Product Description
Poker has taken America by storm. But its not just any form of poker that has people across the country so excited its no-limit hold em the main event game. And now thanks to televised tournaments tens of thousands of new players are eager to claim their share of poker glory. In the first volume of this series, Harrington on Hold em: Volume I: Strategic Play, Dan Harrington explained how to play in the early phases of tournaments, when most players at the table had plenty of chips, and the blinds and antes were small. This book, Harrington on Hold em: Volume II: The Endgame shows you how to play in the later phases of a tournament, when the field has been cut down, the blinds and antes are growing, and the big prize money is within sight. Harrington shows you how to make moves, handle tricky inflection point plays, and maneuver when the tournament is down to its last few players and the end is in sight. Hes also included a whole chapter on heads-up play, whose strategies up to now have been a closely-guarded secret of the games top masters. Dan Harrington won the gold bracelet and the World Champion title at the $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold em Championship at the 1995 World Series of Poker. And he was the only player to make it to the final table in 2003 (field of 839) and 2004 (field of 2,576) considered by cognoscenti to be the greatest accomplishment in WSOP history. In Harrington on Hold em, Harrington and two-time World Backgammon Champion Bill Robertie have written the definitive book on no-limit hold em for players who want to win and win big.
Customer Reviews:
Harrington continues.......2007-09-14
Excellent continuation of vloume 1. I know that reading these books will improve my game with time, it's a lot to learn and try to implement. Anyone can improve using the guidelines and tips given.
Great Book.......2007-09-08
Strategy illustrated in the book seems to work well. This is a definite need for any poker player. Highly recommend.
Terrific Book.......2007-07-25
I've now read both Harrington's Volumes I & II on Texas Hold em - terrific books. This volume (II - Endgame) is an essential follow up to Volume I. I've read Brunson's Super System. He's got some good insights, but alot of rambling too. Alot of these poker books are about the authors philosophy of poker and the great accomplishments they had - who cares? Just tell me how to make good bets! And that's just what Harrington does. Harrington's book really gives you the nuts and bolts of good poker. When I was at my first tournament, I remember most of the time not really knowing what decisions to make, whether it was pre-flop, post-flop etc. I was always going by my "instincts". Well guess what? My instincts suck - as do most people's. Yeah, you may get a good read once in a while, but that's it. I finally feel like I can make good decisions. I never had any idea the game was so complicated, but I have a much better appreciation for it now. One of the best things it taught me, and that I wasn't doing, was to try and figure out what the other players had based on their betting and their styles. If you do read this book, I hope I never have to play against you!
Please Don't Buy This Book - I Want to Beat You.......2007-07-20
My success has gone up dramatically since I have read and applied these concepts. I do not want the Harrington Way becoming well known or standard play because right now I have an advantage. Concepts like M, Q, Randomizing, and his concept review of late stages - all just brilliant.
a must read for serious players!.......2007-07-15
great follow up book to volume 1.
dives into the finer points of no limit holdem.
i'm looking forward to reading volume 3.
Book Description
For more than 100 years, the world's leading chess players and teachers have told their students to study the endgame. Now, for the first time, a revolutionary, richly instructive endgame book has been designed for players of all levels. Silman's Complete Endgame Course, by famed writer and player Jeremy Silman, is the one and only endgame book you'll need as you move up the ladder from beginner to strong tournament player and finally to master.
Designed to "speak" to a player in a very personal way, Silman's book teaches the student everything he or she needs to know at his or her current rating level, and builds on that knowledge for each subsequent phase of the player's development. Starting at the beginner's level, all basic mates are clearly and painstakingly explained. After that, the critical building blocks that form the endgame foundation for all tournament hopefuls and experienced tournament competitors are explored in detail. Finally, advanced endgame secrets based on concepts rather than memorization are presented in a way that makes them easy to master.
The basic keys to a well-rounded endgame education--Opposition, the Lucena and Philidor Positions, Cat and Mouse, Trebuchet, Fox in the Chicken Coup, Triangulation, Building a Box, Square of a Pawn, Outflanking, the Principle of Two Weaknesses--are vital. But equally important is creating a love of the endgame, which is addressed at the end of the book with a look at chess tactics, minor piece domination, and a discussion of the five greatest endgame players of all time--all things that every fan of chess at every level can enjoy.
