All through his career Jan Timman has been captivated by the mystery and splendour of endgame studies. Even during his most successful and busy years as a world-class player, Timman continued to compose studies and admire those of others. For him there has never been any doubt that his journeys in this magical world helped him to grow as a player.

In this fascinating book, Timman has collected a wide range of the finest endgame studies by other composers and explains in his lucid style how they inspired him to create dozens of brand-new studies himself.

As Timman writes in the preface: 'Never before have I been so productive as an endgame study composer as in the seven months that I wrote this book. It was a sensational experience.'

The Art of the Endgame is a treasure-trove for lovers of beauty in chess. But it is also of great value for competitive players. Solving endgame studies is a vital part of improving one's endgame technique: it develops general understanding, calculation skills and resourcefulness.

Content:
007 Preface

011 Chapter 1

011 Miniature Studies

022 Chapter 2

022 Rook versus Bishop

032 Chapter 3

032 Preventing Pawn Promotion

056 Chapter 4

056 Various Promotion Combinations

081 Chapter 5

081 Knight Promotions

099 Chapter 6

099 Bishop Promotions

120 Chapter 7

120 Mating Patterns

147 Chapter 8

147 Stalemate Patterns

168 Chapter 9

168 Mutual Zugzwang

183 Chapter 10

183 Building a Fortress

199 Chapter 11

199 Systematic Manoeuvres

224 Chapter 12

224 The Disappearing Trick

248 Chapter 13

248 Three Themes

248 1. Troitzky/Amelung position

252 2. Valladao Task

255 3. Liquidation to a pawn ending

260 Chapter 14

260 Various Endgame Studies

260 1. Studies with others

262 2. Studies with no specific theme

266 Explanation of Symbols

267 Index of Composers

269 Acknowledgements