Chess School 4 by Sarhan Guliev (Russian Chess House, 2003) is the last volume in an amazing series, and the only one that isn’t a tactics manual.
Last year, I reviewed Chess School 1a and Chess School 1b by Sergey Ivashchenko. Chess School 2 (for 1600+, also by Ivashchenko) and Chess School 3 (for 2000+, by Alexander Mazja) are also recommended for more advanced players.
The Manual of Chess Endings is just that: roughly 600 instructive technical endgames you should know how to play, including “Test Yourself!” positions at the end of each Part. Pawn endings, rook endings, minor piece endings, queen endings, endings with unbalanced material…it’s all here.
There are no words, only variations and symbols. And that is a positive! If you don’t believe it, give this book a try. You will be astonished by how much you learn and understand without the distraction of words!!
Too many chess books, including a lot of modern endgame books, are too wordy. Never forget: more words does not automatically mean better commentary. This is the main problem I have with certain popular authors whose chess books I never recommend.
Ambitious players rated 1000 and up would benefit greatly from Chess School 4. It’s also great for coaches.