If you have found the endgame to be a mystery, if you have found that your confidence plummets once you reach an endgame, if you have searched for an instructive endgame book that will turn your weakest link--your endgame--into your personal field of power, your search is over. Silman's Complete Endgame Course is the key to a world of essential ideas, startling beauty, and stunning creativity.
Customer Reviews:
One of the best chess books........2007-08-23
I have been studying chess (with a coach) for eight months, and I have found that most chess books are written for players way above my current ability. This one, though, is terrific. It takes you from beginning endgame stuff steadily through more difficult material, building on itself as it goes.
Good endgame book, especially for the beginner.......2007-08-23
I have found this book to be helpful and useful, especially for the beginner. It separates each endgame "course" according to rating, so that the beginner is not trying to learn moves for a class A player, and a class A player doesn't have to slog through stuff they've known for years. I highly recommend it.
Gives you what you need and don't need to know.......2007-08-16
I'm not going to repeat what everyone else has said in their reviews.
Yes - brilliant concept, sorting endgames by playing strength. Stroke of genius. Why hasn't anyone thought of this before. Etc
I'd just like to say how liberating it is to read an instructional chess book and know that I can stop after a certain number of chapters because I already know more than enough.
There are not many chess books that explicitly state: "you already know enough about this - now go and practise some tactics and come back when you get a few games under your belt".
The hardest part about studying the endgame is knowing when to stop.
This book tells you what you DON'T need to know as well as what you DO.
Lucena position - don't worry about it just yet - get your rating up first.
Knight and Bishop versus Lone King - it ain't gonna happen.
How refreshing!
Wonderful.......2007-08-13
This is a step by step guide to the endgame. There has been a competition between two types of endgame books - those that want you to memorize thousands of positions and those who want you to understand various concepts and memorize only a couple positions. The problem becomes that the first is very time consuming but straight forward and the later is much faster but very difficult to understand.
This book gives the speed of learning concepts with the straightforwardness of memorizing positions. Silman has out done himself this time.
The only downside to this book is that it does not show how to checkmate with Knight and Bishop vs King but how many times have you actually been in this position? My guess is none and if you have been in it, odds are you never will be again.
I recommend this book for people of skill level from beginner to master.
Superb book to learn endgames.......2007-07-23
This was the second endgame book I bought. The first, "Just the Facts Winning Chess Endgames" was organized by endgame type (e.g. Rook Endgames). Silman's is truly a course, with chapters for beginners on up by rating. So rather than trying to master everything there is about rook endgames, Silman gives you what you need to know for your ability level. You revisit different endgames as you progress through the chapters.
I love all of Silman's books that I've read so far, and this one is no exception! If you're already a top-notch player, maybe any endgame book will work for you. But if you're learning, Silman's can't be beat!
Book Description
Why is it that most amateur chess players love opening and middlegame tactics but hate endgames? Why do you usually look at only a couple of pages in any endgame theory book you see? Sit back, forget about theoretical endgames, and enjoy the entertainment of real life chess in Endgame Tactics! There is no substitute for hard work in getting better at chess, as a wise grandmaster once said. But you always work harder at something you enjoy. Make the first step towards improving your endgame play (and beat more opponents) by learning to love the endgame. Endgames are fun, and the examples from everyday practice in Endgame Tactics prove it.
Customer Reviews:
A good book could have been better........2007-05-30
This book got the English chess federation's book of the year award. This book is not an exhaustive manual but focuses on endgames that occur frequently in practice. The positions chosen are entertaining and educational; the positions were checked using Fritz, a strong computer chess program; that's the good part about the book. Unfortunately, the positions with 6 pieces or less were not checked with tablebases which play endgames *perfectly*. For example, diagram 287 on page 135 gives white's move 1 b6? as an error. This is not true. The win is still there until 4 Kb3? which should be drawn but then black plays 4...Rh3+? handing the win back to white. The final position is still a white win which the book claims is a theoretical draw. Perlo says "I refer you to the manuals". He should have said "I refer you to the tablebases". If the editor Peter Boel had taken this one last step the book could have been even better.
Fantastic book.......2007-05-10
Still going through this book...interesting endgame situations that I had never seen before this.....highly recommended...I find myself setting up most of these problems on my board....
introduction.......2007-01-21
this book doesnt have inroductions it has only positional analysis likes a computer program. a good program gives better then its
The most enjoyable endgame book I've ever read.......2006-12-17
I'm well into this book, and it's great fun. I've always loved tactics books, and this is the first endgame book I've ever encountered with this approach. Middlegame tactics books like this helped me reach master level; I wonder how far an endgame tactics book could have helped me go? I never found endgames as much fun to study (til now). :-)
Probably one of the 25 best chess books I've seen in over 30 years. I highly recommend it to players and fans at any level!
