I'd like to begin by mentioning two not-so-old endgame authors and some references that the reader might do well to be aware of. Some years ago, Jon Speelman wrote two brilliant books called Analyzing the Endgame and Endgame Preparation.
I should also mention Edmar Mednis, whose books on endings are the best thing he does. For general references, the Informant people have The Encyclopedia of Chess Endings; and ChessBase has several endgame resources, including tablebases which generate and work out every possible ending with a specified number of pieces. There are also a number of theoretical works, e.g., Averbach's 5-volume set on endgames. Finally, I really like Batsford Chess Endings, an older compilation which I hope you can find a copy of.
Having done that, it's time to get started! Korchnoi's Practical Rook Endings is short but fascinating. He begins with a review of "basic" rook-and-pawn endings, and then shows a number of practical endings from his own praxis, with incredible depth of analysis. In fairly small print and with few diagrams, he uses 4 pages on an apparently simple ending, 7 pages on an Adams-Korchnoi ending, and a colossal 25 pages on just one rook ending, his incredible struggle versus Karpov in their Baguio 1978 match. I should mention Olms' typically high production value, which justifies the book as a collector's item.
Clearly, this is a brilliant book, to be treasured by lovers of the game, but one that is well beyond the understanding of the average player. As usual, such real treasures can't possibly sell as well as the mediocre popular works.
Pages 100
Edition Oms 1999
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