Notes:
This is a preliminary list; additions welcome. ---

The line between ‘endgames’ and ‘endgame studies’ can be thin. I’ve excluded most books on the latter – there are 20 or so of them.---

‘*’ = A basic library and of course highly selective.---

If you are just ‘getting started’ with endgames I recommend Averbakh’s Essential Knowledge, Chernev’s 200 Brilliant, Nunn’s Endgame Course and Silman’s Endgame course.---

Mednis is perhaps the most unrecognized chess writer; I can’t think of a single one of his books I would not recommend. ---

I’ve included a few German tomes where they are well-known to players. --- Series books – I will list individual volumes in a later post.

Aagaard – Grandmaster Preparation – Endgame Play
Alburt – Just the Facts: winning Endgame Play
Averbakh, et al – Batsford/Chess Digest I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII * Averbakh – Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge *
Averbakh/Chekover - Comprehensive Chess Endings I, II, III, IV, V Ban – Tactics of the Endgame *
Barden – How to Play the Endgame in Chess
Beasley – Endgame Magic
Beliavsky – Winning Endgame Technique
Benjamin - Liquidation on the Chess Board
Benko – Chess Endgame Lessons
Benko – Endgame Laboratory
Blake – Chess Endings for Beginners
Botvinnik – On the Endgame
Bouwmeester – Modern Endgame Studies
Brieger – Challenges in the Endgame
Brunthaler – 365 X Endspiel (3 volumes)
Chernev – 200 Brilliant Endgames *
Chernev – Capablanca’s Best Chess Endings
Chernev – Chessboard Magic
Chernev – Practical Chess Endings
Cheron – Lehr und Hadnbuch der Endspiele I, II, III, IV

Chess Digest – Unusual Chess Endings
Crosskill – Analysis of the Chess Ending K + Q vs K + R

Cunnington – Selected Chess Endings
Donaldson – Essential Chess Endings for Advanced Players * Dvoretsky – Chess Endgame Manual
Dvoretsky – School of Chess Excellence Endgame Analysis Dvoretsky - Tragicomedy in the Endgame
Dvoretsky/Pervakov – Studies for Practical Players
Emms – Starting Out: Minor Piece Endgames
Emms – Survical Guide to Rook Endings
Euwe - Das Endspiele
Euwe/Hooper – a Guide to Chess Endings
Evans – Chess Endgame Quiz
Fharni – Das Endspiel im Schach
Fine – Basic Chess Endings *
Fishbein – King and Pawn Endings
Flear – Improve Your Endgame Play
Flear – Mastering the Endgame
Flear – Practical Endgames: Beyond the Basics
Flear – Starting Out: Pawn Endgames
Flear – Test Your Endgame Thinking
Freeborough – Chess Endings
Furst – Chess Artistry I, II, III, IV, V
Giddins – 101 Chess Endgame Tips
Giddins – Greatest Ever Chess Endgames
Griffiths – Exploring the Endgame
Griffiths – The Endings in Modern Theory & Practice
Grivas – Practical Endgame Play: Mastering the Basics

Guliev – Manual of Chess Endings
Hall – Endgame Challenge!
Hansen – Secrets of Endgame Strategy
Hansen – Your Shortcut to Rook vs Rook & Pawn Endgames

Karolyi – Karpov Endgame Virtuoso
Keres – Practical Chess Endings
Kling – A Collection of Two Hundred Chess Problems and Endgames Korchnoi – Practical Rook Endings
Kosten – Winning Endgames
Krogius – Notes on the Endgame
Livshits/Speelman – Test your Endgame Ability
Lutz – Endgame Secrets
Makarov – Chess Library for Practical Players – Endgame

McDonald – Practical endgame Play
Mednis – Advanced Endgame Strategies
Mednis – From the Middlegame into the Endgame
Mednis – From the Opening into the Endgame
Mednis – King Power in Chess
Mednis – Practical Bishop Endings
Mednis – Practical Endgame Tips
Mednis – Practical Rook Endings
Mednis – Q & A on Practical Endgame Play
Mednis – Questions and Answers on Endgame Play
Mednis/Crouch – Rate Your Endgame
Mednis – The King in the Endgame
Mieses – Chess Endings from Modern Master-Play
Minev/Seirawan – Practical Guide to Rook Endgames
Mueller/Lamprecht – Secrets of Pawn Endings
Muller – Fundamental Chess Endgames
Naroditsky – Mastering Complex Endgames
Nesis – Exchanging to Win in the Endgame
Nunn – Chess Endgames 1 *
Nunn – Chess Endgames 2 *
Nunn – John Nunn’s Endgame Course *
Nunn – Secrets of Minor-Piece Endings
Nunn – Secrets of Pawnless Endings
Nunn – Secrets of Rook Endings
Nunn – Tactical Chess Endings
Nunn – Understanding Chess Endgames
Pachman – Chess Endings for the Practical Player *
Panchenko – Theory and Practice of Chess Endings I, II

