A Little Digression on the Endgame    The endgame in chess is a bit like the weather—Everybody talks about it, but few do anything about it . Ask any very strong player and almost invariably he will tell you that if you want to improve at chess, you are  much better off studying the endgame than the latest wrinkles in the Slobovian  Gambit or some other arcane opening variation. And if he wants to really impress you, he might tell you that when Capablanca played chess, even in the early middle game he was already looking at the pawn structure to guide him towards the type of endgame he would reach. And, of course,we also know that when Botvinnik got Fine's Basic Chess Endgames, he was delighted because he said that Fine told you how to win particular endings and he avidly studied that book. In view of the thrashing he gave no less than Alekhine at the great AVRO tournament in 1938 in a memorable endgame, we must heed Mikhail's advice. 

                         So in view of such admonitions from Olympus, how come so  many players largely buy new books on the latest lines in the hundreds of hot new opening lines? Well, in my view it is more because of the "fun factor" along with the laziness syndrome. If you smash that master with a prepared line in fifteen moves, you will never stop telling your chess buddies about the day you roared like a lion! However, the chances you take that master to the cleaners in a well-played endgame are close to zero because he learned the methodology of sound endgame play many years ago and he retains that much better than the reams of opening analysis that in fact you don't remember after three months anyway. Maybe it is sheer greed to rack up that point with a theoretical novelty, but it is also conserving of your time and energy to say nothing of your justification to your wife about the twelve new openings books you bought instead of putting it into you kid's college fund if you learn how to win in the endgame. $14                                       ************************

PROBLEME SI STUDII ALESE, V. Nestorescu, Bucharest, 1999, p, exc, back cover repaired, 184p, 300 chess problems and EG studies by Roumanian composers.$25

THE CHESS EUCLID; A COLLECTIONOF TWO HUNDRED CHESS PROBLEMS AND END-GAMES, Composed by Herr Kling, London, 1849, full leather, raised bands, leather scuffed at corners and slightly at spine.  Marbled end papers. ii +CCXIII +27p. gilt edges. Two leaves with tears w/o loss of content; pencilled marginalia. Scarce. Colored diagrams. h, vg, $75 

TRAGICOMEDY IN THE ENDGAME - Instructive Mistakes of the Masters, M. Dvoretsky, Milford, 2011, p, mint. 264p. One of the very best endgame books since it shows how to win or draw endings that even top GM's bungle. $30 

ON THE ENDGAME, C. J. S. Purdy. Davenport, 2003, p, mint, 246p. Based on Purdy's writings on the EG. Edited by Tykodi, Frank Hutchings, John Purdy, & Karsten Müller. Purdy's EG writings from his magazine have been compiled and edited. $25

ENDGAME STRATEGY, M. Shereshevsky, London, 1985, p, exc, 218p. In my view one of the very best instructive books on the endgame due to its statements on principles and excellent illustrative examples. For example there are chapters on Basic Principles, King Centralization, the Role of Pawns in the endgame, the Problem of Exchanging, the Two Bishops, "Do Not Hurry",  etc. $25.

FROM THE OPENING INTO THE ENDGAME, E. Mednis, Oxford, 1983, p, mint, 151p., if you can tell in  advance the type of ending you will get from the opening, not doubt you have some advantage. This book shows the way for several openings: The Sicilian Defence, The French Defence, The Exhange Variation of the Ruy Lopez, The Pirc Defence, the King's Indian, and the Grünfeld. $15

A POCKET GUIDE TO CHESS ENDGAMES, David Hooper, London, 1970, h, exc, with dj. 197p. The ideal book to accompany you to tournaments to aid your adjournment analysis rather than weighty tomes that give just  thousands of games you do not have time to study. Hooper did a fine job of condensing the situations to the basics for hundreds of types of endgames. $11.  b) dj sl scuffed, $10 

PRACTICAL CHESS ENDGAMES, David Hooper, New York, 1970, h, vg, 143p. "Most endgame books attempt to classify the many different positions by the number of pawns and the kind of pieces; yet most positions in these books never happen in our own games." This is perhaps the all-round best endgame book of all to get started if you are a tournament player. $10 

DAS ENDSPIEL IM SCHACH, T.Schuster, Stuttgart, 1975, p, exc, 67p. German. What the amateur should know about the endgame. Rules & examples. Even this much knowledge will save or win many endgames. $10 *   

ENDSHPIL', I. Rabinovich, Moscow, 1938, h. vg. covers worn (almost always true on older Russian books because they were avidly used!) 467p. A classical work on the endgame. $95

RICHARD RETI: SÄMTLICHE STUDIEN, A. Mandler, Mähr- Ostrau, 1931, 53 of his best EG studies. Reti's studies were known for their sublety and their beauty. h, exc, scarce. 86p.  $70

