Basic Chess Endings

Basic Chess Endings, often shortened to BCE, is a book by Reuben Fine first published in 1941. An endgame is the phase with fewer pieces, when questions such as promoting a pawn, activating the king, or stopping a pawn that is advancing toward promotion often decide the result. The book groups positions and methods by the material on the board, including pawn, rook, queen, bishop, and knight endings.

Its main value is as a reference work: readers can locate a family of endings and study practical rules, model positions, and concrete variations. Pal Benko's revised edition updated analysis and converted the text to algebraic notation, the modern system that names every square with a letter and a number.

The word Basic does not mean that every section is elementary. The book tries to cover a very large subject, and many positions require exact calculation. Editions also differ: a quotation or conclusion may come from Fine's original text or from a later revision. Effective study therefore starts by identifying the edition and setting the positions up on a board.