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Practical Chess Endings

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This practical endgame book concentrates on frequently occurring basic positions and explains the principles and main ideas for each player. This is the first algebraic edition of the work which was first published in 1974.

262 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

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About the author

Paul Keres

68 books11 followers

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Profile Image for Dave Jones.
306 reviews14 followers
November 13, 2010
A book for the serious player only. Paul Keres was one of the stronger players that never won the world championship. He defeated about 8 or 10 world champs in his day, however.
This is a book that ostensibly reaches out to beginning chess players by including instructions on basic endgame mates. (However, I wish he could've devoted more time to the bishop and knight mate. That one is very hard!)
I picked this book up toward the end of my serious chess studies. Full disclosure requires me to admit that I did not finish it. However, this content is a must for anyone wanting to take their game to the next level. There are tons of book out there that discuss how to open a chess game but what do you 50 moves later when most of the pieces are gone? This book gives a detailed examination of likely endgame scenarios. The analysis is very detailed. It will probably take you a long time to complete this book. Once you do, you should have an advantage over many of the players out there (provided you continue refining your endgame prowess). A good knowledge of the endgame will also help you formulate your strategy (mid-game). This book is an excellent vehicle toward that end.
Profile Image for Ako.
10 reviews1 follower
August 8, 2022
22 years ago I bought this book, and finally I finished it!
Enjoyed every moment of it, Paul Keres was a great writer and chess enthusiast.
Profile Image for Jerwin Bilale.
24 reviews
February 8, 2023
Babalik-balikan, lalo na’t nahirapan akong intindihin bunga ng sinaunang notasyon. Gayunpaman, magandang simulain ang libro ni Keres para sa mga tulad kong nangangamote sa endgame, haha. Pasasalamat sa kaibigang nagbigay nito sa akin na mula pa sa kanyang tatay na kilalang chess hustler sa Tundo.
Profile Image for Howard Osterman.
4 reviews2 followers
April 5, 2021
A great, great endgame classic. Very readable. Everything by Paul Keres has always been top quality.
28 reviews1 follower
September 8, 2014



Great book for brushing up on the practical side of endgames that everyone should know this is an early 1970's edition of Paul Keres book in descriptive notation there was a later edition released in algebraic notation that came out in 1984 it has a different cover.

I was thinking of buying Keres book from used book dealers but I didn't want to take the risk getting someone else's used copy that might have crayon and pen marks in it, torn corners, coffee stains in it and other surprises when I saw the reprint edition on Amazon I bought it instead.





Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews

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