Endgame Books

The material is divided into four chapters, and two parts, depending if we have an endgame with queens or rooks on the board. I have decided to keep the focus on endgames because in middlegames, some other factors may simply prevail. In endgames, the importance of having a knight against a bishop just increases! For easier understanding, I suggest that before studying any example, you should determine which side will prevail and you can find the solutions yourself. Of course, you can work directly from the book and even skip some examples, and you can analyze them in random order. 

In the book, you will find Capablanca’s famous postulate about the queen and knight cooperating better than the queen and bishop, and some exceptions as well. For first time, you will hear of my audacious “postulate” that a rook and knight will “more often” prevail over a rook and bishop combination. I know this may sound absurd. I know Tal and Fischer would have disagreed and probably would have been indignant to hear this. I know many strong players would rather have a rook and bishop combination, basing their approach on the past masterpieces of these giants. But what about Rubinstein, and especially Karpov and Andersson – these masters had a great influence on my style and my coaching methods. Furthermore, I have based my “postulate” on statistics that I obtained after deeply searching for examples for this book. I hope it will reopen a debate about this material balance. My opinion is made, and I would like to apologize to all “bishop fans”.

I have decided to use actual words instead of symbols to explain my ideas, methods and plans. I think that it should be right in this computer era that is full of numbers, digits, etc. that words and sentences from the coach are simply irreplaceable to explain strategy and endgames. 

I am sure that this book will demystify that “eternal battle” and help you to broaden your horizons. I am sure you will find a lot for yourself in this book. 

Discover the hidden secrets of chess in its knight endgames! While many focus on openings and middle-game tactics, true mastery lies in understanding the nuances of endgames. Whether you’re a beginner, coach, or seasoned player, perfecting your endgame technique is paramount. Why? Because it’s in the endings that the most profound chess secrets are revealed.

This volume covers knight vs. knight and knight vs. bishop endgames. Bishop endgames covered in Volume 1.

Although Jose Raul Capablanca was the World Chess Champion a century ago, his games remain among the most interesting to study. The clear logic and simplicity of his moves inspired other great players such as Mikhail Botvinnik and Bobby Fischer. And the clarity of his play will boost the confidence of any chess student. It all seems so easy when you read the explanations, says a student in a comment on Chessable, so much so that you really believe you can play like Capablanca.

Capablanca's most instructive endgames will help you to understand:

– The principle of two weaknesses - the art of creating a second weakness, leaving opponents helpless because they cannot deal with both at the same time. 

– How to convert an advantage in the endgame, not by brute calculation, but by knowing where best to position your pieces. 

– Sharpen your intuition in double rook endgames and avoid wasting energy calculating everything and making mistakes. 

– The key concept of prophylaxis when it comes to trading pieces, a remarkable aspect of all Capablanca's games. You will learn when to trade off unnecessary pieces.

Capablanca's Endgame Technique will help you play with precision at all levels of the game, not just in the endgame. It was Capablanca himself who said, 'To improve your game, you must study the endgame before anything else.'

On the shortlist for ECF book of the year 2025 award

Alex Colovic is a grandmaster from Macedonia who has won 18 national championships and represented his country in three chess Olympiads. He is a prolific chess writer, drawing on his thirty years of experience as a tournament player and chess coach.

Sean Marsh (CHESS magazine) 

“The material is highly pertinent to the club player, with Colovic covering such topics as the principle of two weaknesses, improving the pieces, prophylaxis, and how to deepen your intuition in double rook endgames.” 

GM Matthew Sadler (New In Chess magazine) 

“I wish I’d had that advice during my playing career after years of unhappily sweating over repetitions! I always felt I should demonstrate my grandmasterly strength, but only succeeded in making myself nervous! It’s just one example of how Colovic turns these excellent technical games of Capablanca into a valuable learning experience.”

Rook endgames are the most frequently occurring endgames, as well as one of the most exciting and challenging areas of chess. In 2023, Quality Chess published Theoretical Rook Endgames by GM Sam Shankland and its sister volume Conceptual Rook Endgames by GM Jacob Aagaard – a dazzling dyad of domination in endgame literature.

This new book tops off the triumphant trio by presenting 208 instructive exercises of varying difficulty, testing and reinforcing the reader’s skill and understanding. Conceptual Rook Endgames Workbook will skyrocket your endgame abilities, whether used as a standalone workbook or as the last step in the Aagaard-Shankland Rook Endgames trilogy.

Grandmaster Jacob Aagaard is the most talented chess writer of his generation. He won the British Championship in 2007, but is mostly known for his multi-award-winning books and his work with students who have won club, state, national, continental and world championships, as well as Olympiad individual golds and team golds, the World Cup and Candidates tournament.

Knight Endgames Workbook comprises 300 knight endgame exercises curated by GM Branko Tadić. These tests are categorized based on the number of pawns, mirroring the structure of the book “KNIGHT ENDGAMES – GRANDMASTER ENDGAMES COLLECTION” by GM Vlatko Kovačević.

2020 ENDGAME MAZE, selected and analysed by Ivan Ivanisevic: * Practice your planning and decision-making skills in the final phase of the game!, * Complete coverage of most instructive and interesting endgames in 2020, * 151 carefully selected endgame positions, * 42 test positions.

Mastering Complex Endgames is a rich collection of practical endgame examples whose assessments require more than just standard theory. Daniel Naroditsky drew heavily on his own experience as a player. The material is lively and instructive, with wonderful practical advice and insights into the minds of the chess greats. This highly systematic work will take your endgame technique to the next level.

Mastering Complex Endgames was first published in 2012, when Naroditsky was only 16. This edition has been significantly improved and updated.

Daniel Naroditsky (1995-2025) became the World U12 Champion in 2007 and a Grandmaster at just 17 in 2013. He competed in the US Championship in 2021, defeating World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana. At his death in 2025, Naroditsky ranked 23rd in the world in blitz. Online, he was a respected and much-loved chess educator. 

In writing the Manual of the Endgame, the author has dealt with the subject mainly from a practical point of view. It is intended for the beginner who, though having acquired a certain degree of playing strength in the opening and in the middlegame, is weak when it comes to the endgame, owing to insufficient study.

The opening and the endgame – though not the middlegame – are open to analytical treatment, and, therefore, in both of them, theoretical knowledge is indispensable. The player who lacks it in either will be severely handicapped in his practical play. Of what use is it to the amateur who, after avoiding all the pitfalls of the opening and after a well-played middlegame, has obtained a good or even winning position if he does not know how to take advantage of it in the face of his opponent’s superior handling of the endgame? He is caught again by subtleties and tricks which should be familiar to him. It is certainly annoying to be deprived at the end of a well-deserved victory, as so often happens, and for the beginner, the realization that he is helpless in the endgame is very depressing. He soon recognizes that he must study the theory of the endgame, it is true, but in trying to do so, he comes up against some unexpected difficulties.

Originally published at the beginning of the 20th century as part of a series for beginners on all phases of the chess game, this little book contains samples of all types of endgames that beginners or inexperienced players will greatly benefit from studying.

With 124 well-chosen positions, the author illustrates the fundamental knowledge of chess endgames that all players should master.

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

Mark Dvoretsky is regarded as the leading chess coach in the world, and in this series of books he reveals the training methods that have transformed so many of his pupils into champions.

This first title is devoted to the endgame and examines a wide range of positions, taken mainly from games of the author’s pupils. The comments are packed with practical advice and special test positions and frequent questions ensure that the reader’s participation in the book is an active one.