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Why Endgame Knowledge is so Critical to Improvement

I used the Silman book to teach my daughter endgames when she was between 10 and 13 years old (I am not familiar with the Chessable course). The book covers material slowly, which may be a strength for beginners. However, the Silman book lacks an appropriate number of exercises. Learning requires active engagement with exercises related to the material. Having just 5–10 exercises for an entire chapter is insufficient; 50–100 exercises would be more appropriate. Also, unlike de la Villa or Dvoretsky, Silman does not cover material systematically, which may be a weakness for players intending to cross 2000 Elo. Additional exercises can be found in the Stappenmethode (there are large numbers of them). I also recommend the tactics exercises in Dirk Sebastian's chessable courses on particular endgames. Before reaching technical endgames such as those in Silman or de la Villa, it is necessary to play more complex endgames in which typical tactics are important.

I used the Silman book to teach my daughter endgames when she was between 10 and 13 years old (I am not familiar with the Chessable course). The book covers material slowly, which may be a strength for beginners. However, the Silman book lacks an appropriate number of exercises. Learning requires active engagement with exercises related to the material. Having just 5–10 exercises for an entire chapter is insufficient; 50–100 exercises would be more appropriate. Also, unlike de la Villa or Dvoretsky, Silman does not cover material systematically, which may be a weakness for players intending to cross 2000 Elo. Additional exercises can be found in the Stappenmethode (there are large numbers of them). I also recommend the tactics exercises in Dirk Sebastian's chessable courses on particular endgames. Before reaching technical endgames such as those in Silman or de la Villa, it is necessary to play more complex endgames in which typical tactics are important.

Yeah I too have read sliman's endgame book(still reading until 2000 level as the book advises to only read maybe one extra rating range then your current).Its utterly fascinating how one must handle endgames with utmost care.In your blog you have mentioned that you are a 1550 and good at openings and tactical stuff.I advice(you might already know this and your coach can ellaborate but just FYI) when you get to like 1650 to 1800 level it will (atleast for me) be very hard to trick them via tactics.At this level there are mostly like attackers who win and some solid players who are ok with a draw and pounce on your mistakes.To overcome this players and defeat them with ease i suggest that you read silman's other book How to Reassess your chess 4th edition which teaches how to create structured plans based upon imbalances in the position which satisfy the needs.In my opinion after reading this(still reading it myself ) and understanding its essence one can understand a position and create quality plans and grab a win over the opponent convincingly and become an universal player and the cherry on top is that many do not have this skill and the more you practice this style of thinking the higher you will got atleast till 2300 for sure (and ofcourse with the corresponding endgame knowledge

Yeah I too have read sliman's endgame book(still reading until 2000 level as the book advises to only read maybe one extra rating range then your current).Its utterly fascinating how one must handle endgames with utmost care.In your blog you have mentioned that you are a 1550 and good at openings and tactical stuff.I advice(you might already know this and your coach can ellaborate but just FYI) when you get to like 1650 to 1800 level it will (atleast for me) be very hard to trick them via tactics.At this level there are mostly like attackers who win and some solid players who are ok with a draw and pounce on your mistakes.To overcome this players and defeat them with ease i suggest that you read silman's other book How to Reassess your chess 4th edition which teaches how to create structured plans based upon imbalances in the position which satisfy the needs.In my opinion after reading this(still reading it myself ) and understanding its essence one can understand a position and create quality plans and grab a win over the opponent convincingly and become an universal player and the cherry on top is that many do not have this skill and the more you practice this style of thinking the higher you will got atleast till 2300 for sure (and ofcourse with the corresponding endgame knowledge
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I think a very useful thing to do is practice endgames against Stockfish (or some other engine). A winning endgame should even be won against the strongest engine. Engines are extremely good at defending, so you really need to find the methodical bulletproof plan to win.

One endgame in particular (Queen + King vs Knight + King) is something that the Chessable Course suggests is "a fairly simple win", is an endgame that I find very hard to win (within 50 moves). I don't know how the book treats it, but I have yet to find a simple mechanical method to win this.

I think a very useful thing to do is practice endgames against Stockfish (or some other engine). A winning endgame should even be won against the strongest engine. Engines are extremely good at defending, so you really need to find the methodical bulletproof plan to win. One endgame in particular (Queen + King vs Knight + King) is something that the Chessable Course suggests is "a fairly simple win", is an endgame that I find very hard to win (within 50 moves). I don't know how the book treats it, but I have yet to find a simple mechanical method to win this.

