Master the Art of Practical Endgames: Dreev University's Latest Course Reveals the Secrets of Winning Equal Positions
How GM Alexey Dreev and GM Pier Luigi Basso are revolutionizing endgame education for ambitious chess players
The moment arrives in every serious chess player's journey when they realize a painful truth: you're not losing games because you don't know your openings, and you're not losing because your tactics are weak. You're losing because when the position simplifies and enters the endgame, you're navigating by feel in waters that demand precision.
GM Alexey Dreev and GM Pier Luigi Basso understand this frustration intimately. That's why they've crafted Dreev University - Practical Endgames, the newest addition to their acclaimed educational series that's already transformed thousands of ambitious players worldwide.
The Dreev University Legacy: Building Chess Mastery Course by Course
The Dreev University series has become synonymous with deep, practical chess education that goes beyond surface-level theory. Previous courses have already established this reputation:
- Dreev University - Rook Endgames laid the foundation with the most common endgame type
- Dreev University - Positional Play revealed the secrets of understanding positions without tactics
- Dreev University - Dreev Dreams showcased brilliant combinations and attacking ideas
- Dreev University - Endgames with Opposite Coloured Bishops demystified one of chess's most complex endgame types
- Dreev University - Feel the Momentum taught players how to sense and seize their chances
Now, Practical Endgames completes the puzzle, addressing the gap that costs ambitious players the most rating points: those mysterious positions where material is equal, theory offers no guidance, and the outcome depends entirely on understanding.
The 50-Point Problem Every Strong Player Faces
Here's a sobering reality that Dreev and Basso want every ambitious player to confront: "We believe that every player under 2500 loses at least 50 rating points every year just because of endgames that were equal — or even better — but not understood."
Think about that for a moment. Fifty rating points annually. That's the difference between stagnation and steady improvement. That's the difference between feeling frustrated with your chess and feeling genuinely excited about your progress.
These aren't endgames where you need to calculate 20 moves deep or memorize obscure theoretical positions. These are practical endgames — the messy, imbalanced, time-pressure situations that arise in real tournament games. The positions where your engine says "0.00" but your result depends entirely on who understands what's really happening.
Beyond Theory: Where Real Chess Happens
Traditional endgame education focuses heavily on theoretical positions. Learn the Lucena position. Memorize the key squares in king and pawn endings. Study the Philidor defense. All important, certainly, but these represent perhaps 10% of the endgames you'll actually face over the board.
The other 90% are practical endgames — positions that arise naturally from the middlegame, where the material balance creates unique imbalances, where time pressure adds another layer of complexity, and where theoretical knowledge must blend seamlessly with practical judgment.
Practical Endgames addresses this reality head-on through two expertly crafted sections:
Part One: Learning from Real Struggles
The first part features endgames from Dreev and Basso's own tournament experience. This isn't sanitized instruction where everything works perfectly. These are real struggles, complete with the time pressure, uncertainty, and decision-making challenges that define practical play.
You'll witness how grandmasters think when theory fades and intuition must take over. You'll see their mistakes — and more importantly, you'll understand why those mistakes happened and how to avoid them in your own games.
Part Two: Model Games and Hidden Gems
The second part analyzes endgames played by other masters, including classics from the Karpov-Kasparov matches alongside lesser-known gems that showcase essential endgame principles.
These examples demonstrate how a single nuance, one key idea, or perfect timing can shift the balance and decide the game. You'll develop the pattern recognition to spot these critical moments in your own games.
The Art of Meaningful Positions
Some endgames appear completely lifeless on the surface. Material is equal, pawns are symmetrical, pieces seem randomly placed. Yet these positions often hold the entire fate of the game within their quiet complexity.
Practical Endgames teaches you to read between the lines of these deceptively simple positions. You'll learn to identify the hidden tensions, the subtle imbalances, and the long-term factors that determine who will emerge victorious.
This skill — the ability to find meaning in apparently meaningless positions — separates ambitious players from those who plateau. It's the difference between playing with purpose and simply moving pieces until time runs out.
Quality Over Quantity: The Dreev University Philosophy
True to the Dreev University philosophy, this course doesn't overwhelm you with hundreds of exercises. Instead, it presents carefully selected positions that fundamentally change how you think about endgames.
Each exercise has been chosen not just for its instructional value, but for its transformative potential. These are the endgames that, once understood, provide insights applicable to countless similar positions.
As Dreev and Basso emphasize: "Just the right ones. The ones that change your chess for good."
Why Practical Endgames Matter More Than Ever
Modern chess has evolved rapidly, but endgame understanding remains the great differentiator among ambitious players. While opening theory becomes increasingly democratized through engines and databases, endgame understanding still requires human insight, pattern recognition, and practical wisdom.
In an era where games are decided more often in complex endgames than in tactical melees, mastering practical endgames isn't just an advantage — it's essential for any player serious about improvement.
Your Next Step in Chess Mastery
Dreev University - Practical Endgames represents more than just another chess course. It's your opportunity to address the single biggest leak in your game, to reclaim those lost rating points, and to approach endgames with the confidence and understanding they demand.
Whether you're an ambitious club player seeking that next breakthrough or a strong tournament player looking to eliminate costly mistakes, this course provides the practical wisdom and deep insights that only come from grandmaster-level tournament experience.
The endgame is where chess reveals its deepest truths. With Dreev and Basso as your guides, you'll finally have the tools to navigate these critical phases with the skill and understanding they deserve.
Transform your endgame understanding. Reclaim your lost rating points. Master the art of practical endgames.