Mastering minor piece endgames 1+2

Mastering minor piece endgames 1:

The second book of the series “The Modern Endgame Manual” is all about bishop endgames. We decided to share the “Minor pieces” endings between 2 books, “Bishop endgames” and “Bishop vs knight, and knight endgames”. Bishop endgames can basically be divided into 3 main chapters:

• Bishop vs bishop of the same color

• Bishop vs bishop of opposite colors

• Bishop vs pawns.

Bishop endgames are usually extremely tricky, with perhaps not so many theoretical positions to learn, but a lot of positions where the result is pretty unclear until the very end in a practical game. Th is is especially true of opposite colored bishop endgames, where small nuances can decide the outcome of the game. The bishop is a great fi ghter when it comes to stopping an opponent’s pawns and is an extremely useful piece at long distance, for example when the pawns are running on both sides. On the other hand, when it comes to a short-range battle, we discover that sometimes a bishop is not much better than a lowly pawn. Also, the bishop can cover only 32 squares, which makes him a piece that requires good-handling. A great example of this are the positions where one side has a king+bishop+a or h- pawn, but with a bishop operating on the opposite color to that of the promotion square, while the other side has just his king in the corner of the promotion square. Th is position is a theoretical draw, which is actually quite shocking! A full piece and a pawn up and just a draw?! A very special case indeed in the game of chess.

But never fear, the current book will lead you step-by-step - from the very simple to the hugely complex - and you will be introduced to the theoretical knowledge you need, and also how to apply it in bishop endgame praxis. However, for most of the bishop endgames we should remember only one rule: The bishop is a long range piece and it is great in open positions, especially when the fi ght comes to a long diagonal, but on the other hand the bishop generally struggles when it fi nds itself in closed positions. The material inside this book is very useful for players at every level, from the complete beginner up to GM standard! Aft er a deep study of this book you will be able to call yourself quite an expert, something you will hopefully prove in your future games!

Mastering minor piece endgames 2:

The third book of the series “The Modern Endgame Manual” is about the fight between the bishop and the knight, and also covers purely knight endings, and is the 2nd book on ‘minor pieces endgames’: in the first one we focus only on bishop endgames. The knight is a short range piece, but a strong one. It is the only piece that can “fork” several pieces at the same time, which can lead to a quick material win. On the other hand, it takes 3 full moves to get the knight from the square e4 to e5 - and a full 4 moves to get the knight from e4 to c6! Knight endgames can usually be evaluated in the same way as pawn endgames. The most difficult pawns to handle for the knight are clearly the a- and h pawns, because they limit the knight’s activity - it can’t step off the edge of the board! However, when standing in the center of the board, a knight can be a very powerful piece indeed: able to play on both flanks at the same time. Unfortunately, in a battle of ‘stopping a running pawn’, for example, the knight is a very slow and cumbersome beast. In the section of the book where we look at Bishop vs Knight we do not have so many theoretical positions to consider and so it comes down more to practical knowledge. But still, a few basic rules clearly apply: In open positions the bishop is a much stronger piece. For example, a bishop can stop the a-pawn and at same time support his h-pawn, whereas the knight can be useful only on one wing at a time. But in closed positions exactly the opposite occurs, and the domination by the knight is often clear to see. In pure knight endings, passed pawns usually play the crucial role - especially the a- and h- pawns. A material advantage also usually gives the stronger side very good chances to bring home the full point.

The material inside this book is very useful for players at every level, from the complete beginner up to GM standard! Aft er a deep study of this book you will be able to call yourself quite an expert, something you will hopefully prove in your future games!