Overall Score: 8.5/10
Rating Range: 1300 and above
Video: Yes
Platform: Chessable
Chapters:
- Minority Attack and Principle of Two Weaknesses
- Queenless Carlsbad Structure
- Converting with 4 vs. 3 Kingside Majority
- Converting with 5 vs. Kingside Majority
- Assessing King and Pawn Endgames
- Double Rook Endgames
- The Bishop Pair
- Winning with Piece for Pawns Imbalance
- Double, Isolated d-pawns
- Swapping Pawns
- Patience and Nurturing Your Bishops
- Fortress or Not?
- Playing for Mate in a Pawnless Endgame
- Imbalanced Minor Piece Endgames
- Mirrored Minor Piece Endgames
- Major Piece Endgames
- Rook and Minor Piece Endgames
- Zugzwang and Recent Endgame Triumphs
- Arkell’s Attacks and Simon’s Afterword
I recently completed Arkell’s Endgames course on Chessable. First, I would not have enjoyed it nearly as much had it not been in a video format. Hearing Kieth explain his thinking process and ideas makes the course completely worth it. I strongly encourage anyone that gets to the endgame and says “now what” to themselves to complete this course. This course will not make you an expert, nor is it a broad endgame course. It’s essentially, while not advertised as one, a course on how to launch a minority attack. There is of course more in there, but it’s overwhelmingly focused on the minority attack.
The course has a rather unique format that I haven’t seen before. Each chapter is Kieth going through one of his games. He typically goes through the opening and middlegame fairly quickly and then focuses on the endgame. Most chapters averaged around 30-45 minutes, which is just about right for one sitting. The chapter list is self-explanatory as to the subjects, but what weaves them together is when and when not to launch a minority attack.
While it’s unique to have one game per chapter, the real unique quality of the course is having a cohost working with Kieth each chapter. My guess is that Kieth is not the best with computers or needs someone to help focus him. Either way, it works for the course. The cohosts do a good job of slowing Kieth down and asking questions that viewers may have. As with most grandmasters or experts in any particular field, it can be hard for them to relate to the average student. The cohost interjections did a great job of slowing things down when it got a little fast or Kieth made assumptions about the viewer’s ability to see lines.
Notwithstanding the above, the cohost format was slightly distracting. There were a couple of side trails and bantering sessions back and forth that were somewhat distracting. Overall though, it was more positive than negative overall for the course though. I also found one of the chapters that they apparently filmed after lunch on a hot day to be entertaining. It looked like Kieth was about to fall asleep during filming.
Overall, this course is a must for anyone wanting to understand the minority attack. It’s also entertaining and does not include lines and lines of theory and endless variations It’s an insight into an endgame expert’s mind. It’s not going to teach you theoretical endgames, but rather a way to think about the endgame. I saw immediate results in my games. One game I played b4 in the Caro-Kann at the right moment, per the computer anyway. Normally, I would have played several other pieces’ moves first. The same day I took the “don’t get in a hurry” motif from the course to win an endgame by moving a pawn one versus two squares forward.
Bottom line: this is worth the money and time, but only if you watch the video version.