Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual, 4th edition
It's remarkable that Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual is already in its fourth edition, but therein lies the clue to its tremendous success. The author, Mark Dvoretsky, may not be a perfectionist, but he is a very honest laborer and when there's a mistake in his analysis or some other improvement comes to light, he emends his work. The third edition came out in 2011 (I reviewed it here), and what was true of that one is true of this one as well. Here is what Dvoretsky says about the fourth edition:
Readers familiar with previous editions of the Manual have probably noticed that the new edition is larger than the previous one. But it is not because its content has been significantly increased or is more complicated - it is not. On the contrary, I have tried to make it more accessible to study, adding about 200 new diagrams to the text. Those who read the book without a board (there are many players who are able to do this) will find it easier to follow complex examples. In addition, the new diagrams will draw your attention to many interesting and instructive moments previously buried in the text and variations.
As always with new editions, I have revised the text with clarifications and corrections which were found since the release of the previous edition. Significant revisions have been made in some aspects of the theory of rook endings. For that, I would like first and foremost to thank the author Vardan Pogosyan. In 2011-2012, I actively corresponded with Pogosyan, and he showed me many of the discoveries he had made, leading me to rethink some important theoretical concepts. [DM: Most of Pogosyan's contributions to this edition seem to have been in the section on rook endings with 3 vs. 3 on the kingside and a passed a- or b-pawn for the strong side. This is an area where endgame theory has really developed over the past 10-15 years.]
Relatively recently the computer database "Lomonosov" was created; it accurately evaluates seven-piece endings (previously only six-figure endings were available). Naturally, I checked the book's seven-piece examples with the "Lomonosov" database and corrected any errors found.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with this monster work (421 large pages), it's a combination of a theoretical treatise and a practical manual. Dvoretsky covers all the theoretical basics and then some, with an emphasis on what practical players need. (He does this not only by choosing the right positions, but by illustrating the right techniques and expressing the relevant principles in a brilliant way.) That's just the beginning, however. What makes this book special is the way he builds on that structure. Having presented the essentials, Dvoretsky then provides example after example where the theoretical material serves as a guide and is often at least part of the key, but is rarely enough by itself to solve the problem. The diligent reader gets a tremendous workout, and in the process learns how to apply that theoretical knowledge, and how to apply theoretical knowledge in general, to the context of a real game.
In 2003, when writing the preface to the original edition of the work, GM Jacob Aagaard, himself no slouch as a player, analyst, trainer and writer, called the work "[t]he best chess book ever written." It's possible that he has changed his mind in the meantime, and maybe he thinks that one of the books he has written or published for Quality Chess surpasses it. (Many of them are very good, but I suspect he'd still put the Manual at number one.) Even so, even if Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual only ranks at #2 on Aagaard's all-time list, it's still a book you should rush and get if you don't already have it - at least if you're say, a 1600+ rated player with any ambition at all. (I'd add that there's a great deal of beauty in the examples, so even if your attraction to chess is primarily aesthetic rather than competitive, it's still at least worth considering.) If you've already got an earlier edition of the book, then unless you're super-serious about your endings I don't think you need to make the upgrade. But to everyone else who fits the description above, have Santa get you the book: if any chess book is a must-have, this one is it.
Reader Comments (1)
I knew that name sounded familiar! For those interested, Pogosyan made frequent contributions to the Endgame section of the ChessPub forum. His wonderful posts are full of critical analyses, often correcting previous literature. I assume many of these corrections have thus been offered to Dvoretsky.