José Raúl Capablanca (1888–1942) had no need for isolated artistic theory or compositions — he composed and created chess art as he played. All of his genius — intuitive, tactical, strategic, logical — all of his art shines clearest in his endings, as he himself was proud to declare, advising others to study them carefully. "In order to improve your game," he said, "you must study the endgame before anything else; for whereas the endings can be studied and mastered by themselves, the middle game and the opening must be studied in relation to the endgame."The best way to follow Capablanca's advice is through this — the only book devoted to his great endings, 60 complete games emphasizing the grand finale but annotated throughout.Irving Chernev communicates in his notes the mystery and wonder as well as the delight in discovering again and again the original, fertile mind of chess's greatest born player. "Virtuoso," "exquisite," "profound," "inspired," "elegant," and "fiendish ingenuity" describe match and tournament games and endings against Alekhine, Steiner, Marshall, Nimzowitsch, Lasker, Réti, and others, the best in the contemporary chess world. Capablanca's eleventh game in the 1901 Cuban championship (which he won, aged 12) "surpasses any accomplishment by such other prodigies as Morphy, Reshevsky, and Fischer." From age 12 through the last game in the book (nearly four decades later against Reshevsky at Nottingham, 1936), Capablanca fashions endgames in tense tournament atmosphere that seem like delicate, precise instruments dreamt at leisure.Here then is the essence of Capablanca, analyzed for the instruction of players and the pleasure of chess connoisseurs. Included are indexes of openings, themes in the endings, and opponents, as well as a bibliography and record of tournament and match play. Capablanca: for players, the epitome of the endgame; for readers, a classic chess study.

    The styles encompass Openings (O); Games Collections ((G); and Training (T). The levels are arranged as follows: Children [C]; Novice (N); Club (C); and Advanced (A).

    Jesus de la Villa, an international grandmaster and former champion of Spain, presents the endgames that show up most frequently in practice, are easy to learn and contain ideas and concepts that are useful in more difficult positions. He brings you simple rules, guiding ideas at the beginning of each chapter, detailed and lively explanations, many diagrams, clear summaries of the most important themes, recommended exercises that will help you understand the material, and tests, divided in two parts: basic and final. The main thing De la Villa asks of you is to always understand WHY you play a move.

    The proper use of pawns — of paramount importance in chess strategy — sometimes even puzzles experienced players. This profoundly original and stimulating book by an International Master and prolific chess writer offers superb instruction in pawn play by isolating its elements and elaborating on various aspects. After a lucid exposition of the fundamentals and the basic formations of one or two pawns that virtually constitute the keys to winning chess strategy, the reader is shown a multitude of examples demonstrating the paramount significance of elements of pawn manipulation. The author’s masterly explanation makes it perfectly clear to the beginner as well as the advanced player how the fate of a game depends on pawn formation and how pawn power holds the proceedings under its remote control. Over 180 games and diagrams illustrate the author’s theory and make it easy to follow the points made in the text.Hans Kmoch played with distinction in several international tournaments and is the author of a number of books and columns on chess and chess tournaments.“We consider it the best publication on chess strategy since the end of World War II.” — Die Welt.

    While it remains a fundamental work on chess strategy, the way chess positions are handled has changed greatly since Nimzowitsch's time - both refinements to existing ideas, and completely new concepts. John Watson's book fulfils the need for a thorough, profound work on the modern handling of chess positions, and how Nimzowitsch's theories - still controversial and revolutionary at the time My System was written - have been refined and used alongside classical concepts.The first section of the book discusses how the understanding of classical themes, such as pawn majorities, the centre, and structural weaknesses, have been refined. Watson then moves on to discuss new concepts, including the willingness of modern players to accept backward pawns in return for dynamic play, the idea of a good 'bad' bishop, knights finding useful roles at the edge of the board and the exchange sacrifice idea that became prevalent with the post-war Soviet champions. This profound yet thoroughly practical work is rounded off with sections on prophylactic thinking, dynamism, modern concepts as they apply to the critical contemporary opening systems, and some thoughts on the future of chess.

