Iniciando o SQL SERVER 2005, você pode fazer isso...
USE AdventureWorks;
GO
WITH OrderedOrders AS
(
SELECT SalesOrderID, OrderDate,
ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY OrderDate) AS 'RowNumber'
FROM Sales.SalesOrderHeader
)
SELECT *
FROM OrderedOrders
WHERE RowNumber BETWEEN 10 AND 20;
ou algo assim para as versões 2000 e abaixo ...
SELECT TOP 10 * FROM (SELECT TOP 20 FROM Table ORDER BY Id) ORDER BY Id DESC