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A great book, haughtily written. I found the progression of the book particularly useful--the right problems for the student's situation.
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I'm a 1900+ USCF Player. I've had this book for awhile and have finally decided to review it. To begin with, I'll say that I feel this book tries to "dumb-down" too many things, and that turned me off initially. I don't love super-complex stuff either--I have DVORETSKY'S ENDGAME MANUAL but it's a bit too "heavy" for my liking.
SILMAN'S COMPLETE ENDGAME COURSE is a GOOD book. Why it's so huge I don't know, considering that for its size it doesn't cover that much...but that's a different issue.
Silman comes up with seemingly a good idea of separating endgame knowledge into rating level. I basically agree with his choice of material in Part One (Unrated-999), Part Two (1000-1199), and Part Three (1200-1399). He presents this material very well, and I could recommend those parts to my students without reservation.
In the future parts I tend to disagree with the author's choice of what chapter certain topics are located in, but Silman anticipates this in his Preface. Taking the book as a whole, I believe that the most important stuff IS covered, somewhere. My advice for, say, a 1600 player, would be to go through everyhing (with the possible exception of the "Master" chapter) in order to ensure that 1600 player gets what they should get out of the book.
A big problem I have with this book is that once the author reaches Class C and Class B there should be, in my opinion, more examples with "many pawns." I just don't think Silman provides enough "complex" examples. He does the basics extremely well, but I wouldn't dare tell anyone 1800-2200 "this book is all you need for the endgame." Maybe it's true, but I doubt it.
This has made me want to do a Listmania! of endgame materials to study, but a couple of the materials I'd recommend are not on Amazon!
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Recommendations for those beyond Part Three of Silman's book:
THEORY AND PRACTICE OF CHESS ENDINGS by Convekta
-This CD is the best-kept secret EVER on endgame learning. Everybody needs to have this. Grandmasters would do well to review parts of it. The material was created by GM Alexander Panchenko who ran a chess school in the Soviet Union in the '80s that produced over 30 GMs/WGMs. I have never learned so much about the endgame (in two weeks!) as I did with this CD. The CD teaches you how to play EVERY kind of endgame imaginable. All of the PLANS are explained. Not only that, it contains 50+ brilliant examples of "Multi-piece Endings." It's a travesty more chessplayers don't know about this work.
A CHESS LIBRARY FOR PRACTICAL PLAYERS: THE ENDGAME by GM Marat Makarov
-Another work not on Amazon, sadly. You'll have to get it from Chess-Stars (the little-known Bulgarian publishing company that produces the highest quality of chess books for SERIOUS players). Makarov doesn't cover the basic mates, but everything after that, and quite a number of advanced topics! The material is presented briefly, but the emphasis is on PRACTICAL positions/techniques/setting problems for the opponent. A motivated 1200 player could begin working with this book, and the examples are so well-chosen a 2300 could benefit.
ESSENTIAL CHESS ENDINGS by GM James Howell
-Check out my review on Amazon.
ENDGAME STRATEGY by IM Mikhail Shereshevsky
-I will review this on Amazon shortly.
ENDGAME VIRTUOSO by GM Vasily Smyslov
-Check out my review on Amazon.
CHESS SCHOOL 4: THE MANUAL OF CHESS ENDINGS by GM Sarhan Guliev
-I will review this on Amazon shortly.
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This one is an excellent book. It has all what you need to know. I haven't completed the book, but I know my strength (1500-1600) and I read what I need know at this level. As soon as improve my theory part then I can read the next parts. Onething is sure, this book will give a very strong foundation on endgames!!! Thats all I wanted for the moment..
Thanks silman for this wonderul book
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Jeremy Silman is certainly one of the world's best chess writers. His "Reassess Your Chess," pretty much universally acknowledged as a great chess book, has helped countless people enjoy chess to a greater extent (myself included). His "Complete Book of Chess Strategy" covers the basics in a clear, concise way. His "Reassess Your Chess Workbook" is a valuable learning tool for any chess player. And the list goes on.
But here, Silman chose a different topic from his other books. His "Endgame Course" concentrates entirely on the endgame, a mysterious, and quite beautiful realm of a chess game that too few players really know much about. Seeing that many consider the endgame to be boring and unimportant, Silman sought to create a book that not only taught the player many endgame secrets, but showed the reader the beauty and fascination of an endgame, that instilled a love of the endgame in the reader. He has succeeded admirably.
The book is divided into chapters, one for each rating group. Thus, you can concentrate on which material would be appropriate for your rating level (or your estimated rating level.) For the least experienced beginners, Silman presents such simple topics as overkill mates, etc. As we move up the rating ladder, we find such topics as Opposition, Rook Endings, the Lucena and Philidor positions, and eventually, a fun chapter on endgame tactics. The book is ending by a fascinating chapter on the five greatest endgame players of all time. I don't know how he does it, but Silman managed to make each topic fun and interesting to learn, all by using wit and humor. Even the descriptions contained in the back of the book detailing recommended endgame books are fun-to-read. Who knew chess-reading could be so much fun?
With fun, yet with great depth, Silman explored a part of chess that I previously would have nothing to do with. Now, I'm and endgame expert and I had a great time becoming one, thanks to this great book. Recommended for ANY chess player. We all need to know the secrets of the endgame, and there is no better way to accomplish this than by using this book.
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Silman is a master at understanding the mentality of someone that doesn't already know what he's about to teach them. His ever pragmatic and often humorous approach is much appreciated in an endgame book, as most books on that phase of the game tend to be on the dry side.
My only quibble is that he seems to back off of complexity in the later "courses" in favor of more abstract advice. My gut feeling is that at the higher levels it is even more important to know specific techniques and concepts, like knight and pawn vs knight, queen and pawn vs queen, basic techniques for queen vs rook, rook and pawn vs knight/bishop and pawn(s), and so on. Also, the section on the "five greatest endgame players of all time" seemed a little perfunctory somehow, perhaps because most of the games he selected there occur in so many other anthologies.
Overall, though, a wonderful and much needed addition to chess literature.
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