In recent years, several endgame books that are useful for the average player have been published, and this is a welcome addition to that collection. The book uses a variety of rules, clear examples and explanations to guide the reader through both the basic and the more difficult facets of endgame play.

C.J.S. Purdy has a devoted following among postal players (he won the First World Correspondence Championship), and readers of his books and periodicals (over a continuous span of 38 years he edited the AUSTRALASIAN CHESS REVIEW, CHECK, and CHESS WORLD – basically one magazine that went through three names). Thinker’s Press, which has published at least nine of his books or compendiums of his work, likes to mention that Bobby Fischer was a fan of Purdy’s writing. It is easy to understand why – there is a depth and clarity here that should prove of value to a wide range of players.

This volume isn’t an endgame book by Purdy per se; rather it combines various endgame articles from his periodicals. It is supplemented by material from Australian Master M.E. Goldstein and A.C. Harris. The material was edited and compiled by Nathan Long, Bob Long, Ralph Tykodi, and Frank Hutchings. Noted endgame authority Grandmaster Karsten Muller penned a forward and also provided additions and corrections.

Even with all the collaboration, the material is presented in a logical fashion that should serve the reader well. For starters, the content is split between “the short course” and the rest of the book. This is a useful delineation that guides the reader to the fundamental positions that should be studied first. The short course covers important ideas in key endgames involving rook and pawn versus rook, pure pawn endings, queen and pawn endings, and practical endgame studies. The material in this section covers 55 pages.
The second section, covering all facets of the endgame, is the bulk of the book (176 pages). The material in the second section is much broader in many respects; besides covering all the other types of endgames, there is also a discussion of the transition to the endgame and general principles. Later on, the authors tackle “sure draws” (not always…), present a chapter on interesting endgames, cover some instructive endings by “endgame wizards” and present some problems for solution by the reader. The book closes with a restatement of key conclusions from the various chapters, which can be a handy reference guide.

As in other Purdy books, there are lots of rules developed (48 of them in this volume), and then the text and moves that follow provide support. The format nicely sets the rules off in boxes, and there is always plenty of discussion of the rationale behind the rule and possible exceptions. At the same time, this isn’t a cookie-cutter guide; the examples are often complex and Purdy often spends a lot of time explaining (both in words and moves) the positions.

This is an excellent work, and I think it will most benefit the serious student. While the first part of the book can be useful for one who is less advanced, the bulk of the book requires some reasonable knowledge of the endgame and willingness to critically examine the positions and text that follows. This would likely be a good second or third book on the ending after a player has mastered the basics and is wanting to start thinking on his own.

While I think the layout of the material and the incorporation of the Purdy material with others is good, I must admit to being a bit underwhelmed by some of the production decisions by the publisher. Bob Long, the driving force behind Thinkers’ Press, likes to go his own way, but I’ve never quite been able to figure out what he thinks a good chess book should look like. For example, in an earlier Purdy book (ACTION CHESS: PURDY’S 24 HOURS OPENING REPERTOIRE), the publisher utilized a large font and wide margins and suggested that readers liked this format; here, however, the book uses much smaller than normal diagrams, a smaller font, and more normal margins. I wonder how those who liked the previous Purdy book layout would feel about this one. Personally, I found the diagrams here too small for comfort. Finally, who came up with the space age font that is used in chapter titles, and do they really think it is easily readable?

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention some of the better production values included in the book as well. The binding is of a very high quality, and it opens (and stays open) much better than most books. While the print is a bit light for my tastes, it is clear, and I have noticed no obvious typos.

In conclusion, this is an excellent endgame discussion by a solid player, writer, and analyst. While it is best suited for a player with some basic endgame knowledge, anybody intent on learning more about the endgame can benefit from its study.

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