I have started creating videos on the endgame. I will be dealing with lots of different and interesting themes such as:
- the role of theoretical knowledge
- flexibility and adjustment
- patience
- endgame weapons
In this introduction some “lay of the land” and the discussion of a practical rook endgame.
This is great, and very timely! I am moving towards a more serious examination of endgames and I was pleased to see this next video. The introduction to some endgame principles using this position is very helpful. Better piece, better king, better pawns. In my games, I have a tendency to play too defensively in the endgame, seeking to prevent my opponent’s chances instead of maximiziing my own. I imagine that some of this is due to not calculating enough. I look forward to more of these endgame “treatises” for ideas to improve.
I find difficult on endgames to apply the regular planning techniques that we use on the middlegame. The spectrum of possibilities sometimes is such that I get lost and play aimlessly…without a concrete plan.
Great video as always, Waldemar. I have an irrational fear of endgames which I hope to cure. Of course, not many of my games reach the endgame, so perhaps I don’t get enough practice. I would like to get to the stage where I can recognise a won endgame and also have the skill and confidence to play it out. I’d just like to make one small point. As much as I admire Dr. Nunn, I think it is incorrect to give him so much of the credit for the development of tablebases. I believe that Thomas Ströhlein, Ken Thompson, Lewis Stiller and of course Eugene Nalimov and some others are responsible for their development. Dr. Nunn, on the other hand, is known for adapting some of the findings of tablebases using datamining for use in practical endgame play.