Chess Endgames for Kids

En kyndig bok med mange av de ganske enkle og viktige sluttspillene. Som vanlig er navnet "for kids" mest litt salgstriks. Boka er minst like bra for voksne, og Karsten Müller er sluttspilleksperten som borger for kvalitet.

En utmerket bok for alle sjakkspillere fra nesten-nybegynnere og oppover, med ratingstyrke opp til cirka 1500, og siste halvdel av boka også for enda sterkere spillere.

Den er som andre bøker i denne serien ryddig og fint satt opp som kan være viktig for barn, men ikke barnslig laget eller skrevet, så voksne bør slett ikke la seg skremme.

Merk at kapitlene, som vanlig med Müller, kommer i systematisk orden i forhold til materiell på brettet. Det blir dermed ikke helt riktig progresjon å starte fra begynnelsen av boka og gå tvers gjennom den. Progesjonen fra lavere til høyere nivå vil stort sett bare gjelde innenfor det enkelte kapitlet.

Forlagets egen omtale

Most chess games are decided in the endgame. It is here where you reap the reward for your good play, or else use all your cunning to deny the opponent victory. Knowing just a few key endgame techniques will dramatically increase your confidence, as you will understand what positions to aim for and which to avoid.

Starting with the basic mates and the simplest pawn endings, this book provides all the endgame knowledge that players need to take them through to club level and beyond. Müller carefully guides us step-by-step through a fascinating range of endgame tactics and manoeuvres, helping us understand the underlying logic.

Throughout the book, many cunning endgame tricks are highlighted. You will have fun springing them on friends, family – or your opponents in serious tournaments. Chess Endgames for Kids makes learning chess endgames fun. But it is also a serious endgame course written by a leading endgame expert, and provides a firm basis for vital skills that will develop throughout your chess career.

German grandmaster Karsten Müller is arguably the world’s foremost writer on chess endgames. Whenever an interesting endgame occurs in a high-level game, the chess world knows that it will soon be dissected and explained by Müller. Whether writing for a low-level or high-level audience, his infectious zeal for the endgame shines through. His ‘masterwork’, Fundamental Chess Endings (co-authored with Frank Lamprecht, and also published by Gambit) is a modern endgame ‘bible’ and was studied intensively in his youth by current World Champion Magnus Carlsen.

This attractively produced hardback covers the endgame in 50 lessons arranged by level of difficulty (basic mates are presented early but B+N is not covered until near the end). Chess Endgames for Kids presents fundamental endgame knowledge but not in a way that overwhelms the reader... valuable not only for kids, but also chess teachers and adults who are tired of starting (and never finishing) massive tomes on endgame theory
IM John Donaldson