PS - This book has been named the English Chess Federation Book of the Year 2006. There's a great discussion of Endgame Tactics on Mig Greenguard's Daily Dirt chess blog, if you search for the book title there, too.
Excellent & Amusing!.......2006-09-07
"Endgame Tactics" is an amusing romp through the part of a chess game that most of us agree is the most boring. Van Perlo presents many tactical positions, organized according to the remaining pieces, displaying tactical motifs. Van Perlo also engages the reader with a level of banter uncharacteristic for a chess book, making "Endgame Tactics" much more enjoyable that those typical dry chess tomes that we are all too familiar with. Although there are better books to read if you want to actually learn proper endgame technique, this book is still worth reading. You will obtain a tactical perspective into endgames that I have not seen anywhere else.
Customer Reviews:
Great Endgame book for those trying to move from beginner to Club level.......2006-11-09
Pandolfini has won me over. He is a great chess teacher, and it shows in the way he has set this book up. Each page covers one endgame problem, beginning with a discussion written in an easy and interesting style explaining what the problem is intended to illustrate.
Studying the endgame is not necessarily fun... but the endgame is where the money is in Chess, similar to putting in golf. It is very important to study it if you want to improve. What Pandolfini does is makes it palatable by presenting a series of one page self-contained problems. I have found this an excellent addition to some of the Convekta software I am using to study chess, because he explains the ideas behind the endgame positions in more detail and with clarity.
An Excellent 2nd Book on Endgames.......2006-11-06
First, download the errata as mentioned in other reviews and get that much over with. There *are* more errors than there should have been (1/2 star taken right off the top).
That said, this should be your *second* endgame book. Why? Because the writing style is terse and laconic. The book is made up of a long series of endgame positions, one per page, with a paragraph of descriptive text and a nearly, if not completely, un-annotated list of moves below the paragraph. It's up to you to digest the text, and relate it to the moves as you play them out. I believe that to do this effectively, you need some basic endgame background, hence my statement that this should be your *second* endgame book.
The book is quite complete, providing at least one example of all important endgame situations. It is not an exhaustive text, such as Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual or some others, but it leaves out very little, even if what is covered is at times brief (a single example) or at a high level.... but that is not a bad thing. At this stage of learning, you want clear examples, not problem-like esoterica.
Four stars overall. (Another half off for the at times difficult presentation style of text/move list.)
(What would be the first endgame book? Briefly, I'd use Robertie's "Easy Endgame Strategies" or even better if you don't mind an older book in descriptive notation, Horowitz's "How to Win in the Chess Endings.")
An Excellent Instructional Manual to Improve your Endgame.......2006-08-07
Probably anyone no matter their skill level can benefit from this book, but I think is best suited for beginners to intermediate players. The author describes the techniques employed in the most important and typical endgame situations, presenting more than 239 positions that clearly describe how a good player will solve the problems encountered in each one of them. If you have read and liked the style of any other Pandolfini's chess instructional books chances are you will enjoy this one.
The book is divided in three parts. A complete part of the book is devoted to king and pawn endings, but also enough coverage is given to endgame positions where the knight, the bishop, the root, and the queen, and a combination of minor and heavy pieces play the important role of helping promote a pawn or act to accomplish a mating solution.
As the author states "the book is designed to improve the skills of the practical player who is interested in wining the ending clearly, simply and efficiently."
I bought this book as part of a used chess book collection on an auction, and I was not disappointed at all with this title. The book systematically showed me how to think and analyze typical positions that as a matter of fact I have encountered during accrual play. One the things I like the most is the Instructional format of this book, clear and easy to follow. For me is absolutely a must have, especially if you are a beginner.
The book uses algebraic notation, but I guess this is just a matter of preference and it actually doesn't affect the quality and usefulness of the information presented. Nevertheless you should take this into account in case you prefer descriptive notation.
A note on the typos...........2006-08-04
I agree with the many reviewers who think this is an excellent book but are troubled by the typos. For those of you considering using the book, there's a very helpful Houston Chessclub website with a collection of corrections to the book. If you do a Google search for "Pandolfini's Endgame Errata" you can locate it easily. Once you have that, there's no reason not to get this very worthwhile book.
