Get Pandolfini. 100 Endgames is a fabulous book in my opinion, but may not be comprehensive enough for a player of your level.
Pandolfini's Endgame Course might be the perfect books for you. Here I discuss it and other endgame book reviews in my recent blog:
If you still struggle with certain "elementary" mates in severe time trouble then practice chess.coms drills and you'll know them cold!
I hope this helps,
2Bf41-0
Get Pandolfini. 100 Endgames is a fabulous book in my opinion, but may not be comprehensive enough for a player of your level.
Pandolfini's Endgame Course might be the perfect books for you. Here I discuss it and other endgame book reviews in my recent blog:
If you still struggle with certain "elementary" mates in severe time trouble then practice chess.coms drills and you'll know them cold!
I hope this helps,
2Bf41-0
Hmm. I did have the Pando book years ago. It certainly seems comprehensive in terms of what it covers. What I found was, even after solving the cases given, I couldn't necessarily solve more generalized case. Maybe my fault.
I guess all I'm asking, if a very highly recommended book recognizes there is some key knowledge it's going to skip on the assumption the reader already has it, then it also should be possible to list what that key knowledge entails.
Of course I realize nobody owes me that. Just thinking it might be off the top of someone's head if they have studied and recommended this book.
I don't play with less than 15+10 on the clock... I highly recommend never playing faster time controls.
I don't play with less than 15+10 on the clock... I highly recommend never playing faster time controls.
It's a good point.
Looking at your last game that you lost, I recommend you reading "Reassess Your Chess" by Jeremy Silman. It's about middlegame strategy, but it's more like the keys on how to read a chess board.
For example on the importance of diagonals. You can say to yourself right now that you understand the importance of diagonals, but Jeremy explains how you can understand if a particular diagonal in your game is important.
Then just multiply by the number of concepts he talks about, and you'll be soon be smoking your opponents like cheap cigars.
… I picked up de Villa's book "100 Endgames You Must Know" and find right at the beginning that it doesn't cover certain basic endings that everyone apparently already knows. As frequently recommended as this book is, I've never seen this fact mentioned. ...
"... the 2000+ player for which 100 Endgames You Must Know is really intended ..."
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708105702/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review645.pdf
"... Players from 2000 up to International Master will find 100 ENDGAMES YOU MUST KNOW quite useful." - IM John Donaldson
http://www.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/100-Endgames-You-Must-Know-78p3863.htm
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9026.pdf
Learn KR vs K first. It uses a simple recurring technique to force the opposite King to the edge and then to a corner. Essentially you create a Zugzwang that forces the King to take the opposition, then you can force it closer to the edge with a Rook check. Once you understood that technique, it will be almost automatic and it will also help with KQ vs K (though it's a waste of moves there, but you won't have to think about it).
Good evening.
I recently was forced to accept a draw because I couldn't convert a K&Q vs K ending into a win, having reached it with 18 seconds left on the clock. I am rated 1400ish, most of the time, and "of course" I do know this ending, but then again maybe I don't really "know" it considering I couldn't do it in this time...I do believe 30 seconds would have been completely different.
So...I picked up de Villa's book "100 Endgames You Must Know" and find right at the beginning that it doesn't cover certain basic endings that everyone apparently already knows. As frequently recommended as this book is, I've never seen this fact mentioned.
Of course K&Q vs K, or K&R vs K, are both very basic, and seem to be not included. Q vs Q&P seems to not be included almost for the opposite reason--too complicated and/or not worth the effort to do it justice.
Would anyone who has spent some time with this book be willing to outline here what is NOT covered? That is, if this book is the 100 most important endings, not counting the ones so obvious that everyone already knows them...well, which ones are those? I guess I can try to figure it out myself but it's almost like answering the question "tell me everything you don't know?"
Also, with deepest respect, I can already hear the "get Silman" advice, and yeah maybe I should have, but I was trying to cover this ground with one book and it doesn't seem so unreasonable to be able to do so, especially with the reputation this book has.
Anyway, any help appreciated.