Four characters play a game of life, concluding with the exit of one character and the immobility of the remaining three, in a study of man's relationship to his fellows

Samuel Beckett was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969; his literary output of plays, novels, stories and poetry has earned him an uncontested place as one of the greatest writers of our time. Endgame, originally written in French and translated into English by Beckett himself, is considered by many critics to be his greatest single work. A pinnacle of Beckett’s characteristic raw minimalism, it is a pure and devastating distillation of the human essence in the face of approaching death.

Here... at long last... we have it. A new type of endgame book. A book which explains how to handle those positions that frequently occur in practical play but, curiously, are hardly ever the subject of theoretical works. Most endgame books rely upon recycling established theory on basic positions, or concentrate on fantastical studies. This one is different. Well known Grandmaster and endgame expert Glenn Flear examines in depth all endgames which feature either two pieces for each side, or two pieces against one. Why is this an important subject? Because these situations arise surprisingly frequently in practical play. For example, an examination of any big database will reveal that the endgame of rook and minor piece versus rook and minor piece arises in nearly 20% of games. That means that if you open with 1 e4, you are more likely to reach one of these endgames than you are to face the French Defence. And overall, every time you sit down to play a game of chess, there is nearly a 50% chance that you will reach one of the endgames covered in this book. If you can handle such endgames well, your results will inevitably improve. This book will show you how.

If one were to do a survey of club and tournament players to determine which areas of the game they feel that they are weak in, there is little doubt that most would admit to poor endgame play However, while these players would happily spend an afternoon looking at the latest variation of their favorite opening, few spend any time at all studying the endgame. 'Endgame books are just too boring, ' they would say. Not this one! Here, International Master Neil McDonald provides a fresh approach to endgame, concentrating on practical aspects that all players will find useful. This is the ideal handbook for club and tournament players, using games by Kasparov, Anand and others to explain the principles of endgame play, and employing a thematic approach to demonstrate typical endgame motifs. Neil McDonald is also the author of Positional Sacrifices and Modern Chess Miniatures (both of which are available from Cadogan)

For all chess players, beginners to professionals, one thing is crucial: any ending knowledge will bring you the key to success. In this area of the game, many points are given away through the lack of adequate knowledge of these endings. Alexey Dreev continued his journey, after his first in the series 'Practical Play in the Middlegame', he provided an unique and practical guide, logically and clearly organized by theme. On top of that he also included many fascinating exercices to test the reader's understanding. This endgame book should be in anyone's library if you want to acquire the correct knowledge of the final part of our Royal Game.

Jacob Aagaard presents the reader with a few key concepts in the endgame in chess and invites him to test his skills with a lot of examples from recent tournament practice. Where many endgame books are theoretical and emphasize memorization, Endgame Play is based entirely in the real world, where the ability to react precisely in technical positions is a life skill.

The first edition of Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual was immediately recognized by novice and master alike as one of the best books ever published on the endgame. The second edition is revised and enlarged - now over 400 pages - covering 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 Chess 2003 Book of the Year - JeremySilman.com 2003 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