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Capablanca's Best Chess Endings

Capablanca's Best Chess Endings

List Price: $10.95
Your Price: $8.21
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Obviously Capa is Chernev's chess hero... ;-)
Review: Capa had many chess masterpieces. When Chernev chose 60 games to summarize Capa's endgame skills, they must be very clear and instructive. Many GMs agreed that Capa is a master of positional chess and an endgame artist. He made the games so "simple" (after we see how the games unfolded) that they look "magical". There were many endgames that he saw so deep (and intuitively) that during the transitional phase his opponents thought they got the upperhand. Then a few more actual moves into the endings, they realized that they had been outplayed (see the games of Marshall and Tartakover). His positional understanding was ahead of his opponents' time. He placed his pieces at the most optimal squares that when the game was transferred into the ending, either he had won some material, or his strong position could force a trade to his favor, or his attack was so strong that his opponent had to give up something. This gave us his masterful endgame technique. This book actually has Capa's full games. Chernev gave explanations for the whole games, however displayed a break or transition where the games entered the ending phases.
After many Chernev's books, it is obvious that Capa is his chess hero (from Golden Dozen, Most Instructive and Logical Chess...) Compared this book to his others, I noticed three improvements (actually 2 1/2, ;-)). First the book is organized in chronological order (Surprise!); so I could learn how progressively Capa's technique changed (of course, it also depended on how strong his opponents were.) Second, there is an index to show what types of endings his games were. It's good for reference. And last, finally Chernev used the algebraic notation! However, he still used the long algebraic way (Ng1-f3) instead of the short one (Nf3). (I guessed, evolution takes many steps to perfect, ;-). Excuse me, master Chernev, you're still one of my favorite authors.)
This book gave actual games, so it's very practical. It prepares and directs intermediate level (like myself) what to look for and how to drive the game into similar positions. This book is published by Dover, therefore the price is very reasonable.


Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My Favorite Book on Endgame Play!
Review: Capablanca had the cleanest, clearest style of play. He is one of the finest endgame players in history. His clean style makes it easy to learn from his games.

I think if you're going to read only one book to improve your endgame play, this is the book! I found that I enjoyed the games, not only because it helped me improve, but also because Capablanca's games were so beautiful-- they are truly artistic.

If you want a regimen to improve your endgame play, I would recommend:
"Essential Chess Endings", by Jeremy Silman-- an excellent primer
"Practical Chess Endings", by Irving Chernev (a series of puzzles-- a very practical way to improve your play. Working through this book would be an excellent way to internalize the lessons learned in "Capablanca's Best Chess Endings"
"Endgame Strategy", by Shereshevsky.

Good luck!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Capablanca On The Cheap
Review: Chernev examines and explains sixty of the great Cuban's best endgames in a very clear fashion and makes it all fascinating. An interesting way to learn more endgame knowledge painlessly, witnessing Capa deconstructing Lasker, Alekhine, Flohr, etc. Budget-priced too.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent Capablanca book, with Chernev analysis
Review: Chernev is a master writer at illuminating the logic behind moves and helping the reader understand those reasons. This process starts with classics like Logical Chess Move by Move, and this book looks at endgames.

It's a fine book because it teaches you how to take small advantages and win. Too many beginner/intermediate chess players look for the brilliant combo to beat the opponent. This book shows that you can be a master at simplifying and winning with a small advantage. This technique is as brilliant as the best combination. Well worth emulating.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fine volume about a Worl dChampion
Review: Contains sixty of Capa's games with full annotations, but focusing on the marvellous precision that the Cuban exhibited in his endgame play. In particular I recommend his victories at New York '24 v. Emanuel Lasker and Savielly Tartakower. Also a fine game is Capa v.. Sammy Reshevsky, Nottingham '36. A game collection and a text book. Get this one!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent book for its intended readership
Review: I enjoyed this book while I was learning chess in my pre-teen and teen years. Chernev knew how to educate learners with important chess concepts. Here he applies this skill to the field of endgames and transitions to them.

It might be a bit simplistic in places, but it provides something on which to build. Chernev also falls into hero-worship in places, but he quite defensibly regarded Capa as the greatest player of all time. And Capa's endgame expertise was legendary, so his games make a fine introduction.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent book for its intended readership
Review: I enjoyed this book while I was learning chess in my pre-teen and teen years. Chernev knew how to educate learners with important chess concepts. Here he applies this skill to the field of endgames and transitions to them.

It might be a bit simplistic in places, but it provides something on which to build. Chernev also falls into hero-worship in places, but he quite defensibly regarded Capa as the greatest player of all time. And Capa's endgame expertise was legendary, so his games make a fine introduction.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best Capa collection available and good value
Review: I gave away my copy of Fred Reinfeld's Immortal Games of Capa as Chernev's book, along with Capa's own Fundamentals and Primer of Chess (which contain a total of 26 games annotated by Capa himself) make a complete collection of the best games this former World champion has played. Chernev's book contains 60 games focusing analysis on the endgame, which was Capa's specialty. This is one of the few game collection books that I own that are printed in modern algebraic notation, in addition to Elie Agur's book on Bobby Fischer which I recently ordered. My older books in descriptive notation, though classics, are obsolete like Latin.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best Capa collection available and good value
Review: I gave away my copy of Fred Reinfeld's Immortal Games of Capa as Chernev's book, along with Capa's own Fundamentals and Primer of Chess (which contain a total of 26 games annotated by Capa himself) make a complete collection of the best games this former World champion has played. Chernev's book contains 60 games focusing analysis on the endgame, which was Capa's specialty. This is one of the few game collection books that I own that are printed in modern algebraic notation, in addition to Elie Agur's book on Bobby Fischer which I recently ordered. My older books in descriptive notation, though classics, are obsolete like Latin.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best value for a classsic about endgames
Review: I had been consulting and recomending this book for years to my youngs chess students with great and outstanding results, is a classic that show Capa finess technic and his economic cristal clear style....very good book to be use to learn endgames from beginners to masters...


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