101 Chess Endgame Tips

Popular chess author Steve Giddins presents 101 ideas that are vital to successful endgame play. By absorbing and understanding these concepts and methods, you will ensure that you will spot them when they are possible in your own games. This is an ideal book to read without using a chess set, as the abundant diagrams guide you through the analysis and illustrate the key points. All types of endings are covered, including both simple technical situations and more complex strategic battles. The tips include both pithy rules of thumb and general thinking methods. The examples are drawn from an immense variety of sources and based on Giddins's experiences as a player, coach and pupil.

Steve Giddins is a FIDE Master from England who plays regularly in international events and has frequently contributed to the British Chess Magazine. This is his fourth book for Gambit. He has gained a reputation as a writer who provides useful, no-nonsense advice on topics of genuine practical importance.

"It is suitable for everyone who wants to refresh his or her knowledge on the endgame. For players who have not yet taken a deeper look into endgame theory I recommend - among others - the excellent Chess Endgame Training by Bernd Rosen." - Martin Rieger, www.freechess.de

"...another first-rate book that simply must be mentioned ... The book caught my eye and in my opinion is a cut above the ordinary, particularly due to the author's extremely clear and efficient way of presenting ideas. The other advantage that we can all appreciate, whether beginner or master, is that you can easily read it without a chess board (or computer) because there are a minimum of variations on each page with plentiful diagrams. That makes it a pleasure to browse through. ... I can say that this is an excellent and enjoyable book, and you can't go wrong with it." - IM John Watson, TWIC

"...one big advantage of Giddins' book is that it's perfect for when you don't have a lot of time to study. Like when you have 5-10 minutes to kill while waiting in line at the post office, sitting in the waiting room at the dentist's office, or any other place where you might be sitting for 5-10 minutes. ... It's perfect for when you don't have a lot of time to study, but still want to work on improving your endgame. Indeed, if you just did one lesson per day, after a little more than three months you would have GREATLY increased your knowledge of how to play all sorts of endings." - Michael Jeffreys, www.chessville.com

"This is good material to study the endgame and each lesson can be handled by less experienced players. There are plenty of diagrams so this book could be used for travel or when you don't have access to a board. Recommended." - Paul Dunn, Australian Chess

"For the teacher with a need for instructive examples it is ... brilliant." - GM Peter Heine Nielsen, Skakbladet

"Many authors teach you how to 'survive' the endgame while Giddins teaches you to love the endgame ... Explanations are the easiest to understand I have ever seen ... Choice of examples is excellent - Giddins teaches the basic through games of modern grandmasters (Kramnik, Ivanchuk, Timman, Yusupov, Aronian…) combined with games from the classic soviet masters (Karpov, Smyslov and mostly Botvinnik) ... Analyses are clear and never tedious ... Read one of these tips everyday. In 101 days you will be a better chess player. More importantly, you will augment you enjoyment of the game." -Moshe Rachmuth, chessbug.com

"I believe this book has one main strength … As someone who has attempted to wade through 'theoretical' endgame books and found the going tough, I believe this book will help a player who finds learning the endgame from a structured textbook frustrating. Simply set aside 40 minutes of your time, flick through the book until you find something which catches your eye, play through the tip carefully and mark it off on the page as being read. Thus, the ability to 'dip into' the endgame whenever the mood takes one is a valuable asset, and one which makes this book worth having. Painless endgame study - how many endgame books can say that?!" - Munroe Morrison, Open File

"[Giddins'] stated goal with this text is to provide his readers with a fundamental grounding in endgame concepts and with this knowledge in hand, a greater love and appreciation for this phase of the game. The author nurtures this endgame appreciation by breaking his presentation down into easy-to-learn segments, with nearly all of his 101 'tips' confined to a single page of the book. One page - one tip. Most of the positions discussed come from top-level games." - Steve Goldberg, www.chesscafe.com

"Instructive for players of all levels" - GM Michael Adams, Daily Telegraph

"Steve Giddins' no-nonsense advice is dispensed with his trademark wry humour and easy readability." - John Saunders, BCM

"What I found particularly good in this book was the clear, concise explanatory text that accompanies each position. So many endgame books simply give lists of moves without explaining their purpose. The reasons behind them may be obvious to GMs but ordinary mortals, at whom the book is clearly aimed, need to be spoon fed this information, and Giddins does this particularly well." - Alan Sutton, En Passant

"...this book by Steve Giddins is an excellent place to start your quest to have a better endgame understanding. As the title says, it contains 101 Endgame themes and strategems, (among them: 'defying euclid', 'knights hate rooks pawns', 'good bishop versus bad', 'the minority attack'), which are all explained in simple language, and with illustrative examples. These are sub-divided into relevant sections: Kings and Pawns, Knights, Bishops, Knight vs Bishop, Rooks, Queens, Strategy and Technique. The author does not waffle, but cuts to the chase, stating the points and strategies of each theme and position so that you can confidently approach them in your play. What I like about this book, also, is that it does not just deal with attack and winning, but also how to defend and not miss theoretical draws. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and found it very instructive and practical. I recommend it because I am sure that players of all ages and levels will benefit from reading it." - John Lee Shaw, www.chessgateway.com

"...seldom I have seen such a entertaining read on endgames as this one from Steve Giddins! ... Buy it for the super instructive endgame notes!" - John Elburg, www.chessbooks.nl

"Extremely instructive. Steve Giddins writes with a clarity that serves the subject well." - Michael Blake, www.bfcc-online.org.uk

• Casa editrice Gambit
• Code 5646
• Anno 2006
• Pagine p. 112
• Isbn 9781904600664