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The only endgame book you need

Many years ago, I concluded that I needed to work on my endgames. After searching the Internet for a while and reading various chess forums, I came to the conclusion that Silman's endgame book was the one for me. I got the book and worked through the chapters up to my level (as suggested) and then put the book away. Somewhere around last year, I concluded that I had forgotten many of the things I had learned from the book, so I decided to pick it up again. Only, I didn't actually pick it up again. So when we were planning activities this semester at our local chess club, I volunteered to hold a three part lecture on basic endgames. This was a way for me (a bit like this blog) to put some outside accountability on myself while also giving back to our local chess community. So a few weeks ago, I actually picked up the book. Two days later, I found out that Jeremy Silman had passed away, and Noël Studer had also written about this book in his newsletter. So to my mind, this was a message from the Universe that it was time to study endgames and really dig into this book. So I did. And in this review I give an account of what I've learned in the process.  

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What can you expect from this book?

Jeremy Silman (1954 – 2023) was a strong chess player back in the day, but most of all he is known for his chess books which are immensely popular with the average club player patzer. Apart from his endgame book, he has written the awesome books The Amateur's Mind and How to reassess your Chess, both of which have received a stamp of approval from yours truly. These books share the same ambition of making elusive chess concepts accessible and understandable for amateur players. And the book under review here is no exception.
 
Silman's complete Endgame Course is a book that aims to take your endgame skills from total beginner to master level, hence the subtitle "From beginner to master". Unlike many other books, this books actually delivers on this promise. The book is useful for players at all levels, for realz.

The ambition to cover endgames for all levels means that the book covers a lot of ground and is rather massive – 530 pages massive to be specific. Despite this, the book doesn't feel as intimidating as for instance Dvoretsky's endgame tome.

The book is different from most other books in that the content is structured and ordered by rating level (playing strength). This means that it begins with the very basics and becomes successively more advanced. The core idea of the book is that you read up to your level and then stop and put the book away. You read the next section when your playing strength has increased according to the next rating section.

The first section is for players rated up to 999, and the following sections are divided into bands of 200 rating points up to 2400. It starts with the very basics, from staircase mate to mate with king and queen and an overview of which pieces can and cannot mate. It continues with basic pawn endgames, rook endgames with one or two remaining pawns (e.g. Lucena and Philidor) and the infamous mate with two bishops. In the higher rated sections (2000+), Silman covers more complex pawn endings along with other non-basic endgames. A strange omission is that mate with knight and bishop is not covered in this book, as Silman thinks it is too rare to be included. So for my club lectures, I had to consult another resource that I will cover in an upcoming review.

Although this book is huge, it won't take an unreasonable amount of time to go through. If you're just starting out, you'll focus on the first couple of chapters, and it will take you just a few hours. In my case, I reread about two thirds of the book, and it took me about 5 hours to read and recollect what I had forgotten. In Noël Studer's newsletter, he claims that you can get through the entire book in less than ten hours.
You can study all the endgame theory you need to know in under 10 hours

The first time I went through this book, only a few topics really stuck; mainly basic pawn endings (e.g. opposition and outside passers). After my recent reread, I feel confident that I have all the endgames at my level firmly under control. And since I went the extra mile to create some study material for my club lectures, I have really reinforced what I have learned.

I can't vouch for the quality of the final chapters and their relevance for master players (but GM Studer does), but the chapters that I have studied are truly great. Silman explains everything in every detail, and lays everything out in a very clear and structured manner. Of course, he also includes the occasional dad joke in the mix, which I enjoy. But they will probably receive mixed responses from readers. So if you don't mind these, I can't think of any reason not to read this book.

Who should read this book?

This is a book that aims to teach theoretical endgames to any player below IM level. That means that this most likely is a book for you. And I am willing to bet that most people reading this will already have the book in their collection. And if you don't, I strongly recommend that you get it. Read it, and your endgames will thank you!

About this book

Author:Jeremy Silman
Title:Silman's complete endgame course
Type of book:Endgame
Level:Any
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