A Great Endgame Strategy Book.......2005-08-11
Pandolfini writes in a way that is clear, logical, and just plain easy to understand. Any of his books are "must haves" for a solid chess library. His Endgame book covers an area that I belive is often overlooked in favor of the latest opening. This book is just what it says, a "course on endgame concepts" that would benefit any chess player.
Book Description
Anatoly Karpov's legendary endgame technique has always been something of an enigma. Karpov became worldchampion 1975 (having been preceded by Bobby Fischer). He managed to win positions which nearly everybody else estimated as a draw with his fine end game technique. This book for the first time takes a close look at this end game technique, ex plaining the finer points better than Karpov himself has ever cared to do. A very in structive and en tertaining book.
Book Description
Nearly half a century after the fighting stopped, the 1953 Armistice has yet to be replaced with a peace treaty formally ending the Korean War. While Russia and China withdrew the last of their forces in 1958, the United States maintains 37,000 troops in South Korea and is pledged to defend it with nuclear weapons. In Korean Endgame, Selig Harrison mounts the first authoritative challenge to this long-standing U.S. policy.
Harrison shows why North Korea is not--as many policymakers expect--about to collapse. And he explains why existing U.S. policies hamper North-South reconciliation and reunification. Assessing North Korean capabilities and the motivations that have led to its forward deployments, he spells out the arms control concessions by North Korea, South Korea, and the United States necessary to ease the dangers of confrontation, centering on reciprocal U.S. force redeployments and U.S. withdrawals in return for North Korean pullbacks from the thirty-eighth parallel.
Similarly, he proposes specific trade-offs to forestall the North's development of nuclear weapons and missile delivery systems, calling for the withdrawal of the U.S. nuclear umbrella in conjunction with agreements to denuclearize Korea embracing China, Russia, and Japan. The long-term goal of U.S. policy, he argues, should be the full disengagement of U.S. combat forces from Korea as part of regional agreements insulating the peninsula from all foreign conventional and nuclear forces.
A veteran journalist with decades of extensive firsthand knowledge of North Korea and long-standing contacts with leaders in Washington, Seoul, and Pyongyang, Harrison is perfectly placed to make these arguments. Throughout, he supports his analysis with revealing accounts of conversations with North Korean, South Korean, and U.S. leaders over thirty-five years. Combining probing scholarship with a seasoned reporter's on-the-ground experience and insights, he has given us the definitive book on U.S. policy in Korea--past, present, and future.
Customer Reviews:
Commentary on Selig Harrison's Korean Endgame.......2005-09-20
For a long time I have been searching for a book that addresses the potentially explosive issue of Korea, and even more specifically North Korea. Is Kim Jong Il a madman? What is he seeking? For answers to these questions, and even more imporant ones, this is a book worth reading.
Because I served in Korea during the war, I am more than a little interested in what takes place there. Mr. Harrison's evenhanded account of events over the past few years gave me a better understanding of the Korean situation. If only certain elements in the US government gave this a read, I think all of us would benefit.
Concise and Well-Researched.......2003-12-05
I went into this book with the normal American preconceptions about North Korean stability and their aggressive track record. The author takes the time to lay out the reasons - and offers concrete steps for all sides that, if carried out, would end the Korean War once and for all. Significant research went into this book. I have yet to find a more well-researched and documented presentation on the historical and present state of Korea, and what it will take to finally declare the end of the war and reduce the $40B spent anually to drag it out.
Book Description
A large proportion of chess games are decided in the endgame or in the transition to the endgame, but chess literature has provided relatively little guidance for players seeking to improve their skill in making the vital decisions in these phases of the game. Building on the ideas introduced in his ground-breaking work Foundations of Chess Strategy, Lars Bo Hansen provides a thought-provoking and convincing treatise on how players can maximize the practical problems for their opponents while emphasizing the strengths of their own position. Under his guidance, chess-players will more easily focus on the key elements in the position, and devise plans for exploiting them to the full, and develop a better understanding of which pieces need to be exchanged, and which weaknesses really matter.
Customer Reviews:
SHERESHEVSKY MOVE OVER.......2007-01-04
This is an excellent book. One one hand, it's an update of Shereshevsky's Endgame Strategy. On the other, it's a compendium of basic endgame principles that also apply to the middlegame. The examples are contemperary and well chosen. His explanation are clear and instructive. His Foundations of Chess Strategy was good,this one outstanding.
