Van Perlo 39;s Endgame Tactics

[Klaudia Aricas]

Newand substantially expanded edition of a modern chess classic. By chance, in 2013 publisher New In Chess discovered a previously unnoticed and unpublished extra batch of endgame tactics collected by the legendary Dutch correspondence grandmaster Ger van Perlo (1932-2010).

In Review Column #26, I reviewed 16 books on the endgame, and inReview Column #65, I talked about 10 more endgame books. One of the themes ofthe first batch was that a majority of the books claimed to have an approachdifferent from the others, usually a simpler and more comprehensible one thatwas held to contrast with the usual dry recitations of variations that theother endgame books delivered. That claim persists in endgame books to thisday. Oddly enough, I don't recall seeing more than one or two of these maligned'other' endgame books, with their tedious listings, for 30 years or so! Infact, the only one that instantly comes to mind is Reuben Fine's Basic ChessEndings, a book that people fall all over themselves praising! So you mightwant to take those claims with a grain of salt.

The first thing that I say to my students about endgame books (andCDs) is that before rushing out to get the latest bundle, they should firstconsider reading the ones (or one) that they already have. As I've mentionedbefore, players tend to fall in love with their first endgame book once theyactually sit down and read it. I think that's because endgame material tends tobe logical, absorbing and elegant in its own way. Furthermore, the standardexamples that are normally considered essential and practical are roughly thesame from book to book.

That said, we have been blessed with the appearance of someexceptionally wonderful endgame books in past two years, and I'll talk about afew of them that stand out for me. Furthermore, as if the market isn't crowdedenough, there is a set of DVDs that simply can't be ignored. My apologies tothe authors of the many products that I've passed over (or overlooked); this isalways an overcrowded category of books and I simply don't have time to look atthem all.

I'll begin with Endgame Virtuoso Anatoly Karpov (subtitledThe Exceptional Skills of the 12th World Champion), by Tibor Karolyi inconjunction with and Nick Aplin. This book was on the short list for theprestigious Book of the Year award from the English Chess Federation (ECF;formerly British Chess Federation, or BCF), the most respected of such awardsfor chess books. It deals, naturally, with Anatoly Karpov's endgames, of whichthere are plenty to choose from! Karolyi thinks that Capablanca and Karpov'were the two champions who relied most upon their exceptional endgame skills."Since he feels that at the time of Karpov's reign, 'competitive standards weremuch higher [than in Capablanca's time]', he says that Karpov 'played endgamesat the highest level ever.' A plausible claim.

The first thing to admit is that this is a truly great addition tothe literature of the game, even a classic. But it is also a very technicalbook and, as with Dvoretsky's classic endgame manual, one has to ask who willactually read the book in depth rather than simply stand in admiration of it. Iknow that even the two endings that I chose to study in depth exhausted me, andI only played over about half of the notes. By the way, you are stronglyencouraged to find each game and position in a database and work from there!

The examples (105 of them) include an extraordinary number offantastic, sometimes breathtaking ideas, as a glance through the book and itsdiagrams shows. A very dedicated young student might find his or her chess lifetransformed by meticulous study of Karpov. Taking up this style of play, thisdepth-in-simplicity, could lead one in an unconventional and productivedirection, by comparison with the usual immersion in opening study. Of course,it would take an unusual player to proceed along such a course.

Returning to reality, I can recommend this book withoutreservation. But a warning: Even more so than with most books, what you getfrom it will depend upon how much you put into it. And that relation isprobably not linear, i.e., a small amount of study may reward you onlysuperficially, while true devotion may enrich you for life. Maybe.

Now we come to the two books that will undoubtedly become classicsin the field, not necessarily in the intellectual sense that the Karpov bookwill, but in the sense of teaching and inspiring a general audience of chessfans. Together with Mueller and Lamprecht's Fundamental Chess Endings, Isuspect that they will be the most popular books in the field for a long while.