DE SCHAAKSTUDIE IN ONZEDAGEN*,  A. O. Herbstman, Lochem, 1948, h, exc, 171p. Dutch translation. A fine collection of EG studies. $49

EINDSPELEN EN PROBLEMEN, Th. C. L. Kok, Den Haag, (1938), 160p, with a foreword by Euwe. With some over printing of some 5 pages which  makes it harder to read those pages. However, this is a book with some 175 wonderful EG studies and some very good problems as well as some retrograde analysis. $60 (without the overprinting this would be at least $125)

WORLD ANTHOLOGY OF CHESS STUDIES, the complete set comprises four volumes of which the first three are here. Vol. 1, Iuri Akobia Tbilisi, Georgia, 1994, h, exc, 4232 studies involving stalemate. 544 p. With diagrams. $68.   Vol. II, h, exc, Iuri Akobia & Gia Nadareishvili, 4492 studies with mate. Tbilisi, Georgia, 1994. 544p. $68.   Vol.III, I. Akobia, Tbilisi, Georgia, 1995. 4324 studies with positional draw. 735p, $75  

A PROGRAM TO PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES, Barbara Huberman, Ph. D., Stanford University Dept of Mathematics,1968. 168p. In binder. Written in the Program LISP. $65

AUF DER WELT DER SCHACHSTUDIE, H. Staudte, Bad Nauheim, 1961, 140 EG studies, nicely rebd (raised bands gilt lettering), 99p. Bd with 600 PROBLEMS - ANCIENT & MODERN, P. Wenman, Liverpool, 1948.163p. $38

4 MAJESTIC STUDIES, O. Pervakov, part of the small-edition van Reek series of EG works. 36p, p, mint, $25

111 SUOMAAISTA LOPPUTEHTÄVÄÄ KOKOELMA, Dunder & Hinds, 103p, p, vg, w/o fc 

Unnumbered EG studies by Finnish composers. $18

150 ENDSPIELSTUDIEN, H. Rinck, Leipzig 1909. h, vg, with a dedication in Rinck's beautiful penmanship. With the bookplate of the famous chess editor in South Africa, Leonard Reitstein. 302 p. $225

150 SHAKHMATNYKH ETYUDOV, L. Kubbel', Leningrad, 1925, in both Russian & German. 180p. h, vg, covers discolored & worn, scarce. Another master of the EG study. $110. 

212 ENDSPIELSTUDIEN, F. J. Prokop, Prague, 1944, scarce, h, exc. $85

250 IZBRANNYKH ETYUDOV, L. Kubbel', Moscow/ Leningrad, 1938, h, exc, 184p. With solutions  and full  . $130. 

300 FINS DE PARTIE, H. Rinck, Barcelona 1919, h, exc, a superb copy. Signed by Rinck and by the famous Danish player and collector Jens Enevoldsen (with Enevoldsen's chess bookplate too). 645p.  $450. b) h, exc, signed by Rinck, $325

500 ENDSPIELSTUDIEN, A. Troitzky, Kagan ed, Berlin (1924), L/N 2251, p, fair, heavily foxed covers and browning of many pages,but not brittle. A famous book by one of the true giants of endgame study compositions. Scarce. $40

600 VEGJATEK, Portisch & Sarkozy, Budapest, 1973, p, vg, 600 endgames. Hungarian. 282p. $14

700 FINS DE PARTIE, H. Rinck. (Barcelona, 1927), 541p, h, vg, 3/4 leather with gilt lettering and raised bands, leather sl. scuffed on corners, another of Rinck's  collections of his fabulous EG studies. $325

GALERIE CESKOSLOVENSKYCH SKADATELU. I. Mikan, Prague 1965  to 1972, hundreds of chess problems & EG studies by 10 Czech composers: Tuzar, Jelinek, Knotek, Mazel, Zeman,Prevorovsky, Cimburek, Kainer, Moravec & Stepan. There are more problems than EG studies. h, exc,  autographed by Mikan.  $65

The revised Edition of] WORKS OF SIMKHOVICH, H. Grondijs, Unterhaching, 1997. p. mint, 235p. Some 400 studies, English. Many good EG studies in a strange format. $22

IDEI NOI IN SAHUL ARTISTIC, Paul Farago, Roumania, 1956, p, vg. Fine studies with detailed analysis. $32

BULGARSKA SHAKHMATNA KOMPOZITSIYA ANTOLOGIA, V. Alaikov, Sofia, 2003, p, mint, 171p, many more chess problems than EG studies. 263 compositions, $24

UJ MAGYAR SAKK FELADVANY ANTOLOGIA, G. Bakcsi, Budapest, 1979, a Hungarian anthology of chess composition with about 80 EG studies, and the rest chess problems  for a total of 682 chess compositions. h, exc, with dj. $38