Not just another endgame reference..........2006-10-08
Unlike most endgame books this one is not a catalogue of theoretical endgames and standard techniques, such as the Lucena and Philidor positions, opposition and outflanking, or mating with K+B+N vs. K. Instead, the present book is devoted to endgames (and in many cases late middlegames) with plenty of play left on the board. The material is organized into three sections. The first lays out fifteen General Principles of endgame strategy, such as "the principle of two weaknesses," "transformation of advantages," and "king activity." Each principle is illustrated by two to four examples from actual high-level games. The second section, by far the largest, presents more examples of these principles at work, often in combination. These examples are further sorted by material distribution (e.g., bishops of opposite color). The final section is concerned with yet more examples of endgame play, arranged according to the player's style, following a scheme developed by the author in another book. I have reservations about the author's theory on playing styles, but this does not detract from the value of this book.
The final product is a great success. The examples are well chosen, overall very representative of typical, practical positions. Often the example begins in the middlegame, and appropriately examines issues associated with the decision to trade down to an endgame. The explanations include both analysis and wordy text, suitable for above-average players to advanced players. Being focused primarily on strategic ideas, as opposed to brute calculation, there is relatively less reliance on lengthy variations and sub-variations. Of course, tactics and theoretical positions are given their due wherever relevant. Some knowledge of theory is a prerequisite, at the level of Howell's "Essential Chess Endings."
As usual for Gambit Publications the physical and visual qualities of the book are outstanding. There is a player index at the end.
If you are looking for endgame books, you should first get a theory book. The ones I recommend are, from most elementary to more advanced: "Pandolfini's Endgame Course," Howell's "Essential Chess Endings," Rosen's "Chess Endgame Training," Muller and Lamprecht's "Fundamental Chess Endings." (There is yet more for advanced players.) Once you've had a dose of theory, this book by Hansen might be the next step. The classic "Endgame Strategy" by Shereshevsky is the only other book that covers much the same ground - I am not sure it is still in print. The only other possibility that comes to mind is Andy Soltis's marvelous "Turning Advantage Into Victory."
buy it!.......2006-10-07
what a great book! it gives interesting examples, clear explanations, and specific guiding principles for different endgames. normally i find endgames books dull, especially books without puzzles, but this one is fabulous. probably best if you are 1600-2400.
Book Description
In this book Jacob Aagaard studies the valuable skill of chess technique. He arms the reader with several endgame weapons that every strong technical player has in his toolbox. These include important skills such as schematic thinking, domination, preventing counterplay, building fortresses and utilizing zugzwang. These tools are illustrated in deeply analyzed games containing numerous different themes. A serious study of this book will ensure that the reader no longer need fear the word "technique"!
Customer Reviews:
Good concept, could have more material.......2005-07-06
I like the idea of this book very much, it has well thought out topic and well organized content. There are not so many books teaching how to play complex multi-pieces endings and this book fills this niche very well.
There could be a bit more examples, many important concepts are illustrated just by one or two games, moreover not all illustrative games match the subject they illustrate perfectly. More short examples (from real games or especially prepared, I do not bother) would make this book better.
Minor but very irritating feature of Aagaard books (present both here and in Excelling at Chess Calculation) is repeatable theme
of criticizing or applauding other chessbook authors. Those notes add no value to the book, interrupt the thread of reasoning and just eat the valuable space.
For the serious student only!.......2005-02-23
Jacob Aagard is possibly the best chess teacher currently being published - better than Dvoretsky for those of us not yet at master level. His explanations are to the point, and his examples are both fresh and lucid. However, you must be a reasonably strong player to get the full benefit of his works (at least 1600 ELO USCF generally, possibly 1800 for this particular book). This text will help give you the technical foundation required to achieve a master's rating. Beyond that, I have found that it has affected other aspects of my game. I have found myself considering endgame issues in the middlegame, giving me more confidence to enter a particular line because I can see how the resulting pawn structure and piece placements work to my advantage. He stresses concrete thinking while using general rules to help guide your thoughts. His books are well written (although the publisher could have done a better job picking out typos), but are not intended for fun. Skip this book unless you are serious about chess!
Customer Reviews:
Very Good First Book on Endgames.......2006-11-06
This is a breezy, chatty book in Robertie's own unique style, the best feature of which is his positive attitude encouraging you to get out there and WIN! It's a good "first" book, written at an assume-nothing level, not trying or pretending to be complete, deliberately leaving out more advanced and esoteric material. It starts with the basic checkmates (omitting the relatively rare and quite difficult king+knight+bishop vs. king), and goes on to present a good selection of important endings. The descriptions make for easy reading and the discussions and play are easy to follow.
