Endgame books

Since all the strong players I talk to recommend studying them, I'm
looking for a book on endgames. I'd like to canvas your opinions:

What is your favourite endgame book?
Are there any endgame books I should avoid?

Thanks in advance for any input,
Rich

I will leave it to the experts to advise,but someone gave me a
book,and i would never have given it a second glance,but when i
started with it,i could not stop:
Domination in 2,545 Endgame Studies.
Linda.

i remember going over a couple of chess themes this book ... so
many wonderful artistic endgame studies. not a practical book for the
tournament chess player, but an eye opener to the beauty that can be
found in this game.

The first, and best, endgame book I had was 'Practical Chess Endings'
by Paul Keres. This is a very well-written book, with a good choice of
examples, and clearly explained - without ever going into too much
detail, which might have confused or bored the reader. The only
drawback is that it may no longer be available.

I've recently bought 'Fundamental Chess Endings' by Karsten Muller
and Frank Lamprecht. It had terrific reviews and won the British Chess
Federation's book of the year competition! Although I've only started
to get to grips with this tome [400+ large pages], I can recommend it
to anyone who is serious about improving their endgame play. The
positions are nearly always important or interesting and many of the
examples are actually beautiful studies. There are also useful
exercises at the end of each chapter to test the reader.

There are some drawbacks:-
1) It's aimed at the stronger player. I would guess that you should
have a rating of at least 1500 to get the most from this book.
2) The analysis can be a liitle dense, with too many subvariations
given, which I find off-putting.
3) The price! It costs £20, although I paid a few quid less by buying
from Amazon.

A link to a review by Randy Baur of the Muller and Lamprecht book can be
found at chessopolis:

www.chessopolis.com/br/fundamental_chess_endings.html

his review positively glows.

I have FCE and I think it's good! Mammoth size (and price!)

i like ESSENTIAL CHESS ENDINGS by james howell (batsford, 1997) as it was one of the few ending
books i have actually read rather then occasionally referred to. it concentrates on basic principles
and typical endings with particular eference to rook and pawn endings. its quite wordy, rather than
giving lots of variations, it gives good explanations for what to look for in a position.

Essential Chess Endings Explained Move By Move Vol. One by Jeremy Silman

The book is simple, easy to read, geared towards 'Novice to Intermediate' player, and fun.


Practical Chess Endings by Irving Chernev

…is another endgame book, geared toward the Intermediate player, which I've also enjoyed.
I would recommend starting with the Silman book (which has fantastic explanations), then picking up the Chernev book which offers a more problems and would be perfect for reinforcing the basic ideas.

Regards!
Bryan Pierce (twotowers)