@RajkamalGoat said:

Yeah I too have read sliman's endgame book(still reading until 2000 level as the book advises to only read maybe one extra rating range then your current).Its utterly fascinating how one must handle endgames with utmost care.In your blog you have mentioned that you are a 1550 and good at openings and tactical stuff.I advice(you might already know this and your coach can ellaborate but just FYI) when you get to like 1650 to 1800 level it will (atleast for me) be very hard to trick them via tactics.At this level there are mostly like attackers who win and some solid players who are ok with a draw and pounce on your mistakes.To overcome this players and defeat them with ease i suggest that you read silman's other book How to Reassess your chess 4th edition which teaches how to create structured plans based upon imbalances in the position which satisfy the needs.In my opinion after reading this(still reading it myself ) and understanding its essence one can understand a position and create quality plans and grab a win over the opponent convincingly and become an universal player and the cherry on top is that many do not have this skill and the more you practice this style of thinking the higher you will got atleast till 2300 for sure (and ofcourse with the corresponding endgame knowledge

I am up to 1770 now, so I know how the level you are talking about plays.

@RajkamalGoat said: > Yeah I too have read sliman's endgame book(still reading until 2000 level as the book advises to only read maybe one extra rating range then your current).Its utterly fascinating how one must handle endgames with utmost care.In your blog you have mentioned that you are a 1550 and good at openings and tactical stuff.I advice(you might already know this and your coach can ellaborate but just FYI) when you get to like 1650 to 1800 level it will (atleast for me) be very hard to trick them via tactics.At this level there are mostly like attackers who win and some solid players who are ok with a draw and pounce on your mistakes.To overcome this players and defeat them with ease i suggest that you read silman's other book How to Reassess your chess 4th edition which teaches how to create structured plans based upon imbalances in the position which satisfy the needs.In my opinion after reading this(still reading it myself ) and understanding its essence one can understand a position and create quality plans and grab a win over the opponent convincingly and become an universal player and the cherry on top is that many do not have this skill and the more you practice this style of thinking the higher you will got atleast till 2300 for sure (and ofcourse with the corresponding endgame knowledge I am up to 1770 now, so I know how the level you are talking about plays.

@elo_victim said:

I used the Silman book to teach my daughter endgames when she was between 10 and 13 years old (I am not familiar with the Chessable course). The book covers material slowly, which may be a strength for beginners. However, the Silman book lacks an appropriate number of exercises. Learning requires active engagement with exercises related to the material. Having just 5–10 exercises for an entire chapter is insufficient; 50–100 exercises would be more appropriate. Also, unlike de la Villa or Dvoretsky, Silman does not cover material systematically, which may be a weakness for players intending to cross 2000 Elo. Additional exercises can be found in the Stappenmethode (there are large numbers of them). I also recommend the tactics exercises in Dirk Sebastian's chessable courses on particular endgames. Before reaching technical endgames such as those in Silman or de la Villa, it is necessary to play more complex endgames in which typical tactics are important.

I agree with some of the flaws contained in the book, however, I recommend this book as a kickstart to learning endgames for people of all levels

@elo_victim said: > I used the Silman book to teach my daughter endgames when she was between 10 and 13 years old (I am not familiar with the Chessable course). The book covers material slowly, which may be a strength for beginners. However, the Silman book lacks an appropriate number of exercises. Learning requires active engagement with exercises related to the material. Having just 5–10 exercises for an entire chapter is insufficient; 50–100 exercises would be more appropriate. Also, unlike de la Villa or Dvoretsky, Silman does not cover material systematically, which may be a weakness for players intending to cross 2000 Elo. Additional exercises can be found in the Stappenmethode (there are large numbers of them). I also recommend the tactics exercises in Dirk Sebastian's chessable courses on particular endgames. Before reaching technical endgames such as those in Silman or de la Villa, it is necessary to play more complex endgames in which typical tactics are important. I agree with some of the flaws contained in the book, however, I recommend this book as a kickstart to learning endgames for people of all levels

@TheCommandalorian said:

@RajkamalGoat said:

Yeah I too have read sliman's endgame book(still reading until 2000 level as the book advises to only read maybe one extra rating range then your current).Its utterly fascinating how one must handle endgames with utmost care.In your blog you have mentioned that you are a 1550 and good at openings and tactical stuff.I advice(you might already know this and your coach can ellaborate but just FYI) when you get to like 1650 to 1800 level it will (atleast for me) be very hard to trick them via tactics.At this level there are mostly like attackers who win and some solid players who are ok with a draw and pounce on your mistakes.To overcome this players and defeat them with ease i suggest that you read silman's other book How to Reassess your chess 4th edition which teaches how to create structured plans based upon imbalances in the position which satisfy the needs.In my opinion after reading this(still reading it myself ) and understanding its essence one can understand a position and create quality plans and grab a win over the opponent convincingly and become an universal player and the cherry on top is that many do not have this skill and the more you practice this style of thinking the higher you will got atleast till 2300 for sure (and ofcourse with the corresponding endgame knowledge

I am up to 1770 now, so I know how the level you are talking about plays.

