Hi i've been recently looking for a good endgame book.I've looked many times on amazon, and I've read the reviews but i dont know which ones to listen to, they range from "this is the best book ever to "not recommended to anyone!" So i was just wondering which book you guys recommend for someone of my strenght (1384 CFC).... Thanks in advance
-Ryan_99

Silman's Complete Endgame Course. Unlike most endgame books, it's sorted by usefulness, with the basic stuff everyone should know at the beginning, moving on to more and more complicated (and less likely to occur in games) stuff later on. It's also very well written. I own several endgame books, and this is the only one I go around recommending to everyone.

--Fromper

Chess Ending's books:
Fundamental Chess Endings: Karsten Muller
Secrets of Rook endings: John Nunn
Secrets of Pawn endings: Karsten Muller
Theses books in Chess Endings

Greetings

101 Chess Endgame Tips-Steve Giddins may interest someone here

there are lots of good endgame books. Silmans book I would "not recommend to anyone" however. Chess Fundamentals (capablanca) is great for basic endgames, but is is not primarily an endgame book. The other recommendations are good but also take a lot of time and energy to read. Maybe Bruce Pandolfini's endgame book would work for you.

We have Silman's book, and while it has useful info, the ratings are way off IMHO. The first chapter claims to teach endgame methods for unrated to 999 players. The material in that chapter isn't really endgame, but more of 'how to checkmate' level. It tells how to corner a lone king with 2 rooks, and defines stalemate. If you subtract at least 600 points from the claim for each chapter, and back it up with lots of tactics, you're getting close.

I still recommend it because it covers a lot of ground, but with that caveat.

Chess Endings Essential Knowledge by Yuri Averbakh is also a good one.

You've obviously never watched tournament games at the scholastic level. Half the kids with 800 ratings can't pull off a K&R vs K checkmate, and there are tons of stalemates with K&Q vs K. I've even seen some of those stalemates among players up to 1800 USCF rating, but usually only when time trouble is a factor.

I do agree that Silman's rating estimates are a little high, but not as much as you seem to think. My best guess is that he mostly teaches kids, who improve from just playing a lot and not really studying much (if any), so they get way behind on things like endgame knowledge. For instance, I know a kid rated over 1800 in slow USCF tournament rating who can't tell just by looking at a position whether a lone pawn endgame is winnable or drawn. I've known simple lone pawn endgames well enough to do that since my rating was 1300.

So I really think different people have different levels of knowledge. But ignore the rating levels in his book, and just go through it one chapter at a time, taking on the next one as you feel like it. You'll learn a lot of material in the most relevant study order I've ever seen for an endgame book. That's why I recommend it.

My one complaint is that he doesn't cover KBN vs K endgames. They don't come up often, but it's the type of cool thing to learn just to show off at the local club. If I was him, I'd have put it in the last chapter, just to justify the use of the word "Complete" in the title of the book.

--Fromper

What is obvious is that the level of play at scholastic tournaments varies.

I know some kids that possess strong tactics with comparatively absent endgames. Coincidentally, they are often a bit overrated, which makes their endgame seem weaker. But they are the exception and not the rule, and none are so dramatic as suggested here.

I also polled some kids from the trenches of recent scholastic competition, and they do not agree that half of 800-rated players screw up even a K vs K&R checkmate. They would expect to see that to be displayed by 400-600 rated players. It would be difficult to win a game to earn such a rating without it. Reaching 1000 with little more than that as is suggested by the book would require overwhelming tactics and/or some age bonus points.

Saying it is 600 points off may have been a little harsh, but 200-400 is believeable, which is still 1-2 chapters off.

Again, the exact rating levels aren't as important as the fact that the book is well written and well organized. I have several endgame books, and it's my first recommendation for anyone below master level to study endgames, even if they already know half the material in this book.

--Fromper