Most moves of a scored game belong to the endgame.
Many small and a few big endgame mistakes amount to very many lost
points. Therefore, studying the endgame offers a great potential for a
player's improved playing strength.
Looking at the endgame
literature creates the false impression that the endgame would consist
of mainly value calculations and tesujis. However, a study of the
frequencies of endgame mistakes by kyu players reveals
that only
the fourth most frequent kind of mistakes concerns tesujis, and
mistakes related to value calculations are much less frequent. Endgame
1 - Fundamentals includes both the most frequent kinds (mistakes
related to choosing the
locally best move, reading, sente) and every other kind.
Volume
1 makes one exception: it forgoes the tedious topic of value
calculations and leaves it for Volume 2. Although this book contains
every other relevant endgame topic, learning and applying the theory is
made easy.
Contents
Besides
introductions, occasional reminders of what has been learnt and the
detailed index, the twelve major chapters of the book discuss every
relevant topic of the endgame. The most important topics have the
longest chapters with subchapters explaining all essential aspects.
Since Endgame
1 - Fundamentals has a detailed structure of its 57 topics in the
subchapters, every topic receives a usually only short explanation of
the theory, one general principle and a few examples illustrating their
application. Nevertheless, the contents is understood easily because
the theory and principles are kept simple, related subchapters and
countless diagrams are available, and many problems provide the
necessary practise. A few subchapters have longer
explanations, a
few principles, methods or a definition of an important concept.
The
first three major chapters cure the reader's negative strategy, when
losing points, suffering from the seven aspects of conquering neutral
intersections or making premature endgame. While these seemingly
trivial topics are often neglected elsewhere, here one can improve
several ranks already by learning to avoid superfluous moves worse than
passing and worthless moves in neutral regions.
When the reader
is ready, the following chapters teach him the heart of positive
strategy by taking more than the opponent while considering both the
global positional context and the locally best endgame.
Besides all the basic concepts of the endgame, such as efficiency,
corner ko or double purpose moves, he becomes familiar also with
the endgame aspects relevant during the opening and
middle
game.
Besides the topics 'weaknesses' and 'attack and defense',
the chapter 'ko' explains to respect numbers of ko threats,
not to waste threats and
avoid loss-making threats. A chapter of intermediate
length exhibits the dozen most frequent kinds of endgame
tesujis.
Since
reading move sequences and decisions correctly is one of the most
important topics, it does not only receive its own chapter. Reading is
emphasised throughout the book in the more
demanding examples and problems.
Of course, there cannot be an endgame book
without sente and gote. However, Endgame
1 - Fundamentals goes beyond your usual distinction from double and
reverse sente by clarifying how to identify and verify sente, the
ordinary order of endgame moves, its exceptions and quite a few other
aspects.
Every major
chapter concludes with problems. The 229 problems and their answers
fill half of the book. The answers are as detailed as necessary: they
show all relevant variations so that the reader can verify the quality
of
his reading. The difficulty varies. Except for absolute beginners, kyu
players of all ranks find enough suitable problems whose
solution
requires to overcome one's current playing strength. Besides ordinary
next move problems, other problems create special tasks, such as
explaining or correcting a mistake, comparing Black's versus White's
first move or finding the sente moves.
Conclusion
By
discussing all topics relevant for overcoming the frequent and less
frequent endgame mistakes, Endgame
1 - Fundamentals fills a wide gap in the literature. Despite
the comprehensive coverage of the fundamental theory essential
for
every kyu player, the valueless approach to the endgame, the simplicity
of the principles and the detailed explanation of the examples and
problems enable easy learning of the theory. At the same time, the
reader cannot dispense with training and improving his reading skill.
Only dan players would regret the absent calculations of
numerical
endgame values.
* = These are the endconsumer prices in EUR according to UStG
§19 (small business exempted from VAT).
