Theoretical Rook Endgames by GM Sam Shankland Chessable

Shankland describes this 3.5 year project as his “proudest achievement as a writer”. Based on the Quality Chess book and the companion to GM Jacob Aagaard’s Conceptual Rook Endgames, Shankland’s no-nonsense approach to chess training is the perfect way to push your endgame skills to a whole new level.

Starting with the ‘parent’ Lucena and Philidor positions, Shankland provides a systematic method for studying and understanding the most commonly played endgames.

You’ll soon be confident knowing which endgames you should be aiming for and which you should avoid, which will not only help your ability to convert, but also aid your judgment in the middlegame.

Shankland covers all of the critical rook endgames in positions with:

♜Single pawns, the backbone of all rook endgames
♜Two pawns against one – knowing when to trade and when not to
♜3 vs 2 and 4 vs 3 – more pawns, more to calculate!
♜Pawnless endgames (for example, the dreaded Rook & Bishop vs Rook and Queen vs Rook)

Does your head hurt just looking at this position? It still will, but you’ll at least be able to play the right move!

Rook endgames are a lot easier with Sam Shankland in your corner

As you’d expect from Sam Shankland, this course is serious work and will take a lot of dedicated effort from the student. However, your efforts will lead to you reaping the dividends when you’re playing these endgames yourself – as Shankland demonstrates throughout the course by learning and improving from his own games.

And if you’re feeling overwhelmed by the amount of content, Shankland has created a great “Bare Bones” chapter with the absolute crucial endgames for you to refresh your memory regularly. You might not remember every single detail, but Shankland has identified the things we absolutely need to remember – and it’s less than you might think!

Shankland has one rule when he creates chess content – he’s a professional player and it needs to improve his own game. This rule has served him well, as he’s garnered a reputation as one of the most respected and serious authors around. If this course can improve the game of a US Champion, imagine what it could do for yours.