HOW TO PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES

In this companion volume to Fundamental Chess Endings, Müller and Pajeken focus on the practical side of playing endgames. They cover all aspects of strategic endgames, with particular emphasis on thinking methods, and ways to create difficulties for opponents over the board.

Using hundreds of outstanding examples from modern practice, the authors explain not only how to conduct 'classical' endgame tasks, such as exploiting an extra pawn or more active pieces, but also how to handle the extremely unbalanced endings that often arise from the dynamic openings favored nowadays. All varieties of endgames are covered, and there are more than 200 exercises for the reader, together with full solutions.

Major topics include:

• Basic Principles and Methods
• Activity
• Schematic Thinking
• The Fight for the Initiative
• Prophylaxis and Preventing Counterplay
• The Bishop-Pair in the Endgame
• Domination
• The Art of Defence
• Typical Mistakes
• Rules of Thumb

Grandmaster Karsten Müller is a world-renowned expert on all aspects of endgame play. He is co-author (with Frank Lamprecht) of the acclaimed Secrets of Pawn Endings and Fundamental Chess Endings. He finished third in the German Championship in 1996, and was runner-up in 1997.

Wolfgang Pajeken is a FIDE Master from Hamburg who plays frequently in the German Bundesliga, and other team and individual championships. He is also a chess trainer, organizer and arbiter.