chess book on the market that everyone below 1800 OTB should own.

The problem with endgames in long games over the board is that a player is not so fresh mentally anymore after 4 or 5 hours of play. Therefore sometimes even stronger players could make easy mistakes.

All the more reason to study them more than any other part of the game. Ok, tactics are probably still higher priority. But you want to know the endgames well enough to play them even when exhausted at the end of a long game.

I never claimed that he was. I was agreeing with him, and using his remark to emphasize how important endgame study is. Too many people consider it something minor that they do a little bit of when they get the chance. It really should be one of the most important parts of any chess study program for anyone who really wants to improve, at any level.

I've been going over classic endgames (Fischer-Petrosian, Fischer-Taimanov, Karpov-Gligoric, some of the rook endings from Karpov-Korchnoi) in the last week or so. 

Back when I was studying regularly, I'd focus on one type of endgame at a time, such as complex pawn endings, or Bishop endings with an isolated Q pawn, that sort of thing. 

Now, I mostly just go through books such as Rate Your Endgame by Mednis, Test Your Endgame by Flear, or set up an interesting position from a recent tournament. My goals are to refresh the basics and train myself on complex endgames. 

And I agree with hpmobil! VanPerlo's book is Excellent.

hpmobil wrote:

If you have Silman's book go through it with a board. More lively and difficult is Van Perlo - Endgame Tactics. The latter needs an additional book about basic concepts.

You must have fun or you will not do it.

HI, I would say that the best way to learn the endgame is with the help of a endgame coach that will take you through the principles step by step. It is grueling and will take time to have it as second nature but once you have a good grasp you will become unstoppable especially when you play other beginners that have very little positional understand. Most positional players I have played at international level all understand the essence of endgame plays.

Send me a shout if you need help with endgame coaching.

My suggestion: You are starting out and need a book for people beginning their endgame journey. I'd suggest starting with Averbach, Endings, essential knowledge. It starts with checkmates and by the end of its thin 100 or so pages you know more than many stronger players.  After that, I'd suggest studying endgame strategy. I like 2 books here 'Endgame Strategy' by Shereshevsky and  Giddin's book on 'Greatest endings' [all titles and names are approximate]. After that, I'd suggest playing thru Chernev's book on Capa's greatest endgames. It is a master class on how to win drawn endings. Then, getting a thick book on lots of endings, Flear has a 500 page book and Aggaard will come out with a 900 page one. Then after you play a specific type, look it up and play thru similar, annotated GM examples. Beyond that, I have a bunch of thin endgame books and take them w. a small set to study when travelling. Looking back, that's how I wish I had started. Very soon you'll be winning drawn endings. -Bill

#1

"usually won or lost due to blatant material blunders early on"
++ That is why blunder prevention should be the first priority.
As long as you blunder pieces and pawns all the rest is useless.

"I rarely get to play a game through to the endgame."
++ Yes: first blunder prevention, then tactics, then endgames, then openings.

"studying the opening takes little effort"
++ This is an illusion. Most of what you study is fashion. It does not help you.

"In the endgame, where do I start to learn?" ++ Start with 3 men, then 4 men, then 5 men...

"What good resources are out there to help me develop my endgame skills?"
++ There are good books and there are the 7-men endgame table bases.

B