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.

The middle game of chess is arguably the most complicated aspect of the game. Through carefully selected examples from real games, Alexey wants to make you more familiar with various aspects of the middle game. He believes that through careful reading and study of his book, any player regardless of which level will significantly improve their game. Even if you are unable to solve some of his exercises, they will regardless be of inevitable use for improving your understanding of chess. Therefore it is his hope that this book will be useful for the club player but the professional chess players as well.

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.

Nowadays, chessplayers spend almost all their free time preparing openings, and rarely spend the time necessary to perfect the vitally important technique of calculating. Regular training in solving and playing out endgames studies is a good recipe for eliminating that shortcoming. This training is directed at developing resourcefulness, fantasy (in chess, these qualities are called "combinative acuity”), and the readiness to sacrifice material, in pursuit of the goal - winning! How do we develop good habits of winning endgame play? There are lots of manuals; but this may be the first in which a famous practical player, a trainer with a world-renowned name, and a study composer who has earned the title of International Grandmaster of Composition, share their views in one and the same book.

Hellsten focuses exclusively on endgame play and covers every type of endgame: pawn, rook, minor piece and queen endgames. He examines many fundamental positions that everyone needs to know, as well as the key themes and characteristics of successful endgame play.

The upgraded 2024 edition of a modern classic

'New (4th) and improved edition of an all-time classic The good news about endgames is: • there are relatively few endings you should know by heart • once you know these endings, that's it. Your knowledge never goes out of date! The bad news is that, all the same, the endgame technique of most players is deficient. Modern time-controls make matters worse: there is simply not enough time to delve deep into the position. Jesus de la Vila debunks the myth that endgame theory is complex and he teaches you to steer the game into a position you are familiar with. This book contains only those endgames that: • show up most frequently • are easy to learn • contain ideas that are useful in more difficult positions. Your performance will improve dramatically because this book brings you: • simple rules • detailed and lively explanations • many diagrams • clear summaries of the most important themes • dozens of tests.