Pandolfini – 111 Winning Endgames
Pandolfini – Endgame Course
Pnadolfini – Endgame Workshop
Polgar – Chess Endgames
Portisch – 600 Endings
Purdy – C J S Purdy on the Endgame *
Rabinovich – The Russian Endgame Handbook
Reinfeld – Instructive and Practical Endings I, II
Reinfeld – On the End-game in Chess
Reinfeld – Strategy in the Chess Endgame
Robertie – Basic Endgame Strategy
Robertie – Easy Endgame Strategies
Rodl – Endspiele: Ein Leitfaden fur de Praxis
Rosen – Chess Endgame Training
Schiller – 639 Essential Endgame Positions
Schiller – Improve Your Endgame!
Schiller – Of Kings and Pawns: Chess Strategy in the Endgame Seriawan – Winning Chess endings
Shereshevsky – Endgame Strategy *
Sheversevsky – Mastering the Endgame 1 *
Shverevsky – Mastering the Endgame 2 *
Silman’s Endgame Course *
Smith DeVault – Test Your Opening, Middlegame and Endgame Play I, II

Smith/Silman – Essential Chess Endings I, II *
Suveg – Essential Endgames Every Tournament Player Must Know Tattersall – 100 Chess Endings I, II
Timman – The Art of the Endgame
Tisdall – Batsford Chess Endings
Van Perlo – Endgame Tactics
Villas – 100 Endgames You Must Know *
Ward – Endgame Play
Ward – Starting Out: Rook Endgames
Wenman – 100 Remarkable Endings
Winkelman – Modern Chess Endings
Yanofsky – How to Win End-Games *
Young – Pocket Guide to Chess Endings
Znosko-Borovsky – How to Play Chess Endings

Others, please?

There are a couple German (and I think a Swedish) monographs I can't seem to find just now.

The Donaldson books are Reti-English; ditto the Schiller. The latter is, IMHO, one of his best efforts. And, of course, John D is always top-notch!

Davies – Dynamic Reti *
Delchev – Modern Reti
Donaldson – A Strategic Opening Repertoire (1998) *
Donaldson/Hansen – A Strategic Opening Repertoire (2007) * Dunnington – Easy Guide to the Reti Opening
Keene – Flank Openings – (4 editions)
Longsdale – Reti Opening: Lisitsin Gambit Accepted
McDonald – Starting Out: Reti
Palliser – Beating Unusual Chess Openings
Reinfeld – Reti Opening (Catalan system)
Schiller – How to Play the Reti
Schiller – Hypermodern Opening Repertoire for White *

Others, please?

"In my day" I played quite a few KIAs off 1. g3. Curiously I know of no book on the Benko (1. g3) and only the 'Bamboozle Your Opponent' DVD by Davies which is quite good tho I am not much for videos.

Fischer - 'A Mongolian' Myagmarsuren is one of my ATF games.

Dunnington – How to Play the King’s Indian Attack
Dunnington: The Ultimate King’s Indian Attack
Emms – Starting Out: King’s Indian Attack
Hall – A Complete Opening System for White: King’s Indian Attack Hall – Modern King’s Indian Attack
Henley/Maddox – BlueBook Guide to Winning with the King’s Indian Attack

Others, please? I *think* there are a few other Trends in the English?

Of course the transpositions within the KIA, Reti, English, 1. g3 are enormous but one of the attractions to hypermodern sorties. Something lost/something gained with each.

The English, it is entertaining to compare how different players managed it - Flohr, Botvinnik, Smyslov, Stein, Tal.

Perhaps an idea for a new book series - Specific openings, showing how different players worked with them (along the lines of the way Chess Secrets studies styles of play). The French would be excellent - Maroczy, Reti, Uhlmann, Botvinnik, Korchnoi...

