Endgame essentials you need to know Vol.1 & Vol. 2

Endgame essentials you need to know Vol.1 - Rook + Pawn vs Rook

In this video course, GM Surya Ganguly joins IM Sagar Shah and drawing from his colossal experience, shares some uncommon endgame wisdom. The material mostly features positions with rook against rook and a pawn, and starts by covering the fundamentals: Lucena, Philidor, and Vancura. But it quickly enters non-trivial territory, likely to challenge even masters: the slippery theoretical nuances of dealing with doubled pawns and pawns on the f- and h-files.

Surya presents some ingenious “rules of thumb” to tackle these knotty endings, and at the same time, underscores the importance of actual calculation and understanding, so as not to fall into some crude reductionist trap. Through this course, he promises something no instructor would ordinarily promise – uncertainty! His aim is not knowing everything — which is a chimera that can only stem from naivety—but realising one can never know enough and, thus, being watchfully comfortable in the uncertainty this realisation affords. The heartful camaraderie between Surya and Sagar keeps the lecture engaging throughout. As the ever-so-keen host, Sagar does an excellent job of asking pertinent questions every step of the way, questions that a chess improver would have in mind when studying such endings. On the other hand, Surya often switches roles with him, genially urging him to take the lead and spell out the concepts.

• Video running time: 4 h 46 minutes
• Training with ChessBase apps - Play key positions against Fritz on various levels

Endgame Essentials you need to know Vol.2 - Test yourself in Rook + Pawn vs. Rook Endgames

The first volume of Demystifying Endgames deals with the essentials of rook versus rook and pawn endings, covering topics like Lucena, Philidor, Vancura, and theoretical cases with rook against rook and pawns on f- and h-files. Grandmaster Surya Shekhar Ganguly presents several guideposts to navigate through the tricky waters of these theoretical endings.

In the present volume, he brings more positions - many from top-level Grandmaster games - to help you with (a): assessing your understanding of the concepts discussed in Volume 1 and (b): complementing that understanding. Thus, about 70% of the material discussed here is the application of ideas established previously, and the remaining comprises rich examples that do not yield directly to any known rule. Staying true to his philosophy that comprehension and confusion are two sides of the same coin, Surya reiterates the importance of staying alert and warns against the dangers of using theory as a crutch.

• Video running time: 3 h 17 minutes