John Emms: The survival guide to rook endings

Gambit Verlag, paperback, Englisch, ISBN: 978-1-904600-94-7, 160 Seiten, 2008.

A Gambit re-issue of this instructive endgame guide.

For all chess-players - from beginners to grandmasters, and whatever their style of play - one thing is certain: rook endings will arise in a great many of their games.

Yet it is precisely in this area of the game that many players give away hard-earned points, either through lack of knowledge or inadequate understanding. Most previous books on the subject have been extremely technical and theoretical, but this one is different. John Emms provides the essential specific knowledge and explains the key concepts that will enable readers to find the right plan in most common types of rook endings.

John Emms is one of Englands strongest grandmasters, and an experienced trainer. He is also a skilful and versatile writer: he has several opening monographs and general guides to his credit, and authored the hugely popular work, The Ultimate Chess Puzzle Book.

Reviews:

"A very useful little book, which does what it says on the tin", GM Jonathan Rowson, New-in-Chess.

"If you work through this book you will surely increase your knowledge of rook endgames as well as surviving most of them.", Gerhard Josten, Rochade Europa.

"The material is lucid and logically constructed and working with the book should be interesting and instructive", Heinz Brunthaler, Rochade Europa.

"...the book as a whole is relatively short, at about 160 pages. This, however, is a virtue, as any reader who has tried to wind his or her way through Reuben Fine's Basic Chess Endings could tell you. In The Survival Guide to Rook Endings, John Emms captures the essence of rook endgames and provides it to the reader, headache free.", Josh Specht, chessvideos.tv.

"If you did not purchase this book first time around then I think you missed out. Rook endgame knowledge is at the core of endgame theory. Many club players would save a huge amount of points by having the confidence to go into a rook endgame, especially when a pawn or two down.", Munroe Morrison, Open File.

"It is not just full of theory but real positions that you will have 'owned' many times in your own games.", Carl Portman, Defence Focus.

"...help is at hand here in the form of this well-written and thought out little volume.", Alan Sutton, En Passant.

"...could bring you points in the near future!", Martin Rieger, freechess.info.

"Affordable holiday reading", Bab Wilders, Nederlands Dagblad.