Bagirov – English Opening: Classical and Indian
Bagirov – English Opening: Symmetrical
Cafferty – English
Chess Charts – Statistical Analysis of the English Opening Cummings – Symmetrical English
Donaldson – A Strategic Opening Repertoire for White
Euwe – Englische
Franco – Chess Explained: The English Opening
Giddins – The English: Move by Move
Golombek – Modern Chess Opening Strategy
Hansen – Gambit Guide to the English
Hansen – Symmetrical English
Janicki – English Four Knights (Anglo-Benoni
Janicki – English Two Knights (Anglo-Benoni)
Karls – Die Bremen Partie
Karpov – How to Play the English Opening
Keene – Flank Openings 4 Volumes
Kosten – Dynamic English
Kotronis – Beating the Flank Openings
Kuligowski – Developments in the English
Levy, et all – The English Opening: A Quantitative Analysis

This seems to work best if White is willing to move back in to a QP game if circumstances dictate. I've seen black tricked into bad variations of the Colle-Zukertort in said manner.

There is also the Bird-Larsen by Soltis - 1. f4, 2. b3. 1. ...e5 may not be to everyone's taste, thus 1. Nf3, 2. b3.

The first opening I played, encouraged by Lasker vs J Bauer, 1889. I lost a lot of bishops trying for that 2B mate until Fine’s Middlegame in Chess set me straight.

I played quite a few Internet games with this over a couple of years and had some success. I gave it up (for now) not finding anything particularly effective against simple …d5 setups. While most books recommend pushing the b-pawn to b5, I think defending it with a3 is often better – a Polish Defense Reversed.

Against 1. …c5 (Birmingham Gambit) going into a Sicilian Wing is the best try. I don’t think the much vaunted …d5 …Qd6 is as good as some say it is. Against 1. …e5 I had success with 2. Bb2, Bb4: 3. Be5: Nf6; 4. Nc3 Nc6; 5. Bf6: Qf6: 6. Nd5. I tried an Accelerated Hippo Reversed with a KB fianchetto without much luck.

Similar to 1. b3 White can get seriously behind in development, especially on the K-side. An attraction (for me) is getting a central pawn majority – though in practice it is very difficult to mobilize.

‘Sokolsky’ is the most common name for this opening. Indeed, except for Schiffler’s work, Sokolsky’s is the seminal treatise. Levy’s book is a translation and update of that work.

I do not have the Yakovlev volume, would like to own it. I missed on eBay the only copy I’ve seen, being outbid. Apparently there were only 250 copies printed on this record of a Sokolsky correspondence tournament.

I would be remiss not to point out Marek’s awesome database 1.b4 – http://www.algonet.se/~marek/

Bickford - Sokolsky Gambit
Bickford - Sokolsky with 1. ...e5
Elwert - Gewinnt mit 1. b4!
Gillian - Sokolsky Opening
Grund - Sokolski-Eroffnung
Harding - Dynamic Chess Openings
Hildebrand - 1. b2-b4 (German)
Ivanov - Orangutan 1. b4
Konikowsky -Theory and Practice of the Sokolsky
Lapshun -Play 1. b2-b4 *
Levy - Sokolsky’s *
Lonsdale - Sokolsky Opening: Birmingham Gambit
Lonsdale: Sokolsky Opening: Symmetrical Variation
Pallister - Beating Unusual Chess Openings
Santesiere - The Futuristic Chess Opening
Schiffler - Orang-Utan
Sokolsky - 1. b2-b4
Soltis - 1. P-QN4
Soltjar / Kadratjew - Sokolski-Eroffnung
Tangborn - Beating the Flank Openings
The Moravian Series (1-4)
Wall – Orangutan *
Yakovyev- Debyut Sokolskova (Kiev 1958)

Hurt - The Sicilian Wing Gambit
Kapitaniak - Sicilian Defense Wing Gambits
Romeo - Sicilian Wing Gambit: An Historical Survey
Stauffer - The Winger

POLISH DEFENSE BOOKS

In a recent blitz game, I got caught with Black by the Saratt variation of the Scotch Opening (http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches...). I realized after the game that if I had known by heart A Meek vs Morphy, 1855, it would have been a lot easier to handle. I found this Morphy game crucial to learn, and now I want to study other pertinent games of that sort, games that showed the relevance of a new variation (i.e. Denker vs Botvinnik, 1945) or, on the contrary, that showed important refutation of a then-considered good variation.

It would be nice to have a compendium of, say, a hundred of the most significant games in History, in regards of opening theory.

Of course, 100 key games may only cover one particular opening, such are the numbers of vital changes that will have occurred over the ages. I suspect it would be a very ambitious project to create a meaningful book, because most openings have evolved by a long series of incremental changes, rather than one or two earth-shattering moves here and there. However, I think it would be a great idea for authors of narrowly-focused opening monographs to include a chapter on this kind of thing - how the opening was played 10, 50 and 100 years ago and why it changed. It would definitely improve the reader's understanding.

