{"id":3376,"date":"2023-11-03T10:50:25","date_gmt":"2023-11-03T10:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/?p=3376"},"modified":"2023-11-03T11:18:51","modified_gmt":"2023-11-03T11:18:51","slug":"latest-book-highlight-endgame-labyrinths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/latest-book-highlight-endgame-labyrinths\/","title":{"rendered":"Latest Book Highlight: <em>Endgame Labyrinths<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Following hard on the heels of Jacob Aagaard\u2019s very popular&nbsp;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/product\/a-matter-of-endgame-technique\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">A Matter of Endgame Technique<\/a>,<\/em>&nbsp;which won the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.englishchess.org.uk\/ecf-book-of-the-year-2023\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2023 English Chess Federation\u2019s Book of the Year Award<\/a>, comes another endgame tome with a considerable amount of pages \u2013 this time with the assistance of a co-author.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Book-Covers-18.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3377\" width=\"279\" height=\"349\" srcset=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Book-Covers-18.png 480w, https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Book-Covers-18-240x300.png 240w, https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Book-Covers-18-150x188.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 279px) 100vw, 279px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-layout-1 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/product\/endgame-labyrinths\" style=\"background-color:#ae4375\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>View Book<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Grandmaster Training: Endgame Labyrinths<\/em>&nbsp;by Steffen Nielsen &amp; Jacob Aagaard \u2018presents the reader with 1002 challenging studies selected and truncated, with their usefulness for the practical player in mind.\u2019<br><br>The mention of \u2018studies\u2019 can put off practical players, who often find the concepts too deep or obscure. The authors take this into account. \u2018It is common for studies to be extended by less interesting maneuvers or by incomprehensible sequences, before the main themes come into play. The studies in this book have been pruned to leave the reader with 1002 clear and solvable challenges.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1002<\/strong> challenges! That should be more than enough to keep even the most diligent of chess students busy for some time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the words of Steffen Nielsen, the current World Champion in study composition:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018The endgame study is a piece of art that is closely connected to the game of chess. As a composer of endgame studies, I have two aims. One is purely artistic and the other is making my work accessible to the chess public.\u2019<br><br>Time now to put the claims of accessibility to the test by picking one of the 1002 studies completely at random.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Studies based on pawn endgames usually have more of the \u2018real game\u2019 feel to them somehow, so here is a good one to test your powers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerBefore\"><\/p>\n\n<div id=\"rpbchessboard-6adf5da85cb05-1\" class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboard rpbchessboard-diagramAlignment-center\">\n    <noscript>\n        <div class=\"rpbchessboard-javascriptWarning\">\n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        <\/div>\n    <\/noscript>\n    <div class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor\"><\/div>\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n        jQuery(document).ready(function($) {\n            var selector = '#' + \"rpbchessboard-6adf5da85cb05-1\" + ' .rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor';\n            RPBChessboard.renderFEN($(selector), {\"position\":\"8\\\/5p2\\\/8\\\/8\\\/1K1k4\\\/8\\\/1P6\\\/8 w - - 0 1\",\"squareSize\":32,\"coordinateVisible\":true,\"turnVisible\":true,\"colorset\":\"original\",\"pieceset\":\"cburnett\"});\n        });\n    <\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerAfter\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>J. Moravec, Ceske Slovo 1941<br><\/strong><em>White to play and draw<\/em><br><br>The straightforward pawn race loses for White: <strong>1. Ka5 f5 2. b4 f4 3. b5 Kc5 4. b6 Kc6 5. Ka6 f3 6. b7 f2 7. b8=Q<\/strong> White queens first\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerBefore\"><\/p>\n\n<div id=\"rpbchessboard-6adf5da85cb05-2\" class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboard rpbchessboard-diagramAlignment-center\">\n    <noscript>\n        <div class=\"rpbchessboard-javascriptWarning\">\n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        <\/div>\n    <\/noscript>\n    <div class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor\"><\/div>\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n        jQuery(document).ready(function($) {\n            var selector = '#' + \"rpbchessboard-6adf5da85cb05-2\" + ' .rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor';\n            RPBChessboard.renderFEN($(selector), {\"position\":\"1Q6\\\/8\\\/K1k5\\\/8\\\/8\\\/8\\\/5p2\\\/8 b - - 0 7\",\"squareSize\":32,\"coordinateVisible\":true,\"turnVisible\":true,\"colorset\":\"original\",\"pieceset\":\"cburnett\"});\n        });\n    <\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerAfter\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2026but now Black queens&nbsp;<em>with check<\/em>&nbsp;and has a winning initiative. <strong>7\u2026f1=Q+ 8. Ka5 Qa1+ 9. Kb4 Qb2+<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerBefore\"><\/p>\n\n<div id=\"rpbchessboard-6adf5da85cb05-3\" class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboard rpbchessboard-diagramAlignment-center\">\n    <noscript>\n        <div class=\"rpbchessboard-javascriptWarning\">\n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        <\/div>\n    <\/noscript>\n    <div class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor\"><\/div>\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n        jQuery(document).ready(function($) {\n            var selector = '#' + \"rpbchessboard-6adf5da85cb05-3\" + ' .rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor';\n            RPBChessboard.renderFEN($(selector), {\"position\":\"1Q6\\\/8\\\/2k5\\\/8\\\/1K6\\\/8\\\/1q6\\\/8 w - - 0 10\",\"squareSize\":32,\"coordinateVisible\":true,\"turnVisible\":true,\"colorset\":\"original\",\"pieceset\":\"cburnett\"});\n        });\n    <\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerAfter\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The white queen is lost and checkmate swiftly follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How, then, should White continue, from the first diagram?