One omission that I think is unfortunate, and lowers my rating of the book a bit, is material on having an advantage of the exchange, such as rook+pawns vs bishop+pawns or knight+pawns. These endings are common and need to be studied even by endgame debutantes.
(An alternative "first" endgame book, if you don't mind descriptive notation, is Horowitz "How to Win in the Chess Endings," which is even more chatty and a bit more complete, though still lacking a few things.)
Like most Cardoza books, sadly, proofing was not a priority and there are many obvious typos.
But still all in all, four stars, and, with used prices in the sub-$5 range, you can hardly go wrong. Study this book, follow up with Pandolfini's Endgame Course, and then much later on, go into the big stuff such as Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual.
Mating with knights???.......2005-11-11
I haven't got this book. Still, five stars because I've read the review of someone who apparently did buy it and "only" gave it four stars, complaining about the fact that there isn't enough explanation about how to mate with two knights.
Just wanted to inform this person that there is no way to mate your opponent with only two knights, unless he/she completely messes up him/herself.
That's all :-)
Fast easy and cheap.......2005-04-22
This book combines Robertie's 2 earlier Endgame Strategies books (one on Rooks and Queens, and the other one on Minor Pieces). So you get 2 short books for the price of one at a price lower than most beginner/intermediate endgame books- in fact it is more than the total pages of the 2 previous books put together so is even better value with more content.
It is a "pageturner" and a quick read but that's not necessarily a bad thing for those who want beginner/intermediate strategies with a minimum of fuss. And with around 300 pages there is quite some meat despite it being a quick and easy read.
If you are an advanced player it's probably not for you as it doesn't go into more complex stategies. For example the more difficult checkmates using knights (which are the rarest anyway) are very briefly glossed over and not adequately explained. This is probably because Robertie was a SPEED chess champion and probably didn't have much time in his career games to use longer knight checkmates. However this itself is also probably the reason why the book is so good at simply explaining fast easy strategies.
If you want to get a simple handle on how to checkmate effectively then this "fast food" book will get you there quickly with a minimum of fuss. Lots of board diagrams and plain English explanations make it easier to follow straight from the book than more advanced books which assume you can hold in your head multiple moves with fewer board diagrams. Even better place the piece moves from Robertie's book using the Chessmaster program and follow every single move.
It doesn't get 5 stars because of a few too many typos and the fact that it glosses over the knight checkmates. But overall great value for the beginner to intermediate player.
Book Description
Nothing more clearly separates chess master from chess wannabe than winning endgame play. Accurate opening play can be satisfying, and combinations in the middlegame are exciting. But for most chess players, victory is the real finish line. And the endgame is the last lap of the race. Depending on whether or not you command the necessary endgame knowledge, you can spoil hours of planning, or you can enjoy the victory you've spent the whole game earning. You can even pull yourself out of the steely jaws of a "certain" defeat! The best news is that you don't need to memorize thousands of positions, but only a few carefully selected ones. Combine these with the clear and concise explanations in Just the Facts! and you have the "magic key to chess mastery." Just the Facts! boils down all essential endgame knowledge into one volume you can use to win games for the rest of your life. (Unlike opening variations, endgame knowledge is immutable.) The principles of the endgame are very different from those in the opening and middlegame some rules even reverse themselves! Just the Facts! gives you the ideas and the ability to recognize when to apply them. Just the Facts! is the seventh and final volume of the best-selling Comprehensive Chess Course, the series that brings English readers the once strictly guarded and time-tested Soviet training methods, the key to the 50-year Russian dominance of the chess world. The Comprehensive Chess Course can take you from beginner to master.
Download Description
Nothing more clearly separates chess master from chess wannabe than winning endgame play. Accurate opening play can be satisfying, and combinations in the middlegame are exciting. But for most chess players, victory is the real finish line. And the endgame is the last lap of the race. Depending on whether or not you command the necessary endgame knowledge, you can spoil hours of planning, or you can enjoy the victory you've spent the whole game earning. You can even pull yourself out of the steely jaws or a "certain" defeat! The best news is that you don't need to memorize thousands of positions, but only a few carefully selected ones. Combine these with the clear and concise explanations in Just the Facts! and you have the key to chess mastery. Just the Facts! is the seventh and final volume of the best-selling Comprehensive Chess Course, the series that brings English readers the once strictly guarded and time-tested Soviet training methods, the key to the 50-year Russian dominance of the chess world.