oh is it,do you mean lichess rating ? I meant fide rating (sorry for not mentioning).But yes even in lichess what i have told above stands true its just that in fide classical they will play a bit more seriously and not play like a madman.As you metioed you play OTB i thought 1550ws your fide .Thanks for reading

@TheCommandalorian said: > @RajkamalGoat said: > > Yeah I too have read sliman's endgame book(still reading until 2000 level as the book advises to only read maybe one extra rating range then your current).Its utterly fascinating how one must handle endgames with utmost care.In your blog you have mentioned that you are a 1550 and good at openings and tactical stuff.I advice(you might already know this and your coach can ellaborate but just FYI) when you get to like 1650 to 1800 level it will (atleast for me) be very hard to trick them via tactics.At this level there are mostly like attackers who win and some solid players who are ok with a draw and pounce on your mistakes.To overcome this players and defeat them with ease i suggest that you read silman's other book How to Reassess your chess 4th edition which teaches how to create structured plans based upon imbalances in the position which satisfy the needs.In my opinion after reading this(still reading it myself ) and understanding its essence one can understand a position and create quality plans and grab a win over the opponent convincingly and become an universal player and the cherry on top is that many do not have this skill and the more you practice this style of thinking the higher you will got atleast till 2300 for sure (and ofcourse with the corresponding endgame knowledge > > I am up to 1770 now, so I know how the level you are talking about plays. oh is it,do you mean lichess rating ? I meant fide rating (sorry for not mentioning).But yes even in lichess what i have told above stands true its just that in fide classical they will play a bit more seriously and not play like a madman.As you metioed you play OTB i thought 1550ws your fide .Thanks for reading

@RajkamalGoat said:

@TheCommandalorian said:

@RajkamalGoat said:

Yeah I too have read sliman's endgame book(still reading until 2000 level as the book advises to only read maybe one extra rating range then your current).Its utterly fascinating how one must handle endgames with utmost care.In your blog you have mentioned that you are a 1550 and good at openings and tactical stuff.I advice(you might already know this and your coach can ellaborate but just FYI) when you get to like 1650 to 1800 level it will (atleast for me) be very hard to trick them via tactics.At this level there are mostly like attackers who win and some solid players who are ok with a draw and pounce on your mistakes.To overcome this players and defeat them with ease i suggest that you read silman's other book How to Reassess your chess 4th edition which teaches how to create structured plans based upon imbalances in the position which satisfy the needs.In my opinion after reading this(still reading it myself ) and understanding its essence one can understand a position and create quality plans and grab a win over the opponent convincingly and become an universal player and the cherry on top is that many do not have this skill and the more you practice this style of thinking the higher you will got atleast till 2300 for sure (and ofcourse with the corresponding endgame knowledge

I am up to 1770 now, so I know how the level you are talking about plays.

oh is it,do you mean lichess rating ? I meant fide rating (sorry for not mentioning).But yes even in lichess what i have told above stands true its just that in fide classical they will play a bit more seriously and not play like a madman.As you metioed you play OTB i thought 1550ws your fide .Thanks for reading

I unfortunately do not have a fide rating currently, as I am only allowed to play in tournaments in my hometown, but my USCF rating last time I checked was around 1250, but I had not played in a few months and I just recently won a tournament, but I will not know my current rating until the next publication of ratings in march.

@RajkamalGoat said: > @TheCommandalorian said: > > @RajkamalGoat said: > > > Yeah I too have read sliman's endgame book(still reading until 2000 level as the book advises to only read maybe one extra rating range then your current).Its utterly fascinating how one must handle endgames with utmost care.In your blog you have mentioned that you are a 1550 and good at openings and tactical stuff.I advice(you might already know this and your coach can ellaborate but just FYI) when you get to like 1650 to 1800 level it will (atleast for me) be very hard to trick them via tactics.At this level there are mostly like attackers who win and some solid players who are ok with a draw and pounce on your mistakes.To overcome this players and defeat them with ease i suggest that you read silman's other book How to Reassess your chess 4th edition which teaches how to create structured plans based upon imbalances in the position which satisfy the needs.In my opinion after reading this(still reading it myself ) and understanding its essence one can understand a position and create quality plans and grab a win over the opponent convincingly and become an universal player and the cherry on top is that many do not have this skill and the more you practice this style of thinking the higher you will got atleast till 2300 for sure (and ofcourse with the corresponding endgame knowledge > > > > I am up to 1770 now, so I know how the level you are talking about plays. > > oh is it,do you mean lichess rating ? I meant fide rating (sorry for not mentioning).But yes even in lichess what i have told above stands true its just that in fide classical they will play a bit more seriously and not play like a madman.As you metioed you play OTB i thought 1550ws your fide .Thanks for reading I unfortunately do not have a fide rating currently, as I am only allowed to play in tournaments in my hometown, but my USCF rating last time I checked was around 1250, but I had not played in a few months and I just recently won a tournament, but I will not know my current rating until the next publication of ratings in march.