Secrets Of Pawnless Endings

Endings without pawns occur frequently, yet even Grandmasters often fail to handle them accurately. Aided by a computer database, the author explains the underlying ideas and provides the definitive truth about the most important endgames without pawns.

Following his successful volumes on rook endings and pawnless endings, John Nunn and his computer database turn their attention to the intricacies of endings with just knights, bishops, and pawns -- tricky endings of great practical importance.

The most authoritative reference work on the,endgame, serious students of chess will find this,book unmatched in its depth and range. Updated,with the latest innovations in the endgame and,adapted to algebraic notation by Grandmaster Pal,Benko, the result is what chess aficionados have,been waiting for - a thoroughly modern bible on,chess endings. Packed with diagrams that make,examples easy to follow, this is an indispensable,point of reference for the Grandmaster in the,making.

One of the world's foremost chess writers provides everything you need to know about chess endgames! Assuming no specialized endgame knowledge, John Nunn presents 100 key endgame concepts, and explains how they are used to win games or save difficult positions. He covers all the main types of endgames and typical thinking methods, and so equips readers with all the skills needed to excel in this vital phase of the game up to good club level and beyond. The endgame is the stage of the game where precision is most important, and where errors are punished most drastically. It is also deceptive: many endgame positions look too simple to require prior knowledge, but yet contain fiendish concealed pitfalls that can reverse the result of the game on the spot. Some key positions simply have to be memorized, as they can hardly be worked out at the board, especially when playing with today's faster time-controls. In such perilous terrain, an expert guide is necessary. John Nunn could not be better qualified: he is a battle-hardened grandmaster of top-level over-the-board chess and a solving world champion. From his wealth of endgame expertise, he has distilled a course of fundamental knowledge that is highly targeted on practical success for all levels of players.

John Nunn presents 250 challenging positions where your task is to find a cunning way to win or draw. In many cases the odds against success seem overwhelming, yet by using all the tactical resources in the position it is possible to achieve the goal. The studies were subjected to a rigorous checking procedure, during which thousands of unsatisfactory positions were weeded out. The 250 studies finally selected represent some of the finest creations of composers such as Kasparian, Troitsky, Pogosiants, Mitrofanov, Chéron and Réti. Nunn's detailed solutions contain many points and clarifications that have hitherto gone unmentioned, so readers will rarely be left to wonder whether their intended solution really did work. In an over-the-board game, the ability to use the pieces in harmony is paramount, and those players who can exploit every resource in a position are those who become champions. While the focus in this book is on tactics, readers will also develop a greater understanding of many important endgame topics, such as fortresses, stalemate defences, the opposition and zugzwang.

In this major two-volume work, renowned endgame theoretician John Nunn teaches the skills that are most important to success in practical endgames. Going beyond standard texts, Dr Nunn shows how to apply knowledge of standard endgames to find the right methods in tricky real-life practical situations - even when they differ greatly from the idealized forms given by traditional endgame manuals. * Identifies new and important motifs which occur repeatedly in over-the-board play * Tactical elements are heavily featured * In many examples, previous analysis is corrected * Focuses on endgames that are susceptible to concrete analysis * Geared to the over-the-board player - no composed or artificial positions * Ideas underlying analysis - however complex - are richly explained in words Nunn shows that lack of familiarity with key ideas can cause important ideas and themes to be missed even by very strong players. We discover that a staggering amount of previously published endgame analysis is simply wrong, and that many of the standard guidelines are at best partially true. This first volume covers general topics and discusses in detail pawn endings, queen endings and minor-piece endings.