An endgame study plan

For how I reached this plan, please see http://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/what-should-i-study-next.

I plan on studying the endgame next.  What I plan to do:

1. Reread Silman's Endgame Course, Class E and Class D

I don't really like Silman's book's approach, as it presents concepts distinctly, rather than cohesively, so it is hard to see how one topic ties in with another.  Also, he tends to have fewer examples, making it harder for me to remember what I learned.  But, that's just my opinion, and I understand that Silman's approach works for others.  I will reread the sections on Class E and D because I think Silman did a great job covering the Opposition.  I will say that Silman's style in general is very clear.

2. Read Howell's Essential Chess Endings

I heard a lot of good reviews of this book.  The Table of Contents shows that it is quite comprehensive, covering Pawn endgames, Rook and Pawn endgames, Minor Piece endgames, and other endgames.

3. Read Sherevsky's Endgame Strategy

To cover the more positional aspects of endgame play.

4. The Survival Guide to Rook Endings by John Emms

To cover Rook Endgames in more detail.  Might read Korchnoi's or Smyslov's book afterwards if I need even more detail.  If I want puzzles, Pinter's book looks good.

5. Anatoly Karpov: Endgame Virtuoso (Will read this throughout my studies)

Karpov is one of my favorite players in terms of style, and it would be interesting to see how he handles the endgame.  This book also got good reviews.

What do you think of my study plan?  Are there any books that I should/should not read?

(Note: Of course, I will continue to practice tactics daily.  So, that should not be a concern.)

(Note 2: I either have the books mentioned above or I can readily borrow them from the local library.)

Very good, but I am looking for books that focus on the endgame.  As I indicated, I already have an endgame study plan in place. I just wanted to konw if I needed to add or take away any books from that plan.

Don't read these books, study them. If you study the Smyslov's book, and not just read it, it will takes you hundreds of hours of hard work. At the end you'll have no less than a IM/GM level in this type of endgame, but you must pay the price for it and understand what real work is.

Could you elaborate on what a "study" plan would look like?  e.g. How much time should I spend on each part of a book?  Whether I should take notes as I read (I usually do anyways)?  Use flash cards?  Do something else?

You must spend at least 1 hour (or even more, you must spend as time as you need even if you think it's enormous time, that's how I myself do when I work the endgame, and I spend sometimes 2 hours with a position who seems very easy but who is very hard, like the one I show you on a previous thread) and don't look at the solution before the end, and don't move the pieces on your board. When I say 2 hours, it's 2 hours without pause and with intense focus on the board. This is absolutely not 2 hours of pure joy, especially at the end, when I've found nothing. 50 % of the time, this make me feel like a patzer/noob/stupid guy (and I'm 2000 fide). But this is the key to improve : when you realized what separate you from GMs. And don't hope to see your progress before a few month. But with such work, you can reach a level that you could not even imagine.

After 1 or 2 hours of work, I look the solution. I never use notes or cards, but you can if you need it, to compare your analyse with the solution, and see excalty where is your weak point and what haven't you understand yet (but much better is to remember you just did few minutes ago). After looking the solution, if I'm correct I never work again the position, but if I don't even found the idea, I'll be back few days later on a very similar position and try to solve it again, but not by 'cheating' and just applies symetric things for instance, but try to be honest - which is not easy at all - and try to understand the idea which I didn't find a few days ago. "the way to become a master test your strength of character more than they test your chess skill." GM spraggett

And work on endgame is clearly the best choice, but I will not develop this because now I'm tired and bored to go to a french/english translator every 10 seconds for almost every word I want to say. To become a GM is much easier than speak a fluently english (well this is a good comparison by the way : if I go to some english-talk-country I'll speak a good english in a few years, even a few months, but if I just translate every word I'll do almost no progress, just like if you don't go play OTB and just work on books).

Add 1000 Pawn Endings by Joszef Pinter. King and pawn endgames are as important and common as Rook endgames.

Well, I'll try here to devellop why endgame is the best choice, and without using a translator, so be ready to read some horrible english.