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The path to the draw starts with an unlikely-looking move:&nbsp;<strong>1. Kb3!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerBefore\"><\/p>\n\n<div id=\"rpbchessboard-6adf5da85cb05-4\" class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboard rpbchessboard-diagramAlignment-center\">\n    <noscript>\n        <div class=\"rpbchessboard-javascriptWarning\">\n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        <\/div>\n    <\/noscript>\n    <div class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor\"><\/div>\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n        jQuery(document).ready(function($) {\n            var selector = '#' + \"rpbchessboard-6adf5da85cb05-4\" + ' .rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor';\n            RPBChessboard.renderFEN($(selector), {\"position\":\"8\\\/5p2\\\/8\\\/8\\\/3k4\\\/1K6\\\/1P6\\\/8 b - - 0 1\",\"squareSize\":32,\"coordinateVisible\":true,\"turnVisible\":true,\"colorset\":\"original\",\"pieceset\":\"cburnett\"});\n        });\n    <\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerAfter\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Where is the white king going?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1\u2026Kd3 2. Ka2!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerBefore\"><\/p>\n\n<div id=\"rpbchessboard-6adf5da85cb05-5\" class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboard rpbchessboard-diagramAlignment-center\">\n    <noscript>\n        <div class=\"rpbchessboard-javascriptWarning\">\n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        <\/div>\n    <\/noscript>\n    <div class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor\"><\/div>\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n        jQuery(document).ready(function($) {\n            var selector = '#' + \"rpbchessboard-6adf5da85cb05-5\" + ' .rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor';\n            RPBChessboard.renderFEN($(selector), {\"position\":\"8\\\/5p2\\\/8\\\/8\\\/8\\\/3k4\\\/KP6\\\/8 b - - 0 2\",\"squareSize\":32,\"coordinateVisible\":true,\"turnVisible\":true,\"colorset\":\"original\",\"pieceset\":\"cburnett\"});\n        });\n    <\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerAfter\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another counter-intuitive move \u2013 but all is under control. Incidentally, 2. Ka3?? looks like to does the same job of clearing the pawn\u2019s path, but after the pawn race Black will have a winning queen check on a1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2&#8230;f5 3. b4! Kc4 4. b5&nbsp;<\/strong>(an essential decoy)&nbsp;<strong>Kxb5 5. Kb3<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerBefore\"><\/p>\n\n<div id=\"rpbchessboard-6adf5da85cb05-6\" class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboard rpbchessboard-diagramAlignment-center\">\n    <noscript>\n        <div class=\"rpbchessboard-javascriptWarning\">\n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        <\/div>\n    <\/noscript>\n    <div class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor\"><\/div>\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n        jQuery(document).ready(function($) {\n            var selector = '#' + \"rpbchessboard-6adf5da85cb05-6\" + ' .rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor';\n            RPBChessboard.renderFEN($(selector), {\"position\":\"8\\\/8\\\/8\\\/1k3p2\\\/8\\\/1K6\\\/8\\\/8 b - - 0 5\",\"squareSize\":32,\"coordinateVisible\":true,\"turnVisible\":true,\"colorset\":\"original\",\"pieceset\":\"cburnett\"});\n        });\n    <\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerAfter\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As if by magic, the white king has managed to remain in touch with the black pawn!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The bottom line is that&nbsp;<em>Grandmaster Training: Endgame Labyrinths<\/em>&nbsp;&nbsp;\u2018\u2026is a book for strong players wanting to improve their game through solving endgame studies.\u2019<br><br>Now that we have given you one of the answers, there are only 1001 left to try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sean Marsh<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Book-Covers-18.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3377\" width=\"257\" height=\"321\" srcset=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Book-Covers-18.png 480w, https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Book-Covers-18-240x300.png 240w, https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Book-Covers-18-150x188.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 257px) 100vw, 257px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-layout-2 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-text-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/sample\/endgame-labyrinths\" style=\"background-color:#ae4375\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>View Free Sample<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Following hard on the heels of Jacob Aagaard\u2019s very popular&nbsp;A Matter of Endgame Technique,&nbsp;which won&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":3383,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3376"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3376"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3376\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3386,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3376\/revisions\/3386"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}