I adore endgame study, but I do think it's vastly overrated for players under 1700.
THe vast majority of my games as a sub1700 are decided well before the late endgame. Late middlegame is where most of the decisive action occurs - it's actually frustrating for me to see how little I get to use my endgame knowledge at my level.
For sure though, at the stronger levels, the games are more equal with less positional (or tactical) blunders, and then the endgame rises in importance.
This is a mistake many do.You don't study endgames to win endgames.
Endgames increase your ability to calculate and plan and helps you understand the properties of the pieces.
This is what most do not understand.
Lack of serious and systematic endgame study is what prevents most from improving and playing good chess.
Very well said!
I wish this was true, but I have found this at least at my level to absolutely NOT be the case.
Studying low-piece count endgames is so far from the middlegame that it's ludicrous to think you'll gain middlegame skills from studying them.
I think the fact that there are quite a few 2000+ rated players who are near-beginner level in endgames attests to this reality.
If you're studying late-middlegames, that's more like the typical chess we play for most of the game, but those supersimplified endgames, while beautiful, and yes, essential to win in certain situations, don't contribute much to surviving the middlegame.
I adore endgame study, but I do think it's vastly overrated for players under 1700.
THe vast majority of my games as a sub1700 are decided well before the late endgame. Late middlegame is where most of the decisive action occurs - it's actually frustrating for me to see how little I get to use my endgame knowledge at my level.
For sure though, at the stronger levels, the games are more equal with less positional (or tactical) blunders, and then the endgame rises in importance.
This is a mistake many do.You don't study endgames to win endgames.
Endgames increase your ability to calculate and plan and helps you understand the properties of the pieces.
This is what most do not understand.
Lack of serious and systematic endgame study is what prevents most from improving and playing good chess.
Very well said!