SHAKHMATNYE ETYUDY I OKONCHANIYA, V. Chekhover, Mocow,1959. 71p, p, vg, 70 EG studies + 14 endgames from his games,  $18

STRATEGIYA ENDSHPILYA, M. Shereshevsky, Moscow, 1988, p, exc, 304p. An excellent book later translated into English. $18

SILA PESHKI, G. Kasparyan, Erevan, 1980, h, exc, 1338 studies from composers around the world. The studies are classiied with regard to the pieces involved. 352p. $25.  b) h, exc, ELRS, FGML.  $29

POZITSIONNAYA NICH'YA, G. Kasparyan, Moscow, 1977,423 studies of the positional draw type. $18 

ETYUD V PESHECHNOM OKONCHANII, F. Bondarenko, 160p, 636 K & P endgame studies, Moscow, 1973, $20

RAZVITIE SHAKHMATNOGO ETYUDA, F. C. Bondarenko, Kiev, 1982, p, exc, 232p. 394 EG studies. $28

TRIUMF SOVETSKOGO SHAKHMATNOGO ETYUDA, F. Bondarenko, Kiev, 1984, h, exc, rebd, ELRS, formerly in L. Szabo'd collection. 173p. 352 EG studies,$28. b) p, vg, not in Szabo's collection, $24. 

DE EINDSPEL STUDIE, J. Marwitz & C. De Feijter, Lochem, (1948), Dutch, h, exc, with dj. L/N 2344, $30

ETYUDY, Tbilisi, 1965, in Georgian, autographed, from Szabo's collection, with Szabo's bookplate. h, exc, with dj. 267p. $32.  b) h, exc, $25

ETYUDY, A. Gurevich, Moscow, 1961, h, exc, 70 EG studieswith extensive discussion. 190p. $20

IZBRANNYE ETUDY, T. Gorgiev, Moscow, 1959. h, exc, rebd, 152p. ELRS.  About 155 very fine EG studies. $18

MATTISON'S CHESS ENDGAME STUDIES, T. G. Whitworth, introductin by A. Hildebrand. 

BCM Quarterly #23, p, exc. $22

SHAKHMATNYI ETYUD V GRUEII, G. Nadareishvili, Tbilisi, 1975, 213p, 293 fabulous EG studies, p, exc, $30

PESHECHNI ENDSHPILI, A. Tsvetov, Sofia, 1974, K & P endings, Bulgarian, $10

STUDIUM SZACHOWE W POLSCE - 1890-1980, Grzwban & Rusinek, Warsaw, 1973. Polish. p, exc, 150p, 186 studies. $22

SHAKHOVII ETYUD NA UKRAINI, Gorgiev & Bondarenko, Kiev, 1966. Ukrainian, p, vg, 148p, 226 studies. $30

V POISKAKH KRASOTY, G. NADAREISHVILI. Tbilisi, 1986, p, exc, 208p, 204 + 55 + 21 EG studies, $26

IZBRANNYE ETYUDY, V. Korol'khov, Moscow, 1958, p, vg, 108 wonderful studies with detailed notes. These are generally quite difficult. $34*

BEST STUDIES, D. Gurgenidze, Tbilisi, 1993, In English. Scarce, 49p. 132 of G's fabulous EG studies. Gurgenidze is a Grandmaster of Endgame Composition.   $26

COLLECTION OF CHESS STUDIES, A. A. Troitsky, 1st English edition, Philadelphia, 1937, with dj & plastic protective outer jacket, h, exc, with a previous ownwer's name on endpapers. Note that the Dover reprint left out the long section on TWO KNIGHTS AGAINST PAWNS (pp 197 to 264). Troitzky was one of the greatest of endgame study composers. His compositions have great utility in practical endgame play as well. $80

ETYUDY, H. M. Kasparyan, Moscow 1972, p, exc, 199p, 269 fabulous endgame studies by one of the very greatest EG composers of all time. Many of these simply have to be seen to be believed.  Russian but readily understandable with a few simple words.  $15

ETYUDY RIKHARDA RETI, A. Mandler, Moscow/Leningrad 1931, Russian. formerly E.G.R. Cordingley's copy,p,good. 50 of Reti's wonderful endgame studies. 91p. $50*

FINALES ARTISTICOS, F. Dedrle, Buenos Aires, 3rd ed, June 1960. Spanish. 127p. p, vg, with some lightly pencilled marginal notes. On EG studies. $18. b) 2nd ed, 1952, p, vg, pages partly uncut. $16

FINALES ARTISTICOS, Kasparian, Barcelona, 1976, Spanish. p, mint, 261p. 300 fabulous endgame studies by one of the greatest of all composers. $16