Customer Reviews:
endgame knowledge in a nuttshell.......2005-07-30
I've been playing for about 10 years now, but after my studies no longer at a club (just occasionally for about 5 years).
A year ago I picked up club-chess again. And I wanted to climb the elo-ladder as quickly as possible. So the question was how to make forward progress??? (rating 1483 elo at the time).
The answer was pretty simple: I lacked some basic skills and the few books I bought so far (in a very distant past) were completely useless (eg. Batsford chess openings)!
It was clear that I had to learn to understand chess, in stead of merely calculating moves.
"Just the facts" was the first book of Alburt I purchased. It's concise and to the point: it clearly states what is and what is not important. For a married working man with little time, a nice bonus.
Some critics say that the analysis is sometimes incorrect. Personally, I don't care! The book explains how to treat a certain type of endgame (and therein Alburt is not wrong); so what if Fritz or whatever program doesn't agree with a certain move. Let's face it : all our games are incorrect at some point, and will be for a long time.
I didn't like the ads in the (back of the) book. These books are also quite expensive if you compare with the series of Seirawan for instance. A final drawback is that is not so much fun to read like Silman, Nunn or other chess writers (who really write a story as well).
But overall speaking: great book! great series! Clear cut advice for players who don't want to lose (on) time.
To give you an idea, i read the whole series by now and I'm beating players of +1800 elo at my club.
Filip Hellemans.
Too Much Clutter to be "Just the Facts" - not for beginners.......2003-09-01
An earlier reviewer stated that the book's design and layout is distracting and that the colored diagrams are confusing. I completely agree. . . Mr. Alburt, with all due respect, has written a very confusing book, because all those "facts" and nothing but just those "facts" are buried under all the styling! In his forward "Note to the Reader" he explains that the blue diagrams illustrate "the most important positions and ideas". Well, I'm sure they are important, because he's a grandmaster and I'm not, so he ought to know, but my complaint is that he doesn't explain why these are "important positions and ideas". He just breaks them out for you to notice them, along with all the other flash and pizzazz!
What about those special "analysis" diagrams that are presented to us in standard gray diagram form, but are labeled "analysis" in blue type. Because the author does not, are we the readers supposed to analyze these? Then there's all the other "blueness": the blue-boxed footnotes and headers on many of the pages. . . the occasional blue, full-page explanation of topics such as "Most Winnable Endgames" on Page 41, or "Fortress Building" on Page 235. . .the exercises in each chapter, presented in standard gray diagrams but labled "Exercise" in blue. . .the various blue cartoon drawings of chess pieces scattered throughout the book, and so on. It appears as though the author (and maybe the editors) decided initially to select the color of blue to highlight the important ideas, but then allowed their chosen color to get out of hand and become "prostituted" with overuse, to the point where the eyes get confused over just what's important and what's not.
Quite frankly, Mr. Alburt wouldn't have to break all these diagrams out into color if he had followed the format of Bruce Pandolfini, in the latter's book, "Pandolfini's Endgame Course", because Mr. Pandolfini's book is the one that presents "just the facts", not Mr. Alburt. In Bruce's book, there's one important position on each page, with a concise explanation of exactly what to do and why to do it. . . each idea and line of moves is all on one page. Variations of these ideas are on the subsequent pages that follow; again, with the slightly-different-idea and its corresponding slightly-different-starting position all on one page. In fact, Bruce Pandolfini's book is the one that should be entitled "Just the Facts", not Lev Alburt's book. A better title for Lev's book would have been, "A Wonderful, Meandering Stroll Along the Road to Endgame Understanding", with maybe a subtitle such as "Stopping Along the Way to Appreciate Various and Sundry Assides", such as all the biographies of famous endgame masters, and all the other trivia contained in this book, which only serve to help clutter the mind of the average amateur trying to comprehend "just the facts."
No, "Pandolfini Endgame Course" is the one you want to get for basic endgame understanding. A wonderful Lev Alburt book to purchase would be his "Pocket Training Book", containing those 300 positions you need to master. I highly recommend this book, which goes over the importance of pattern recognition as it's related to tactics. As a matter of fact, it's worth noting that in the introduction of this "Pocket Training Book, Mr. Alburt himself explains that you don't need to know hundreds of endgame positions to be a strong player . . . you only need to know about a dozen or so to be a strong tournament player, and about 50 or so to play at master strength! And all 50 are included in this pocket book. Just make sure that you disregard the cover of the sexy grandmaster himself posing with his fashion model/chess student.
