PRACTICAL ENDGAME PLAY – MASTERING THE BASICS
Author: Efstratios Grivas
Everyman Chess (2008)
320 pages
$24.95

Reviewed by John Donaldson

When Bobby Fischer won the World Championship in 1972 there were only a handful of serious endgame books in the English language and most students learned from Reuben Fine's encyclopedic but hardly user friendly BASIC CHESS ENDINGS or Euwe and Hooper's A GUIDE TO CHESS ENDINGS. Now there are several dozen excellent books out there, and it isn't easy to select the right one.

Everyman Chess, one of the two major chess publishers along with Gambit, recently released PRACTICAL ENDGAME PLAY – MASTERING THE BASICS by GM Efstratios Grivas. Everyman has published around 20 books on the final phase of the game and most are quite good and none bad. Where does Grivas' book fit in and what level is it aimed at?

First let us take a look at Everyman titles aimed at those who have never studied the endgame before. The first three books are good all around introductions and the next three are fine guides to one specific phase of the endgame.

CHESS ENDINGS ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE by Yury Averbakh

WINNING CHESS ENDINGS by Yasser Seirawan

MASTERING THE ENDGAME by Glenn Flear

STARTING OUT: MINOR PIECE ENDINGS by John Emms

STARTING OUT: ROOK ENDGAMES by Chris Ward

STARTING OUT: PAWN ENDGAMES by Glenn Flear

When you have mastered the material in any of the first three titles you are ready for Grivas' book which does have some elementary material but quickly moves forward.

PRACTICAL ENDGAME PLAY – MASTERING THE BASICS is not a one volume chess endgame encyclopedia along the lines of BASIC CHESS ENDINGS, FUNDAMENTAL CHESS ENDINGS by Muller and Lamprecht, BASIC ENDINGS by Balashov and Prandstetter, or BATSFORD CHESS ENDINGS by Jon Speelman, Bob Wade, and Jon Tisdall. It's not as systematic as DVORETSKY’S ENDGAME MANUAL or feature the wonderfully clear explanations of James's Howell's underrated classic ESSENTIAL CHESS ENDINGS: THE TOURNAMENT PLAYER’S GUIDE, but in its own way PRACTICAL ENDGAME PLAY – MASTERING THE BASICS is a very good book.

Drawing very heavily on GM Grivas' own play, this substantial book (320 over sized pages) covers all facets of the endgame from simple King and Pawn endings to complicated Rook and Pawn Endgames. Grivas supplies plenty of explanatory prose and lots of concrete analysis when needed.

If you already have the books by Dvoretsky or Howell, read them. If not, go through PRACTICAL ENDGAME PLAY – MASTERING THE BASICS. For 99 percent of all chess players it has all the information on the endgame they will ever need.

Recommended

Click to buy (or get more information about) PRACTICAL ENDGAME PLAY - MASTERING THE BASICS

Other excellent endgame books:

SILMAN'S COMPLETE ENDGAME COURSE: FROM BEGINNER TO MASTER
(Silman's book, which offers a detailed instructive course on the endgame, is unlike any other endgame book and won the 2007 Chess Café Book of the Year Award - $22.95)

HOW TO PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES
(by Muller & Pajeken - $32.95)

FUNDAMENTAL CHESS ENDINGS
(by Muller & Lamprecht - $29.95)

SECRETS OF PAWN ENDINGS
(by Muller & Lamprecht - $29.95)

PRACTICAL GUIDE TO ROOK ENDGAMES
(by Minev - $13.95)

PRACTICAL ENDGAME PLAY-BEYOND THE BASICS
(by Flear - $29.95)

DVORETSKY'S ENDGAME MANUAL (2nd EDITION)
($27.95)

SECRETS OF CHESS ENDGAME STRATEGY
(by Lars Bo Hansen - $25.95)

101 CHESS ENDGAME TIPS
(by Giddins - $18.95)

CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING
(by Rosen - $19.95)

CHESS ENDINGS MADE SIMPLE
(by Ian Snape - $19.95)

ENDGAME CHALLENGE
(by Nunn - $24.95)

SECRETS OF PAWNLESS ENDINGS
(by Nunn - $19.95)

SECRETS OF ROOK ENDINGS
(Nunn - $18.95)

BASIC CHESS ENDINGS
(by Fine - $24.95)