    The third edition, revised and enlarged - now over 400 pages - covers all the most important concepts required for endgame mastery."I am sure that those who study this work carefully will not only play the endgame better, but overall, their play will improve. One of the secrets of the Russian chess school is now before you, dear reader!” - From the Foreword to the First Edition by Grandmaster Artur Yusupov"Going through this book will certainly improve your endgame knowledge, but just as important, it will also greatly improve your ability to calculate variations, What really impresses me is the deep level of analysis in the book, All I can say is: This is a great book. I hope it will bring you as much pleasure as it has me.” - From the Preface to the First Edition by International Grandmaster Jacob Aagaard Here's what they had to say about the First Edition: "Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual ... may well be the chess book of the year... [It] comes close to an ultimate one-volume manual on the endgame.” - Lubomir Kavalek in his chess column of December 1, 2003 in the Washington Post."Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual is quite simply a masterpiece of research and insight. It is a tremendous contribution to endgame literature, certainly the most important one in many years, and destined to be a classic of the literature (if it isn't already one). The famous trainer Mark Dvoretsky has put together a vast number of examples that he has not only collected, but analysed and tested with some of the world's strongest players. This is a particularly important book from the standpoint of clarifying, correcting, and extending the theory of endings. Most of all, Dvoretsky's analysis is staggering in its depth and accuracy.” - John Watson, reviewing DEM at The Week In Chess2003 Book of the Year - JeremySilman.com2003 Book of the Year - Seagaard Chess Reviews: "This is an extraordinary good chess book. To call this the best book on endgames ever written seems to be an opinion shared by almost all reviewers and commentators. And I must say that I am not to disagree." - Erik Sobjerg

    Pull up a chair and watch the world's most exciting chess endings. Then become an endgame master!Winning Chess Endings explains how to:*Relentlessly find checkmates, from easy to hard, in all basic endgame patterns*Master the intricacies of King and Pawn Endings*Win consistently in the most common endgame--the Rook ending*Master the pros and cons of Bishop vs. Knight Endgames*Seize the advantage in Rook Pawn and Queen Pawn endings*Play like a grandmaster in solitaire endings

    Twenty years later, it remains a bestseller in the field and one of the best practical training manuals available.

    It provides the perfect opportunity for understanding the potential power of each chess piece in every chess situation—from opening move to checkmate. But the endgame is often viewed as an inaccessible area of play by most players whose experience is limited to watching championship games. Now, Pandolfini changes all of that. With one endgame example per page and covering every endgame category in order of difficulty, Paldolfini walks you through all the basic concepts including: --square of the pawn --critical squares --corresponding squares --other new approaches not mentioned in classic references Featuring a glossary of concepts and diagrams throughout, this volume is the not-so-secret password to a whole new realm of chess play and entertainment for the average player.

    This workbook may be utilizes with or without Silman's earlier book "How to Reassess Your Chess". Illustrations.

    This is a thought-provoking look at the psychological errors that lead chess-players to disaster and keep them from reaching their full potential.

    The first authoritative English translation from the Russian, this volume was written by one of the leading competitors. Its perceptive coverage includes games by Smyslov, Keres, Reshevsky, Petrosian and 11 others. Algebraic notation. 352 diagrams.

    Such combinations do not come into being by themselves, however; they appear only as the result of proper chess strategy. It is therefore surprising that so few books deal with this highly important subject, and understandable that Pachman's modern classic has been so enthusiastically received by chessplayers at all levels.Ludĕk Pachman, a Czech grandmaster, has long had an international reputation as a chess theorist, but until now his work has not been available in English. This present volume, which condenses his great Modern Schachstrategie, presents his ideas and theories in a form that the English-speaking world can assimilate easily. Beginning with basic concepts and the rules of the minor and major pieces, it covers the use of the Queen, the active King, exchanges, various kinds of Pawns, the center and its use, superiority on the wings, minority attack, strategical points and weak squares, methods of attack and defense, and similar topics. Pachman elaborates the various kinds of strategy that can be employed, and shows how each leads to tactical opportunities. It has been said that his section on the Rook alone make his book indispensable to the serious chess player, since the Rook is so important in both middle and endgames.Pachman presents his method in the form of a thorough, systematic, analytical text, which draws upon scores of great games for exemplification. Both classical and very recent masters are included, although stress is on the moderns: Capablanca, Alekhine, Dr. Lasker, Rubinstein, Nimzovich, Botvinnik, Reshevsky, Bronstein, Smyslov, and Spasski.

    Among the highlights are Kasparov vs. Topalov; Kasparov vs. Wijk aan Zee; the super-computer Deep Blue's historic first win over Kasparov; Boris Spassky's "James Bond" Mating Combination; and Bobby Fischer's "Game of the Century." Study these games and learn about defense and counterattack, logical opening play, endgame strategy, psychological warfare, and how great players think.

    In his trademark witty, accessible style, Soltis provides tips on everything from the need for memorization to the use of computers-and even how to develop that indefinable thing called intuition.