Silman's Complete Endgame Course: From Beginner to Master

I'm a 1400-1500 player. This is the first book I've really studied on endgames. I've looked through other endgame books, and few describe the strategy, principles, and ideas in simple english the way this one does. The book is easy to follow, and although it is divided into sections for various strengths, I completed it all the way up to the master level, where I stopped. It's not that I can't handle the master sections (Silman's teaching is so easy to understand, that you can work way past your level), but my time is better devoted to other chess topics (I'm going through Silman's Reassess Your Chess 4th Edition now).This book is like a textbook. You really need to study the ideas and work the problems. I recommend putting the positions in a strong engine (I used Rybka 4) and playing them out. If the position is a forced win, play it until you can force the win against Rybka (~3000 strength) everytime over and over until it's borring. This does wonders for your confidence to know that if you can achieve this type of endgame, you WILL WIN, there's nothing your opponent can do. BTW, this is a major point of the book (and it's excellent):- You learn to recognize a theoretical draw or win even though it may be 30+ moves away. You don't have to calculate. You know a particular position is a win, and all you have to do is reach that position and then follow the correct strategy to force a win. I can now look at a "complex position," recognize the principles, and fight to achieve the theoretical win/draw position. Once achieved, I can force the win/draw against Rybka even though sometimes it's well over 30 moves away! Before reading this book, I would have had no idea what to do, and I would have definitely lost everytime.Although I give the book 5 stars, it does have some flaws. A few diagrams are in error, there's some typos, and Silman gives the wrong answer to a few exercises (I discovered this because I was practicing against Rybka 4). Silman has published an Erata sheet that corrects most of the errors.If you hate endgames because you think they are borring or you think you have to calculate 30 moves ahead to understand why an innocent looking pawn/king move is an instant blunder/loss, this book is definitely for you because that's what I used to think. I love endgames now.

First let me say that some of the criticisms others have mentioned are true. As Mr. Harding says, this book doesn't have many examples of more complex endings. Ideas like pawn breakthroughs, etc. are certainly covered in this book, but until you see them in more complex settings you probably won't fully appreciate the concept. Van Perlo's book "Endgame Tactics" covers this kind of thing much better. I guess it can be said that this is a book about theoretical endgames. Its true that there are other kinds of endgame manuals - books covering what Aagaard calls "Technical Chess", but that is not the emphasis of this book.And as John says, this book does leave out a lot that others may find important (he lists many in his review). Even fairly thin books, like Averbakh's "Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge", covers many endings not covered in Silman's book. OK, that's a valid point, but Silman is deliberately trying to limit the material to the kinds of endings likely to come up in over-the-board play.Despite these valid points, I nevertheless, think this book deserves 5 stars. I really consider it the best guide to the endgame for class players. First, Silman is just a great teacher. He has a way of bringing the student along that takes the drudgery out of learning, and everything really does seem quite straightforward. Now, of course the student will have to set some of these endings up on his computer and practice them - no one said practice was not required. But Silman's explanations convey the basic information as well as any I've seen. Secondly, the simple idea of breaking down the material by difficulty level rather than by material may seem trivial, but its an enormously powerful innovation in teaching endgames, and really sets this book apart. In every other area of life we learn the easier stuff before we learn what is harder. Averbakh's book, for example, covers simple concepts like the square of a pawn on one page and on the next is discussing queen verses rook endgames. Don't get me wrong, I think Averbakh's book is excellent, but I would never give it to a novice (or even a class C or B player) as a book for them to learn endings from. Overall, I think Silman's book is the best for class players to learn from. If they wish to go further in endgames, then Van Perlo's book (for students who are about class B or better) can help with more complex endings. By the time a student reaches class A, the book by Averbakh would certainly be a good addition if he wishes to pursue theoretical endings further.

Excellent book! Lots of great info!

This is the best and easiest to understand endgame book ive ever opened. Very easy to absorb. It was instant improvement for my chess game

This book takes you through endgame strategies step-by-step, making it easy to understand whether you’re just starting out or looking to refine your skills. It’s a fantastic resource for players at any level—highly recommend it for anyone serious about improving their game!

This book is a must have, reference book for all chess players. For an old guy like me it's the most depressing chess book I've read ;-) I didn't realize there was soooo much involved in pawn endings!! It seems almost hopeless to learn all that. But it's absolutely essential if you want to climb the ladder to chess mastery. My chess ambitions are limited to a decent club player. I currently spend about 6-10 hours a week practicing.No question it's a fabulous book on endings. Although, I wasn't able to find the knight/bishop mate.