Is endgame study important?
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Well it would be useful
Yes its very important! without an good endgame u can ruine a great game fast believe me....
Endgame knowledge is the first thing someone should study in chess I think. A good knowledge of endgames helps shape your middlegame, which in turn helps shape your opening. Knowing what you are looking for in an endgame makes middlegame decisions much easier.
Much like in golf... it's "drive for show, putt for dough". It's the finishing touch which makes the biggest difference in your performance.
That is true
I think better study middle game & openings rather than endgames... If u are good at openings trap & middlegame strategy u dont need to spend too much on endgames... Thats my point of view & i think endgame study its too much overrated...
I believe all 3 phases of chess are important to study. However, if you are losing after the opening or losing in the middlegame I believe its more logical to work on the opening and/or middlegame. If you are reaching endings (in which you are not lost already) and then losing them then you definitely should work on endings.
MyNameIsLuke wrote: I think better study middle game & openings rather than endgames... If u are good at openings trap & middlegame strategy u dont need to spend too much on endgames... Thats my point of view & i think endgame study its too much overrated...
While that's somewhat true for beginners, one can only progress so much before endgame knowledge is a necessity. I've won many drawn positions and drawn many lost positions simply because I knew more about the endgame than my opponents. The endgame is also my favorite part of the game. Many people think it's boring, but I disagree. Endgame studies are the most fun for me.
The most important is to be able to win technical wins, focus on the won positions is probably enough. You must for example know to put your rooks behind passed pawns and how to win (or draw) a K+p against K endgame.
I recently managed to win a drwn endgame because my opponent did not block my passed pawn while I blocked his.
mvh Fredrik
I'm surprised how often I get away with winning a drawn K+P vs K ending. It takes about five minutes to learn.
Reb wrote: I believe all 3 phases of chess are important to study. However, if you are losing after the opening or losing in the middlegame I believe its more logical to work on the opening and/or middlegame. If you are reaching endings (in which you are not lost already) and then losing them then you definitely should work on endings.
I agree with you.I want to add that it is crucially important to know-how-to end your games because it is all about this.
I think the a good knowledge of the end game is essential. I guess you can muddle through the openings by following basic principals; you have time (relatively speaking) to make up for lost ground or material. Situations like that towards the end of the game can be devastating. Also, there is the knowledge of what positions will result in a draw or win! For example. the dreaded rook pawn endings.
Capablanca advised the beginner to master the endgame first. I haven't mastered it but I've studied it a lot and I have never regretted that I followed his advise. I love the endgame. It has been said that Openings teach you openings, the middle game teaches you tactics and the endgame teaches you Chess. That's where you come to know the nature and the power of the chessmen. I once won a game with three undeveloped pawns against a Rook because my opponent didn't know what to do. I've won a lot of games just because I kept playing instead of resigning or settling for a draw and found that my opponent didn't know the endgame. Go ahead and learn openings and study tactics - but give your heart and soul to the endgame.
I used to take up grandmaster games at the point of resignation and play against the computer. I would take the "winning" position and give the computer the resigned position.
If you want to find how tough it is to play endgames, or win won positions, I highly recommend this exercise. Very rarely could I actually convert the win except in obvious cases where forced mate could be seen. It's amazing how many subtleties there are in a position with only a few pieces left.
oginschile wrote:
I used to take up grandmaster games at the point of resignation and play against the computer. I would take the "winning" position and give the computer the resigned position.
If you want to find how tough it is to play endgames, or win won positions, I highly recommend this exercise. Very rarely could I actually convert the win except in obvious cases where forced mate could be seen. It's amazing how many subtleties there are in a position with only a few pieces left.
That's an excellent idea. You may have just convinced me to get my first chess engine.
It's essential for cheating too..
er... i mean.. helping with analysis post game. 
oginschile wrote:
I used to take up grandmaster games at the point of resignation and play against the computer. I would take the "winning" position and give the computer the resigned position.
If you want to find how tough it is to play endgames, or win won positions, I highly recommend this exercise. Very rarely could I actually convert the win except in obvious cases where forced mate could be seen. It's amazing how many subtleties there are in a position with only a few pieces left.
That sounds like a very worthwhile exercise. Often I have played through GM games and upon reaching the end sat there wondering - why did he resign? I'll have to try some of those against a computer. Never thought of doing that because I normally don't like to play against computers.
in order to play well, you have to know what you want to achieve and then you have know how to acieve it. so basically, you have to learn it from back to forward.
Learning an opening is learning an opening,
Learning an endgame is learning chess!
Do you think endgame study is important well i believe it is cos it could help you get xtra rating and nick a few points.
What do you think list your results down here.