Secrets of Pawn Endings
By Karsten Müller
Frank Lamprecht
Karsten Müller is a grandmaster from Germany, who competes regularly in the Bundesliga and international events. He finished third in the German Championship in 1996, and was runner-up in 1997. He is a noted authority on both practical and theoretical endgames.
Frank Lamprecht is also from Germany, and is an international master. He has been a chess trainer since 1983.
This book provides a thorough course in endings with just kings and pawns, from the simple to the highly complex. Armed with this knowledge, the reader will also be able to tackle other types of endgame with greater confidence and certainty.
Many interesting and beautiful positions are included, and there are test positions for the reader to solve. The authors follow the rigorously logical conventions introduced by John Nunn in his famous series of endgame manuals. This has necessitated a phenomenal amount of new analysis of theoretical positions to assess precisely the merits of each and every move.
- A comprehensive and authoritative guide to the most fundamental type of endgame
- Includes puzzle positions to test the reader's understanding
- Makes use of computer software specifically geared to pawn endings
- Logically organized in user-friendly fashion
This book in split up into the following 16 main sections...
1. King and Pawn(s) vs King
2. King and Pawn vs King and Pawn
3. Race of the Passed Pawns
4. Small Number of Pawns
5. Unique Features of the Rook's Pawn
6. Fortresses, Stalemates and Underpromotion
7. Pawns on One Wing
8. Passed Pawns
9. Breakthrough
10. Pawns on Both Wings
11. Fight for Tempi and Manoeuvres
12. Corresponding Squares
13. Thinking Methods to Find the Right Move
14. Complicated Cases
15. Simplifications
16. Exercises
Each of the sections provides explanations and examples showing the techniques used in the different types of endgames, giving the reader the appropriate knowledge required. At the end of each section is a group of about 14 exercises for the reader to try his/her new found knowledge at. The answers tell not only the right moves and why they work, but also why obvious tries aren't good enough. The last section, Exercises, is just that. The authors have put together a final group of puzzles as a sort of test for the reader attempt to make it through.
Altogether the book has all the basic themes and is fun to go through. Some of the first examples start out easy but get more difficult quickly. Definitely a great work but aimed at the more advanced players seeking to further their endgame abilities and bring home some nice wins.
NSG Rating = 9.6 of 10