So there you have it, straight from the horse's mouth: you don't need "Just the Facts" after all! You don't need a 400 page volume of facts buried under clutter and wrapped up in trivia that you the readers have to sort out! Get yourself the following: Pandolfini's Endgame Course... and Lev's Pocket Training Book, for not much more than that, brand new, also here on Amazon.
Thank you, Lev and Nikolay, for CHESS has truly NEEDED this!.......2001-08-03
First of all, if things haven't changed that much by the time Amazon.com releases my review, and if this paucity of reviewers is any indicator of chesslovers interested in studying the endgame, I find it rather alarming that there are only FIVE reviews of this book!! With that said, and since I have carefully studied this book at TWO different periods in the past 365 days (May-August, 2000 [3 months] and January-March, 2001 [2 months]) I feel it necessary to present to Amazon.com my review of "Just The Facts". In the time before May, 2000, I spent at least two and half years straight studying the middlegame. My skill and knowledge increased, but not as much as when I studied this book!! Endgame knowledge is very necessary!!! What made it so easy for me to become eager to read this book was that I saw one phrase in the description on the back of the book: "endgame knowledge is IMMUTABLE." It's unchangeable!! That means that for all the volatility of the opening (which is where the majority of chessplayers direct their study attention) and the middlegame, [if and] when that chess game you're playing reaches the endgame, a great amount of guesswork concerning what plan and moves should be made has been eliminated (due to the immutability of the endgame principles). The key is that you have to know the principles. Once that word "immutable" sinks in, that should tell you that you don't have to go searching for any other endgame books to read to try to further enhance and improve your endgame skill; the way you tend to do when you study the middlegame and the openings. I really enjoyed studying through this book and I'll probably do it again at some time in the next three years. Going over this book again and again doesn't at all mean that it's difficult. This book is very easy and very enjoyable to study through. It is even attractive to the eye. You should keep a notebook on the endgame patterns and their page numbers while studying this book. You should also keep notes on the endgame material classifications (such as a "rook-and-knight-versus-rook-and-bishop" endgame) and their page numbers. My only complaint (and I'll admit it is trifling) is that there's no page number reference to the "blue bullets" (Alburt calls them "breakouts") of endgame tips; once you've read the whole book, it would be helpful to "review-at-a-glance" these tidbits of information just to help keep these tips fresh in your memory. (so I've taped my own page reference to the back inside cover of my book!) I have great confidence that using the knowledge of THIS endgame book (the "end-all" of all other endgame books) will increase your chess rating by a massive percentage. The only other thing I can think of to enhance your endgame play after reading this book is to see such APPLICATIONS of these principles in master games such as in "Extreme Chess" (Alekhine and Euwe-1935 and 1937 and Fischer and Spassky-1972)and in Pal Benko's "Endgame Lab" which appears in the monthly magazine, "Chess Life". ...And of course actually playing chess over the board over and over again, notating your whole game so you can review it (whether you win or lose).
Good enough.......2001-05-12
Let's get one thing straght about this series by Alburt et al: it's not stellar in any way and certainly contains no scintillating discovery of a new method. There is one thing which does shine through these books: the hype is unsurpassed! The authors cannot contain themselves long enough in the pages before splashing someone's biography complete with their availability for lessons, their rates, their 'phone numbers and what they had for dinner last night! (just keeeedink!;-). People, I already BOUGHT the book, I don't require commercials while reading it. This was a disconcerting aspect of reading it.
On the other hand, it does contain the necessary material for the student to play the endgame at a reasonably high level of understanding. The layout is good and color is used to good effect to highlight important points. It would have received a fourth start but I don't think it's worth the price they're asking. A better book at a better price for beginners would be Silman's Endgame book, check it out.
Well above average ..........2000-10-02
for contemporary chess books. The content is of high quality and clearly presented. There are some problems with the design and layout, though, which suggest the triumph of enthusiasm over thought -- some "sidebar" diagrams are confusingly placed,the shaded tint blocks are too heavy, and the garish "colored" diagrams are merely distracting. The bio of the 70-year-old Krogius is accompanied by what seems to be his high school class picture, and to include a page on publisher Al Lawrence along with grandmasters Alburt, Krogius, and sevaral world champions, is quite inappropriate. Nevertheless, a good instructional work at a price no higher than is usual these days.
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