Endgame is easiest !!! :O

Endgame is easiest out of 3 parts that make chess game and only because is more or less straightforward. If you have a good book and you study infinite endgame problems 2 hours a day book like Silman endgame (which is divided in rating categories BTW) and you say join PCT., the progress is much faster than the rate at which you can improve your openings or abstract middlegame concepts.

And who said that endgame is dull ? ENDGAMES RULES !

Try playing end games without studying them. It's pretty hard sometimes. I had a really hard time winning a Queen vs. Knight endgame.

Originally posted by ivan2908
Endgame is easiest out of 3 parts that make chess game and only because is more or less straightforward. If you have a good book and you study infinite endgame problems 2 hours a day book like Silman endgame (which is divided in rating categories BTW) and you say join PCT., the progress is much faster than the rate at which you can improve your openings or abstract middlegame concepts.

And who said that endgame is dull ? ENDGAMES RULES !

I wouldn't say it's the easiest. I'd say it may be the simplest, but the most difficult part of the game.

the problem I have with my endgames is that I do understand pawn endings, I mean the theoretical ideas, but in an actual position OTB with the clock ticking, it seems almost impossible to be accurate in those calculations. If I have an hour or so, I believe I could do fairly well even in complicated pawn endings, but to be able to do all those calculations in say 10 minutes is still far away.

Originally posted by Best101
Try playing end games without studying them. It's pretty hard sometimes.

well yeah, that makes sense. you should also try driving without knowing it, it's pretty hard sometimes. 🙂

if you say that endgames are the easiest and most straightforward, i think you are referring to a different game than i am playing.

Originally posted by diskamyl
well yeah, that makes sense. you should also try driving without knowing it, it's pretty hard sometimes. 🙂

not for me =p

Originally posted by coquette
if you say that endgames are the easiest and most straightforward, i think you are referring to a different game than i am playing.

Someone said : Play opening like a book, middlegame like magician and endgame like machine. In that context, all I wanted to say : If you learn endgame with a good coach book and good examples say for year two hours daily, you can arrive from scratch to say 2000 endgame rating without too much headaches. Which often isn't the case with middlegame strategic planning.

At least for me, endgame is the most straightforward part of the game, if you know what you are doing...

Originally posted by ivan2908
Someone said : Play opening like a book, middlegame like magician and endgame like machine. In that context, all I wanted to say : If you learn endgame with a good coach book and good examples say for year two hours daily, you can arrive from scratch to say 2000 endgame rating without too much headaches. Which often isn't the case with middlegame strategic ...[text shortened]... for me, endgame is the most straightforward part of the game, if you know what you are doing...

If you can put in over 700 hours of endgame study in a year, then, sir, I tip my hat to you! 🙂

Originally posted by Mad Rook
If you can put in over 700 hours of endgame study in a year, then, sir, I tip my hat to you! 🙂

And I still have time to read books, study, have a real life friends and to win on classical music competitions. Homo universalis, I would say 😛

On a serious note: I hope for 1 hour of endgame daily and other hour for the rest of my chess...

I have made significant gains since studying endgames with PCT. In a short space of time, I have gained 100 elo points even after resigning my lost games