I feel like we've talked a lot more about openings and mid-games than end-games, which is where I see the biggest weakness in my game at the moment. What are some good endgame resources?
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Chess
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(December 15th, 2013, 09:00)Cyneheard Wrote: I feel like we've talked a lot more about openings and mid-games than end-games, which is where I see the biggest weakness in my game at the moment. What are some good endgame resources? tactics trainer and chess mentor, which you can focus on end game. I have premium membership though, not sure what is available for free (December 15th, 2013, 09:17)Jkaen Wrote:(December 15th, 2013, 09:00)Cyneheard Wrote: I feel like we've talked a lot more about openings and mid-games than end-games, which is where I see the biggest weakness in my game at the moment. What are some good endgame resources? Tactics trainer allows 3 puzzles a day for free, but that seems very skewed towards midgame situations IMO (at least the free version) The mentor has a demo - it's clearly solid enough that I'll likely get a membership in the new year (assuming that over Christmas I don't get tired of chess and want to stop - not likely, but possible).
December 15th, 2013, 10:45
(This post was last modified: December 15th, 2013, 10:49 by Gustaran.)
 (December 15th, 2013, 09:16)Jkaen Wrote: Surprised by your C and D reasons. I thought D was actually being polite rather than just a blank offer, and I saw nowhere that the higher level player needs to be the one to offer, is this just one of these commonly known things? Yes, it is one of those things everyone knows (though I admit the rating difference is not that big in your case).  And no, it is not polite to give a flawed evaluation along with your draw offer.IM Silman Wrote:It’s also considered to be “bad form” if you offer a draw to a far stronger player. The idea is that if the superior player wanted a draw, he would ask you for it. So, if you are rated 1800 and are paired with a grandmaster, you really shouldn’t make any offer – if you’re winning, why chicken out and offer a draw? If it’s equal, play chess and if the chess god wants a draw he’ll offer it to you (trust me, he knows you want a draw – it’s not a secret!). If you’re worse and offer a draw to a far superior opponent, it amounts to an insult and a deliberate attempt to bother him. Perhaps you were hoping to go over the game with him afterwards. Making an insult offer like that will only ensure that he will refuse any attempts at a postmortem. Read the whole column by IM Silman: http://www.chess.com/article/view/offering-a-draw Another important point: Even if the position is objectively a draw, don't offer a draw if you are in the weaker position. I recently had to defend a KR vs KRP endgame against a slightly lower rated player, which I knew was a theoretical draw, since the exact position was discussed on one of my DVDs. But I would have never dreamed of offering a draw along with a comment "hey man, this is a draw, it's on Karsten Müller's first endgame DVD." Instead I played it out until he realized he wouldn't win and offered a draw himself.
Because Chess.com is supposed to model real CC it is impolite to ever speak to an opponent. The only exception I could think of is if the game continuing would cause serious organizational difficulties. For example, the last game of a tournament-stage in a dead drawn position that could last 50+ moves you can explain why it's drawn to not waste everyone's time.
Oh, and two knights is not insufficient material to checkmate so Chess.com is incorrect. You would have to walk in a mate-in-one though... But it is possible to set a position were two knights checkmate. For example a Rook takes a Queen on a8 dragging the king into the corner, setting up a mate in one. So if you knew how to chess the system you could take the rook and then claim a draw immediately while there is a mate in one. You could stop the opponent's pre-move by offering a draw while you move. (December 15th, 2013, 09:00)Cyneheard Wrote: I feel like we've talked a lot more about openings and mid-games than end-games, which is where I see the biggest weakness in my game at the moment. What are some good endgame resources? I was hoping to see Gustaran's recommendations here, but I have learned a lot from reading Secrets of Chess Endgame Strategy by Lars Bo Hansen (link goes to Amazon.com). What i really liked about it is how it breaks down endgames into principles, and knowing the principles is a lot more helpful for me than memorizing or following tons of endgames done by grandmasters. Seeing how i forgot about the principle of two weaknesses in my game with Cyneheard maybe it's time for a re-read 
Suffer Game Sicko
Dodo Tier Player
December 17th, 2013, 04:09
(This post was last modified: December 17th, 2013, 05:11 by Gustaran.)
(December 16th, 2013, 22:13)pindicator Wrote: I was hoping to see Gustaran's recommendations here, but I have learned a lot from reading Secrets of Chess Endgame Strategy by Lars Bo Hansen (link goes to Amazon.com). What i really liked about it is how it breaks down endgames into principles, and knowing the principles is a lot more helpful for me than memorizing or following tons of endgames done by grandmasters. Your suggestion is as good as mine.  Quote:Seeing how i forgot about the principle of two weaknesses in my game with Cyneheard maybe it's time for a re-read Speaking of your recent game, it makes a nice problem since it shows that seemingly simple pawn endgames may not be so simple at all: White to move: a) White decided to play 40.h4? in this position, which was a serious mistake. Which is the only move that would have secured a draw for White? b) After 40.h4?, Black returned the favor and lost the game after 40...b5?. Which move was winning for Black instead? ![[Image: jpfu.jpg]](http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/547/jpfu.jpg/)
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