In the last few years there has been an explosion of endgame books. Some are run of the mill efforts, and others have enriched the literature on the subject (the revised edition of BASIC CHESS ENDINGS and FUNDAMENTAL CHESS ENDINGS are just two of many). Some have been for advanced players (FINAL COUNTDOWN or ENDGAME SECRETS), while others have attempted to disseminate endgame skills to the masses (CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING, WINNING CHESS ENDINGS). Though all the books just mentioned are excellent, none have impressed me more than DVORETSKY'S ENDGAME MANUAL.

Offering up an enormous amount of deeply explored material over its 384 pages, the famed chess teacher/trainer/author explores almost every aspect of this often ignored phase of the game – key squares in King and pawn endgames are finally made accessible to the non-professional, minor piece endgames are clearly explained, Rook endgames take up almost 100 pages, and Queen endgames (a topic often thought to be unintelligible) have been demystified.

“Doesn't FUNDAMENTAL CHESS ENDINGS offer all this and more?” one might ask. Yes, it does. But not in such a digestible form, and not brought to life with such delightful examples.  The author painstakingly explains each endgame scenario, entertains us by giving “Tragicomedies” at the end of each section, maps out many basic rules and ideas, and helps us remember key concepts by naming them in some energetic manner (“Widening the Beachhead,” “Shouldering,” “Moving Downstairs,” etc.).

There is no doubt that this is a great book, but who is it for? This is always the million-dollar question, and in this case I can say, “For everyone 1400 and up!” – with one caveat: If you intend to make a serious, intense, and prolonged study of the endgame, then this is the only book you'll need. However, if you only want to learn the basics, preferring to spend most of your time on openings, middlegames, tactics and whatnot, then DVORETSKY'S ENDGAME MANUAL might prove a bit overwhelming.

Whether this book addresses your specific needs or not, it's without doubt one of the very best books of 2003. Yet another home run for Mr. Dvoretsky.

Click to see John Donaldson's review of this book.