Endgame Books

Next year, Chess Informant will proudly celebrate its 60th anniversary. To commemorate this remarkable milestone, we are delighted to present the first volume in our new series: "From the Chess Informant’s Archives."

From the vast trove of material accumulated over the decades, we have chosen to begin with Selected Endings. Endgames first appeared as a special section in Informant No. 5 and have been published regularly ever since.

This volume presents a carefully curated selection of 705 endgames, chosen not only for their instructional value but also for their aesthetic beauty and conceptual depth.

All endgames are presented in the spirit of their time - as they were played and annotated when they first appeared.

The book is also for experienced chess players as well as beginners!

The Fine Art of the Endgame Study

The chess endgame study has a long and storied history and occupies a unique place in chess because of its similarity to practical play. Many studies contain beautiful ideas and combinations. Solving or even simply playing through endgame studies is an effective method of studying the strategic and tactical elements of play and contributes to the growth of the number of fans of this chess art.

However, many chessplayers are unaware or apprehensive of endgame studies. The studies seem to be almost other-worldly. But now, for the first time, a world-class endgame composer explains the basics of studies, from the basic terms and themes, to solving and even composing endgame studies!

If you have always wanted to explore endgame studies but thought they were too abstract or difficult, this book is for you. The author breaks down all the basic themes, with examples and clear explanations.

The book you are holding – a first of its kind – is a complete practical guide to the wonderland of our fine art aimed at leading you to your upcoming solving and composing adventures by a world class expert – From the Foreword by Yochanan Afek

Whether you are seeking to improve your tactical and strategic endgame skills or just wish to enjoy the beauty and aesthetic appeal of endgame studies, let Oleg Pervakov open the door to the fine art of the endgame study.

Oleg Pervakov is one of the most distinguished endgame study composers in the world today. In 2005 he was awarded the coveted title of International Grandmaster in Chess Composition.

Winner of the 2015 Best Book Award of the Chess Journalists of America (CJA)

Shortlisted for the English Chess Federation 2015 Book of the Year Award

THIRD, EXTENDED EDITION

Pawn endings do not arise out of nowhere. Before emerging as endgames with just kings and pawns, they 'pre-existed' in positions that still contained any number of pieces.

Liquidation is the purposeful transition into a pawn ending. It is a vital technique that is seldom taught. Strange, because knowing when and how to liquidate can help you win games or save draws.

In this book, former US Chess Champion Joel Benjamin teaches you all you need to know about successfully liquidating into pawn endgames.

He focuses on the practical aspects: what to aim for and how to get there. When to start trading pieces and how to recognize favorable and unfavorable liquidations.

Enter a fascinating world of tempo play (triangulation, zugzwang and opposition), breakthroughs, king activity, passed pawn dynamics, sacrifices and counter-sacrifices.

Exercises will test your growing skills.

This is a ground-breaking, entertaining and instructive guide.

This New and Extended 3rd edition presents 50 new examples, besides other additions and corrections.

At thirteen years of age Joel Benjamin broke Bobby Fischer's record as the youngest ever US master, and this was followed by countless tournament successes. He won the US Championship three times and was the chess consultant for IBM's Deep Blue computer, which made history by beating World Champion Garry Kasparov in an epic encounter.

IM Frank Zeller, Magazine Schach: 

"Benjamin has managed to create an excellent guide to a difficult theme that has been badly served in chess literature (..) If you are really serious about improving your chess, you should work on your Benjamin!" 

Sean Marsh, CHESS Magazine (UK): 

"Entertainment is never far away (..) The material, which feels very fresh, provides an impressive series of easily digestible lessons."

Schach Magazin 64: 

"Strongly recommended (..) In transitions into pawn endgames a lot can be gained and a lot can be lost."

GM Daniel King, creator of the Power Play DVD series: 

'Well written and thoroughly researched. The selected examples have a strong practical value (..) This is an instructive work for players at any level above beginner - but it's not a dry endgame manual. The games contain some beautiful ideas and overall I found the book very entertaining.

GM Matthew Sadler, former British Champion: 

"The book works quite addictively (..) It's dealing with one of the big moments of uncertainty in practical chess."

IM Gary Lane, Chess Moves Magazine: 

"A labour of love that has produced an outstanding book."

The Judges of the ECF Book of the Year Award: 

"An attractive and entertaining book."

GM Daniel Naroditsky, Chess Life Magazine (US): 

"Benjamin tackles one of the most important (and underappreciated) aspects of endgame practice."

GM Karsten Müller, author of 'Fundamental Chess Endings': 

"An excellent new book. The theme of the right exchange is underrepresented in chess literature and Joel Benjamin manages to highlight its importance by investigating the transition into a pawn endgame in deep detail."

Uwe Bekemann, German Correspondence Chess Federation: 

"Engages itself with a theme on which there is not a lot of literautre (..) It will doubtlessly enrich players with a new aspect of the art of playing chess."

The possession of the bishop pair (vs. bishop & knight, or knight pair) is an important strategic element that may guarantee superiority and even determine the outcome of the game. In modern chess, the bishop pair has been established as a positional advantage in the majority of cases, and it’s very common nowadays to hear teachers tell their students ‘keep your bishops’ or ‘capture that bishop’.

In today’s chess, the importance given to this element has increased to the point that in some of the most popular opening variations, the main goal has become to gain the bishop pair. That is because the bishop pair can be a powerful advantage in any phase of the game. For example, it’s a lethal weapon in an attack against the king. It can also be very efficient in attacking weaknesses: one bishop can put pressure on the target, while the other attacks the defending piece. However, it is the endgame where it is particularly strong.

In this book, German-English Grandmaster Mieses has selected 125 interesting positions from games played by various masters such as Alekhine, Capablanca, Euwe, Lasker, Marshall, Nimzowitsch, Pillsbury, Rubinstein, Steinitz, Tarrasch, Mieses himself and many more from the classic period of chess up to the mid-1930.

The material is split into three sections: The Opening, The Middlegame, and The Endgame.

All of the examples and the analysis have been re-examined by Carsten Hansen, often adding a fascinating new perspective to these classic games.

There is lots of exciting material to examine and learn from for dedicated students.

The readers will see many complex endgames with dozens of useful and beautiful ideas, which could be used in our own practical games.

Jan Timman completes an impressive and fascinating trilogy with his collected studies. In Timman's Titans, winner of the 2017 ECF Book of the Year Award, he writes about the world champions he admires. In Timman's Triumphs, he annotates his hundred best games. In Timman's Studies, he offers his collected compositions of endgame studies.

Throughout his career, Jan Timman has been captivated by the mystery and splendor of endgame studies. Even during his most successful and busy years as a world-class player, he continued to compose and admire endgame studies. He has always believed that his exploration of this magical world helped him grow as a player.

In this book, he presents 160 studies and explains how they were created, whether inspired by the works of other composers or game positions.

Jan Timman, a former world championship candidate, rose to number two on the FIDE world rankings. He is the author of several bestsellers, including Timman's Titans, Timman's Triumphs, The Art of the Endgame, 100 Endgame Studies You Must Know, and Max Euwe's Best Games. In 2022, he was awarded the title of FIDE Master of Composition.

Originally published at the beginning of the 20th century as part of a series for chess improvers on all phases of the chess game, this little book contains examples of pawn play in endgames that inexperienced and club players will greatly benefit from studying.

With more than 100 well-chosen positions, the author illustrates the types of chess endgames that players should master once they understand and master the fundamentals.

The material has been reexamined, reanalyzed, and edited by FIDE Master Carsten Hansen.

This is the first time this book has been published in algebraic notation.