The instruction indeed comes with a spoonful of sugar. It cannot but help to improve your chess, painlessly, even enjoyably. The annotations are light and sometimes quite witty.

– Don Aldrich, Chess Today

A fantastic collection of endgame positions from actual play. Van Perlo's respect for the game, his delight in every little twist, is undeniable. And it is infectious.

– Glenn Petersen, ChessCafe.com

An irresistible collection of more than 1,300 endgame tricks and traps. A superb book, highly instructive.

– Paul Motwani, Chess Grandmaster, The Scotsman

Quite a powerful book. It does not wish to drill, it just wishes to entertain. And it does!

– Gerhard Josten, Rochade Europa Magazine

There is considerable instructional content in the book. But the winning factor for the judges was the sheer entertainment value. 2006 Book of the Year Award.

– English Chess Federation, Judge's Report

All chess life is here: brilliant wins, amazing draws and not infrequently defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.

– British Chess Magazine

The thing's addictive! You can absorb fundamental lessons while being entertained.

– John Watson, The Week In Chess

As a coach, I definitely understand the importance of beefing up my juniors' endgame skills. However I also realized that chess endgame studies are the last thing that truly excites them. Thus, instead of starting them on endgame principles, it only made sense to start them off by showing them the sunny side of endgames: the tactical fireworks.

– Edwin Lam, ChessMate Magazine

Destined to achieve classic status.

– Chess Life

It is hard to believe that a simple collection of endgame positions could be so entertaining but Van Perlo's sardonic comments give the book a unique flavor.

– Ian Rogers, Grandmaster, Sun Herald

Did the theme "endings" always seem a bit dusty to you? Thanks to Van Perlo it really starts (perhaps for you for the first time?) to really shine.

– Peter Doggers, ChessVibes

This book has several tactical twists and turns on each page, which should convince you that the endgame is definitely more interesting than you probably imagined, and it is a phase where many half points can be picked up - or thrown away.

– Tim Harding, The Kibitzer

The most enjoyable endgame book I've ever read. I've always loved tactics books, and this is the first endgame book I've ever encountered with this approach. Middlegame tactics books like this helped me reach master level; I wonder how far an endgame tactics book could have helped me go? I never found endgames as much fun to study (till now).

– Hal Bogner, Chess Magnet School

A masterpiece.

– Joel Benjamin