Friday, July 19, 2019 at 1:09PM

Sergei Tkachenko, Oleg Pervakov's Industrial Strength Endgame Studies. (Elk & Ruby, 2018). 248 pp. Reviewed by Dennis Monokroussos.

Those of you who have followed this blog for a while know that I’m a fan of endgame studies. They make for excellent practice in calculating variations, but even more than that, they are a source of great beauty. In over-the-board play most games are mundane. Even if they are perfectly played—sometimes, especially if they are perfectly played—they can seem rather dull to all but the most refined aficionado. And even then, it’s more an appreciation for the way in which one player (typically Black) solved his problems. In endgame studies, by contrast, beauty is fundamental. Occasionally, beauty takes a back seat to depth or humor, but it’s rare. (Besides, I’m inclined to think that humor, in the way it is manifested in chess, is closely related to beauty – it’s another manifestation of the aesthetic.)

Many tournament players are familiar with the great composers of yesteryear, with names like Kasparyan and Kubbel, Mattison and Mitrofanov, Reti and Rinck, and – non-alliteratively – Grigoriev and Troitsky. We’re less aware of contemporary composers, unless they’re also known for their tournament play (e.g. Benko, Smyslov, and Timman). Why? I think it’s because a lot of the low-hanging fruit has been taken, and for a contemporary composer to get published and succeed in competitions he must produce studies that are not only beautiful but deep – generally so deep that even strong club players have little chance of solving them without becoming specialists.

There are exceptions, one of whom is the Russian composer Oleg Pervakov, born in 1960. Those of you who are fans of Mark Dvoretsky’s works will remember that name: they co-authored one book (Studies for Practical Players) and Pervakov’s work made a significant contribution to a second work. His compositions are fantastic, and have been praised by both Garry Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen. (Frankly, that’s already a good enough reason to seek out Pervakov’s work, but I’ll continue anyway, if only to assure you that one need not be a contender for the greatest player of all time to appreciate and benefit from Pervakov’s studies.)

His studies aren't easy, but they are accessible - both intellectually and aesthetically. When you see the solutions (if you didn't solve it yourself) they will make sense to you. They're not like, say, some of the monster tablebase endings computers have worked out to a win in several hundred moves, where nothing makes any discernible sense until the very end. You'll get it. And the beautiful moves are beautiful for all the usual reasons we love endgame studies and great combinations.

Enough blather. Let's have a look at some examples. (The first of each pair of entries gives the position, the second the solution.) Then when you're done and have been suitably impressed, go here and spend some coin. Bear in mind that none of the three studies I'm showing did better than 4th place, and Pervakov has won many firsts over the course of his composing career. He's goooooood.