There are some books that take a more general, or principled view of openings evolution. They may help in your quest, but may not focus on key games or get to the heart of changes in your own opening repertoire. I have appended some review extracts, but can't vouch for how good they are;

Chess from Morphy to Botvinnik A Century of Chess Evolution - Imre Konig

<This is an unusual and rather fascinating volume. Former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik has said that he feels that it is vital for a serious chessplayer to absorb the whole sweep of chess history to become as complete a player as possible (that is a paraphrase, actually). In this one volume, you can bite off a huge chunk of that history. It is a games collection of masterpieces of the greatest players from the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries, with insightful annotations that in themselves are a real chess education. There are 107 annotated games, divided by the openings played. So it is a bit like the perennial classic '500 Master Games of Chess', but I would say that the notes in this volume are much more useful to the non-master. The annotations are much more copious, are often related to the historical development of the opening studied, and there are numerous 'mini-essays', if you will, on various aspects of chess strategy.>

Evolution of Chess Opening Theory, The: From Philidor to Kasparov - Raymond Keene

<Quintessential book by Chess Grandmaster Raymond Keene who answers many queries on the game of chess and its openings. Ever wondered the secret to chess genius Garry Kasparov's successful game openings or why some openings are favoured more than others? Then this is the book for you. With fresh discussions of some highly analysed moves in chess history, the collection is a great one.>

Garry Kasparov on Modern Chess, Part 1: Revolution in the 70's - Garry Kasparov

<The books says 70's, but have a nice game's selection, from different decades, Kasparov knew the key games to explain the develoment of the opening.

How does the book work?
The book have been divided in 24 chapter, each chapter approach to one opening. Kasparov marked the approach of the game and opening theory in particular variations, and how the process continues that overturned traditional impression.

All games as seen through the explication of leading player who were at the forefront of the develoment of chess theory during modern era.

What really is the point of those diagrams?

IIRC, Purdy did some books without diagrams.

<it would be a great idea for authors of narrowly-focused opening monographs to include a chapter on this kind of thing - how the opening was played 10, 50 and 100 years ago and why it changed. It would definitely improve the reader's understanding> This is my point. Studying through history always makes it easier to absorb a great deal of information.

<If you'd like to buy a copy of Andrew Karklins 's _Modern Grandmaster Chess as Exemplified in the 1964 USSR Zonal Tournament_ (Chicago: Chicago Chess Books, 1974), I am selling them on Andrew's behalf.

The 1964 USSR Zonal had an incredibly strong field: future World Champion Spassky, two players who missed the World Championship by the slimmest of margins, Bronstein and Korchnoi, the legendary Stein and Geller, and the superstrong Suetin and Kholmov. Only the top three were guaranteed to qualify for the Interzonals, so the tournament was exceptionally bloodthirsty.

Andrew Karklins began this book in 1964, when he was a 2100 player. He finished it ten (!) years later, when he was a 2450 player (roughly equivalent to 2550 USCF today?) and had finished with an even score in the 1973 US Championship (ahead of Bisguier and Mednis). The book is a labor of love (see my next comment for a quotation from the foreword).

Hardcover (I have a limited number of dust jackets), Descriptive Notation, $10 plus $2.95 shipping, such a deal.

Without getting into details, Andrew (who is legally blind and living on disability) could really use the money! 100% of all sales proceeds will go directly to Andrew. If you'd like to pick up a copy at the Illinois Open, just let me know and you can save on the shipping.

If you would like a copy signed by Andrew Karklins, kindly add a generous additional amount (your call). Those copies I won't be able to have ready for the Illinois Open.

Paypal to billbrock1958@gmail.com works; checks may be made payable to Andrew Karklins.>

<And as long as I'm selling [smile emoticon] — again, all proceeds to Andrew Karklins.

I owned the paperback of this book as a kid: it's great!

Karklins, Andrew, trans., and Kalnājs, Alfred, ed. _Fischer—Spassky World Championship Match & Fischer's 1971 Candidates Matches from the Soviet Point of View_ (Chicago: Alfred Kalnājs & Son, 1973).

Notes by Botvinnik, Bronstein, Kotov, Smyslov, Vasiukov, Larsen, Tal, Vatnikov, Koblenz, Kotkov, Buslajev, Vladimirov, Henkin, Tukmakov, Polugaevsky, Lublinsky, Korchnoi, Stein, Baranova, Nepomnaschija & Fjordorov, Krogius, Furman, Karpov, Vitolins, Averbach, Schmit, Murei & Shashin, Gipslis, Furman & Korchnoi, Kholmov. Warning: Soviet interest in Fischer-Spassky waned after game 13 [smile emoticon], but even here, Korchnoi annotates game 19 & Karpov game 21.

158 pages, descriptive notation.