Many a good endgame book has been written, and this bibliography does not intend to recollect all of them, but just to give the reader some advice on which works may help him complete his knowledge of theoretical endgames. Books dealing exclusively with multi-piece or multi-pawn endings or with endgame strategy are quite interesting when it comes to improve the reader’s technique, but I have not taken them into account for this selection. The same goes for exercise books on endings. These are equally useful for training and checking our knowledge, but omitted in this list.
Spanish Dr. Ramón Rey Ardid’s extensive endgame work occupies 5 volumes. Volumes 1 and 2 cover pawn endings (without pieces) and piece endings without pawns respectively, under the general title Finales de Ajedrez (Chess Endings). The others are Finales de Piezas Menores (Minor-Piece Endings), Finales de Torres (Rook Endings) and Finales de Damas (Queen Endings). This work constitutes one of the most complete collections of theoretical and practical endings, but some of these volumes are difficult to obtain. Only those devoted to rook and minor-piece endings, published by Club de Ajedrez Editions, are relatively well available (in Spanish).
Yuri Averbakh has also published several works on theoretical endgames, covering all types of endings. His series Comprehensive Chess Endings, available in English and Russian, constitutes another extensive collection of theoretical as well as practical endings.
The English grandmaster John Nunn has undertaken the task of writing a series of books covering all possible positions with scarce material on the board, for which he relied on computer analysis. The first volume to appear was Secrets of Rook Endings, where Nunn studied Rook + Pawn vs. Rook endings in full detail. Later came Secrets of Pawnless Endings and Secrets of Minor-Piece Endings. The whole collection constitutes an excellent reference work that helps the reader solve all his problems in the endgame, though the present-day Nalimov Tablebases are able to serve the same purpose.
Levenfish & Smyslov: Rook Endings (Batsford)
This was the reference book for rook endings for many years, and it is still one of the most useful tools to improve our technique in these positions.
Müller & Lamprecht: Secrets of Pawn Endings (Everyman)
In the year 2000, Everyman Chess published the first book by these two German authors, whose depth and clarity surprised the whole chess community. Currently the best book to improve our technique in pawn endings.
Müller & Lamprecht: Fundamental Chess Endings (Gambit)
After Secrets of Pawn Endings, Müller & Lamprecht published a much more ambitious project with Gambit. This work can be considered a modern encyclopedia of the endgame, as it covers all the important themes and is based on computer analysis. Therefore, this is an essential reference book and equally useful as a study book.
Dvoretsky: Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual (Russell Enterprises)
Mark Dvoretsky is the most famous chess coach in our time, who has also worked seriously on the endgame. In this great work he has collected more than one thousand examples, presenting almost all the modern theory on this phase of the game. Dvoretsky’s explanations are long and didactic, and so this book can be easily used for study or simply as a reference work. The book was published by Russell Enterprises, but it is not easy to find in bookshops. However, it is widely available on the Internet. Many consider Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual the best endgame book ever published to date.
Van Perlo: Van Perlo’s Endgame Tactics (New In Chess)
A very special book by Dutch correspondence grandmaster Ger van Perlo, highly recommended to those who want to perfect their knowledge of the endgame phase. In this immense collection of tactical positions, every reader will face two challenges: first, to study and recognize each separate theme, and second: to know when a forced variation leads to victory in the endgame and when it does not.
Benjamin: Liquidation on the Chess Board (New In Chess)
A recent book by American grandmaster Joel Benjamin, which investigates in a useful and at the same time entertaining way a critical phase in the game: the moment when to take the decision to simplify into a less complicated endgame. My experience as a trainer tells me that mistakes are often made at such moments. As the previous book, this work is helpful for training your tactical vision and constitutes a test of your theoretical knowledge.
Hellsten: Mastering Endgame Strategy (Everyman)
Although this book by Swedish grandmaster Johan Hellsten is a little further removed from endgame theory, it is recommended for readers who already know a reasonable amount of theory, as it presents an enormous amount of material, which introduces us to the next step of mastering and controlling the endgame. Mastering Endgame Strategy gives an overview of the most important ideas in practical endgames.