An endgame is the phase of the game that begins when most pieces have left the board and the kings step forward as fighting pieces. The positions are small enough to have exact answers: a given setup is a win, a draw or a loss, and the result depends on technique rather than on long calculation. Knowing a handful of key positions and the ideas behind them, such as the opposition, the bridge in a rook ending or the fortress, turns many lost or drawn games into wins and saves points that would otherwise slip away.
Each page states the verdict first, then shows the idea on a highlighted diagram, the technique with a playable line, a typical mistake and an exercise with a hidden solution. The pages run from the simplest checkmates to the rarest defensive setups.
How the game begins is the subject of Openings. A short list of the positions every player should know is kept in Essential Positions.