Starting Out: Rook Endgames

by Chris Ward

Endgames with kings, rooks and pawns are by far the most common type--it is estimated that rook endgames are reached in nearly one in five of all chess games. Grandmaster and well-known endgames expert Chris Ward begins with the absolute fundamentals of rook endgames. He gradually arms readers with the indispensable knowledge and confidence needed to move onto slightly trickier positions. Using examples from practical play, Ward highlights the correct plans as well as the typical mistakes made by both attacker and defender.

Genres: Chess

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Beau · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author, Chris Ward, is a grandmaster, and he certainly knows what he's talking about. There weren't really any errors in this book. But the pedagogy was sorely lacking. The book read like an unplanned first draft (like many chess and math books I read do). It was disorganized and uneven. Some positions treated were certainly easy enough to be included in a "Starting Out" series, but others were either too difficult or too obscure/irrelevant. I'd also recommend eliminating the informal and idiomatic writing. I didn't find it interesting or humorous, and it won't make sense to readers for whom English isn't their native language. I say just stick to the facts. Some may disagree with me. All that said, you'd certainly learn something from reading this book--but it may be more easily learned elsewhere.

[Cody Oldham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great content & layout! Now onto more!