After the success of Secrets of Rook Endings, John Nunn turns his attention towards endgames without pawns. These occur surprisingly often in practice and are extremely tactical in nature. This book unites man and machine in the search for ultimate answers. The computer databases created by Ken Thompson, formerly of Bell Laboratories, can state with certainty the correct result of any position with five pieces or fewer. John Nunn has extracted the most important information from these databases and presented it in the form of guidelines and specific key positions, which can be more readily digested by the human mind. With most competitive games these days being played to a finish in a single session, this knowledge may prove invaluable over the board.
This is a new and expanded edition of an important book. Since the first edition was published, the databases for many six-man endings have been created, resulting in some surprising and paradoxical discoveries. The coverage has therefore been expanded to include the most interesting features of these endings.
Dr John Nunn is one of the best-respected figures in world chess. He was among the world's leading grandmasters for nearly twenty years, winning four gold medals in chess Olympiads and finishing sixth overall in the World Cup in 1989. He is a much-acclaimed writer, whose works have won 'Book of the Year' awards in several countries. In 2004, 2007 and 2010 Nunn was crowned World Chess Solving Champion, ahead of many former champions.
"By any standards this is a remarkable work by the scholarly Dr Nunn" - BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE
"Recently Bell Laboratories, where Thompson used to work, have extended their work to covering 6-man pawnless endings and thus 62 pages of new work have been appended to the first edition. Nunn tabulates these findings and has then selected the most interesting results, such as the longest win with two Queens against Queen and Rook, to present to his readers." - Richard Palliser
"...a treasure trove of the precisely extraordinary, with considerable prctical value for more serious players in the earlier sections" - GM Jon Speelman, INDEPENDENT
"At only £14.99 for 384 pages, it is a must-have for anyone, anywhere... one of the greatest works in the history of chess and science. I think that reciprocal zugzwangs cost me my girlfriend" - GM David Norwood, DAILY TELEGRAPH
"John Nunn never does things by halves, and this book is thoroughly researched and well produced as his previous publications, some of which have reached almost legendary status. It represents excellent value for money and for any serious chess player is an essential reference tool" - Alan Sutton, EN PASSANT
Download a pdf file with a sample from the book.
Gambit books by John Nunn: 1001 Deadly Checkmates, Endgame Challenge, Grandmaster Chess Move by Move, Grandmaster Secrets: Winning Quickly at Chess, John Nunn’s Best Games, John Nunn’s Chess Course, John Nunn’s Chess Puzzle Book NEW EDITION, Learn Chess,Learn Chess Tactics, Nunn’s Chess Endings volume 1, Nunn’s Chess Endings volume 2, Secrets of Grandmaster Chess, Secrets of Pawnless Endings, Secrets of Practical Chess NEW EDITION, Secrets of Rook Endings, Solving in Style, Understanding Chess Endgames, Understanding Chess Middlegames,Understanding Chess Move by Move, Vishy Anand: World Chess Champion (with Vishy Anand).