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Years later when I had won an important game because of superior ideas and judgment, I realized that the GM's comment was very superficial because he didn't likely win many games in the opening. It is in the realm of judgment and understanding that players progress up the ladder. One area that is especially difficult for many players is "closed positions": positions that come from flank openings or Queens Gambits that give you the feeling that you're not sitting in the chair quite right. Those positions have become the bread and butter of generations of titled players and the bane of aspiring folks in clubs. Ultimate Chess Strategy Book: Vol. 1 attends to the problem with a firmly guiding hand. The authors have taken 90 games, found a position in each where a player had to make a defining decision about the course of the game, then provided the reader with that position and some choices. After the reader has made a choice, he moves to the second part of the book where the solutions are provided and can find the authors' comments on each of the choices, as well as following the course of the rest of the game. This "pick a move" format is not new, yet the solutions section makes the exercise much more complete. An explanation as to why or why not a move is made is clearly outlined by a player of GM strength. The remaining portion of the game after the critical position is delivered with some notes that help to hinge back to the critical position. I would like to stress that actual calculation of tactical variations is almost non-existent in the exercises, making the matter of judgment of paramount concern. Closed positions by their nature are slow moving tapestries that unfold to the whims of both contestants. It is the nature of how a player finds the ideas that comes under consideration here. Unlike calculating tactics, which can be practiced quite easily, finding the larger ideas requires the player to have an eye for why some features of the position are important or what circumstances will be better for undertaking some operation, as well as knowing what tactics are at hand. For many of us the level of understanding which we attain is a matter of experience and work. This book helps by taking our hand and giving us the guidance to appreciate the magic that is happening on the chessboard. One example is Test 43 - Petrosian-Liublinsky Moscow 1949. The game started 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bg5 c5 4.e3 Be7 5.Nbd2 d5 6.c3 Nbd7 7.Bd3 0-0?! 8.Ne5 Nxe5 9.dxe5 Nd7 [diagram]
The choices offered are 10.Bxe7 and 10.Bf4. In the Solution section it is offered that 10.Bf4 is a better choice because Black has less space and exchanges help the cramped side. No long string of variations, just a simple snapshot into the reasoning behind a single move. The course of the game is provided with excellent notes that describe how the game followed from that decision. A simple example to be sure and I must confess that I was very familiar with the game, as any Torre Attack player would be; still it expresses that good players really don't make moves routinely or by mentally flipping a coin. With 90 examples of such work, this book takes a good step forward to helping players become better in "closed" openings. The exercises are ordered by degrees of difficulty. I must say that I can't offer any opinion on that, as it did not strike me that certain groups of tests were more difficult than any other group. I was intrigued by the number of Karpov games included; perhaps his play has been under-appreciated by the general public. I was surprised to find about half a dozen games that begin 1.e4 , hardly the move we associate with "closed" positions. This is the first book I have seen from either of the authors, but it seems that Gambit tabbed the right names. I hope to see more from Romero and de la Nava in the future. As always Gambit has made the book very easy to read and work with, excellent spine and cover, good clear pages and nice sized margins.
I do not think this book would be
very good for players below A-level (under 1800 USCF), and might be too much
for A-players as well. Yet, if a player is willing to put in the effort and
is confident in his or her approach, this book is excellent. From the Publisher's website:
Download a pdf file with a sample from the book. |
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