Endgame choice is the best because you don't have to know anything from openings, tactics stuff or positional skills from middlegame, and because endgame are part of middlegames which is part of opening. I advice you start with pawn ending, then when you perfecty master pawn ending (and for this you need to work on about minimum 50 pawn ending key positions and probably 200 or even 500 other positions, which will take you hundreds of hours to really master it), you can go to others ending (because you need to know pawn ending to work on rook endings, because every rook ending will continue by some pawn ending - the same for knight ending, bishop and night endings etc). When you'll work all endings with 1 piece from each side, you can work on the Shereshevsky, which include many pieces. After this enormous work on endgame which can take you many many months, the only thing you need is to look at a few opening and their middlegames to complete your chess training program (and a few work on tactic and strategy for the general middlegame obviously), but endgame work is already a very big part of the program. This is my point of view, and not the point of view of everybody (especially the past trainers from 1950 who don't speak a lot about endgames in their training books, where 95% of their study plan is tactics or strategic skills. My plan is something like this : 20% or 30% endgame, 40% tactics, 10% strategy, 10% opening, 10% study of GM or WC games). Moreover, as Dvoretsky and many others, I think there is a lot of tactic (and even positional) skills in the endgame.

Strong emphasis on logical thinking method and planning in the endgame not memorization this is the kind of book you need and it's only $8

http://www.amazon.com/How-Play-Chess-Endings-Dover/dp/0486211703/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392126970&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+play+chess+endgames+borovskyth

For reference either of these books are good friends to have around.......

Fundamental Chess Endings by Karsten Muller

http://www.amazon.com/Fundamental-Chess-Endings-Karsten-Muller/dp/1901983536/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392128253&sr=8-1&keywords=fundamental+chess+endings

Ruben Fines Basic Chess Endings (2003)

http://www.amazon.com/Basic-Chess-Endings-Reuben-Fine/dp/0812934938/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392128315&sr=8-1&keywords=basic+chess+endings+benko

Everything you on the basic endgame is in there there is alot of meat in it.

Here's another book you might want to study.

http://www.amazon.com/Capablancas-Best-Chess-Endings-Complete/dp/0486242498

is this book u mentioned any good? since the person who wrote it is not a v good chess player himself, only an enthusiast.

David210 wrote:

is this book u mentioned any good? since the person who wrote it is not a v good chess player himself, only an enthusiast.

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Chernev was a national master strength player, so it's not like he was weak. And he was very good at writing instructional chess books. The source material of that particular Chernev book being Capablanca is about as good as can be found for chess endings, and on top of that it has the full games so the reader can see how Capablanca got to the endings. Yeah, it's a good book.

I don't really like Silman's book or his writing style. He is great for millenials (you've made it this far, you're doing great!) and he wastes alot of paper. But that said, the content is there. I am currently studying the same book.

I would ignore the rest and concentrate on mastering the material in E-C sections. You are looking for understanding, not memorization. Just sit down with a board and this book and start expirementing until you know how to play all of the lines and why not to play anything else. This will take alot of hard work and alot of time.

As is said above, the endgame is by far the most important and beneficial part of the game to study.

I have some of those books and am past page 100 on Survival Guide to Rook Endings already.  I'll have to read the rook section in Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual to round out the three weeks dedicated to rook endings. 

Bardu is right about understanding not memorization like Fine or Benko said at the end of BCE memorization isn't nearly as important as understanding the principles in reply to a student who said what good is the book if the opponent doesn't play it. 

"I advice you start with pawn ending, then when you perfecty master pawn ending"

Secrets of Pawn Endings and Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual have very tough pawn ending positions; perfectly mastering them will take Comprehensive Chess Endings and the ECE volume 1 on top of those.  After mastering some basics move onto rook endings then minor piece endings.  Then return to pawn endings after rounding out the basics of each. 

You'll know if the material is advanced if the entire book is dedicated to that type of endgame or the work is explicitly stated to be for advanced players (such as Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual)

But yeah pawn endings aren't just good for strictly playing pawn endings but studying them works your calculation skills. 

Thanks for all your help and advice on how to learn endgames.  Very much appreciated.

Just wanted to ask: I heard there there's such a thing as technical endgame vs. strategic endgame.  Technical endgame is supposed to be cut and dry positions with a clear answer (e.g. Lucena position, Opposition).  Strategic endgame is more like positional chess in the endgame.  Is there any truth to this technical endgame vs. strategic endgame distinction?  If so, how should I factor it into my study plan?

"Technical endgame" is (for me) endgame with max 1 piece for each side (Lucena is one of them, like you said), but they are not cut and dry. "Strategic endgame" is, by opposition, all others endgames, and they are more "positional" than technical endgames, because in such endgame you can (and must) make some plan (like in shereshevsky). But there are some plans too in "technical endgame" sometimes, and sometimes strategic endgames are cut and dry position with a clear answer. We have to name these differents type of endgames and those terms were chosen, "technical" and "strategic", but they don't reflect exactly the reality.

I think that sequence of books sounds good.  I will carefully study the positions in the book, as LePontMirabeau has advised.  Thanks.