Well, I took a closer look. The thing's addictive! Watchingplayers fall for the most insidious traps, or resign prematurely whileneglecting improbable salvation, is undoubtedly entertaining. Let's face it:Schadenfreude is even more prevalent among chessplayers than the generalpopulation. Then I realised what every thoughtful reader had: that along withthose cute trick positions that the reviewers had shown (the same positions, ofcourse), Endgame Tactics was a full of practical chess material. To besure, the book is stuffed with entertaining trickery, but there's educationaltrickery as well. For one thing, some of the tricks are standard techniquesnecessary to win a certain kind of position. Furthermore, many if not most ofthe examples contain themes, however surprising, that repeat themselves insimilar positions, and most are found in grandmaster games. This means that themore of these positions you learn, the more often you will pull a half point orfull point out of a hat. Finally, there are many 'book' endings that van Perlooffers illustrate not so much 'tricks' or 'traps' as blunders, often by famousmasters, when proper knowledge of the endgame would have saved the point. Therook endings section is particularly full of these. One thing people like aboutthis book is that you can absorb fundamental lessons while being entertained.In fact, Van Perlo's book is organised traditionally, according to generalending type: Pawn Endgames, Queen Endgames, Rook Endgames, and Minor PieceEndgames. Then we find very specific subsections which allow us to gainfamiliarity with not only the characteristic tactics of a specialised endingbut the traditional solutions. These subsections are just as specific as anending enyclopaedia might contain, for example, rook+pawn versus rook+pawn allthe way to rook+5/6/7 pawns versus rook +5/6/7 pawns, or rook with 5 or 6 pawnsversus rook with 4 or 5 pawns. It's difficult to find a missing category.

That's not to deny the most important aspect. When all is said anddone, it's the ability to make us sit back and smile that makes the difference.As the ECF Committee put it: 'The New in Chess team has edited and organisedthe material so that there is considerable instructional content in the book.But the winning factor for the judges was the sheer entertainment value - arare commodity in the chess world these days.'

There is a school of thought that says that endgames are mostlytactics. I think that if you toss in the word 'calculation', they may have apoint. At any rate, tactics such as the ones in this book will continue to cropup for as long as chess is played.

There is some irony in this, because I'm convinced that Silman'sbook will take its place in history as one of the most popular endgame booksever. It has already caught on with the average player in a big way, confirmingSilman's status as the king of instructional writers. He writes in a clear andcasual style, and time and again has shown the ability to reach those who feelintimidated by the lofty approach that a grandmaster will often take.

The book's cover says that it is "designed to "speak" to a playerin a very personal way, Silman's book teaches the student everything he or sheneeds to know at his or her current rating level, and builds on that knowledgefor each subsequent phase of the player's development." That's a gooddescription of the author's fundamental idea that drives the book. Instead ofmerely making the examples increasingly complex, he defines what hethinks is necessary to know at specific rating levels. For example, thebeginner or unrated player needs to know how to checkmate with an extra queenand rook, two rooks, and finally with a lone extra rook. Second, he or she mustunderstand the difference between checkmate and stalemate. But no more!Silman's idea is to wait until you climb in strength before you worry aboutmore advanced material. Then, as a Class 'E' player (that's 1000-1199), onemust learn with what material you can mate, and learn queen versus bishop andqueen versus knight. Mates with two bishops and bishop and knight are left forlater. But you are also introduced to the concept of 'opposition' and playingthe most elementary king and pawn versus king ending. That's enough for now:It's so easy to forget how little near-beginners know and can handle! In ClassD (1200-1399), one begins to use the 'opposition' to win (or draw) king andpawn endings when the king is in front of it's own pawn, and here for the firsttime we add more pawns and see the idea of one pawn holding up two, followed byhow to win by allowing your passed pawn to be captured while winning theopponent's other pawns. The D player also learns about distant opposition, andcases of a single piece versus a lone pawn. And so forth all the way up tomaster. By the time you get to Expert, for example, Silman emphasizes a'flow-chart' method that breaks down complex positions into ones that youalready know. I urge those who get the book to look at that chapter; thissimple idea appears in a few other books, but never in an organised form. Infact, Silman may be the first to give it explicitly as a general technique, andnot merely singular examples. The last, lengthy chapter is made up of 'endgamesfor pleasure', the majority of which are by "The Five Greatest Endgame Playersof All Time" (Lasker, Rubinstein, Capablanca, Smyslov, and Fischer). Not theselection that I would make, but there exist numerous wonderful endings by mostany great player, so it really doesn't matter.

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