English Chess Forum

Hello all,
I'm interested in obtaining a copy of 'Essential Chess Endings' by James Howell. It is out of print, does anybody know where i may find one?

Cheers, Nick.

Nick,

There is a copy at http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookD ... D0%26y%3D0 for a staggering £202!

I will offer you my copy for slightly less!

That is the highest price I've seen for a modern chess book!

However, four copies more reasonably priced from http://www.amazon.co.uk/Essential-Chess ... 178&sr=1-1

Thanks John,

Even £30 is a bit steep for any chess book!

I remembered that the library system is fairly good at tracking down out of print books, so i may give that a whirl...

How do you rate the book?

Nick Burrows wrote:Thanks John,

Even £30 is a bit steep for any chess book!

I remembered that the library system is fairly good at tracking down out of print books, so i may give that a whirl...

How do you rate the book?

I found it to be very good discussing real rather than prosaic endings.

However, the book I would recommend is one by Jesus : http://www.newinchess.com/100_Endgames_ ... p-388.html

This is outstanding.

Thanks for the tip John! I hadn't come across this book by the good lord, it looks like a good one!

Hi Nick

I recently managed to pick up a copy of Essential Chess Endings for £20 from Tony Peterson at: http://www.chessbooks.co.uk/
Tony didn't have a copy in stock when I asked him, but he took my order by email so I received it when one came in a month or so later.

It's a really excellent book and even if you get de Villa's book I highly recommend it as it covers different ground and is a lot more readable.

Thanks Michael!

That's good to know. I do intend on reading them both together with Sillman's endgame course...

Nick Burrows wrote:Thanks Michael!

That's good to know. I do intend on reading them both together with Sillman's endgame course...

I'm currently re-reading Chernev's "200 Brilliant Endgames" (posthumous book) and am also intending to re-read Chernev's "Practical Chess Endings". Both have some amazing positions, though they are more collections of studies and positions - properly structured books are more helpful for improving endgame play. But I can still dream that one day I will get a chance to finish off a game like this one:

8/1b1R4/r3N3/kp6/8/1P2K3/1P6/8

Pogosyants, 1967, White to play and win.

I'll leave the solution for later!

Nick Burrows wrote:How do you rate the book?

It's okay, nothing spectacular. If I had to recommend some titles, one would be Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual; another might be Jeremy Silman's Complete Endgame Course; or Nunn's Understanding Chess Endgames; or Ian Snapes' Chess Endings Made Simple; or Bernd Rosen's Chess Endgame Training. Jesus de la Villa's 100 Endgames You Must Know is also not bad.