One of the best chess books ever written! This is a timeless and extremely thorough study of all the methods of attack on the king. There are chapters on The Uncastled King, The Castled King, Focal Points, The Classic Bishop Sacrifice and much more. By way of examples Vukovic annotates some of the most stunning games ever played for this book, often uncovering mistakes in previously accepted opinions. If you want to learn how to attack successfully, read this book! pub. 1998, softback, 352 pages.
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An all time classic of chess literature in which Spielmann describes and analyzes various types of sacrifices in a systematic attempt to explain the theory of the chess sacrifice. Spielmann was one of the most attacking players of his time and includes many examples from his own play. A ground breaking work. pub. 1995, softback, descriptive notation 205 pages.
Learn to attack with the one of the greatest C20th attackers, Mikhail Tal! He and co-author Damsky illustrate the basic themes of successful attacking play such as Eliminating Defenders, Invasion Trajectories, Outpost etc. with numerous examples from master play. Test positions are scattered throughout and solutions given. The authors' aim is to point out typical attacking procedures and positional "symptoms" which indicate that an attack may be indicated. This was Tal's last book written before he died. Pub. 1994, softback, 188 pages.
Sacrifices are an essential part of chess. Those who never consider sacrificing will miss countless opportunities and find that promising positions repeatedly slip away. Players who do not appreciate their opponents' sacrificial possibilities will be unable to see danger signs, and find themselves on the wrong end of too many king-hunts. This book examines some typical sacrificial ideas such as those on b5, d5 and e6 in the Sicilian and sacrifices against the castled king position. Rather than merely cataloguing the various possibilities and providing examples, LeMoir discusses the possible follow-ups to the sacrifices, the defensive options against them, and the positional factors that might suggest whether the sacrifice will be sound or unsound. There are many important types of chess positions that can only be played well by those who understand the thematic sacrifices that are possible. Pub. 2003, softback, 256 pages.
World Champions, Grandmasters and other experts all agree that the art of chess calculation is the absolute key to the success of a player. Master this discipline and you can surely expect your results to improve dramatically. And yet there have been very few serious attempts in the past by chess authors to delve into this delicate topic, perhaps not surprisingly given its complexity and difficulty. In Excelling at Chess Calculation, Jacob Aagaard tackles the subject matter head on, unravelling the many secrets behind chess calculation and arming the reader with the necessary tools to be able to calculate effectively at the chessboard. Aagaard covers important topics such as visualization, thinking techniques, when to calculate and finding candidate moves. He pays particular attention to the searching practical questions like ‘when should you calculate?’, ‘how can you discover candidate moves?’ and ‘how long should you spend on critical moves?’ The final section contains 100 exercises in calculation with solutions at the end. A thorough study of this book will enable you to calculate with more confidence in future games. Pub. 2004, softback, 192 pages.
Why aren't you a top tactician? How does that "lucky hacker" at the club keep getting away with it? LeMoir shows that the key factors in becoming a deadly tactician are motivation (having the willingness to sacrifice and to consider tactical ideas during play), imagination (being aware of tactical concepts that lead to ideas which other players might miss) and calculation (being able to analyse and calculate effectively). He gives examples from some of history's great tacticians, showing the risks they were prepared to take in the quest for beauty and, finally moves on to the mechanics of tactical play: what you should be looking for, how to prepare sacrifices and tactical ideas you should be familiar with. Each chapter has test positions for solving and the final chapter is a series of diagrammed tests. This entertainingly written book is packed with practical examples to help elevate your game from the mundane to the sublime. Pub. 2002, softback, 240 pages.
Thinking methods are at the heart of the chess struggle, yet most players devote little conscious effort to improving their calculating ability. Much of the previous literature on the subject has presented idealized models that have limited relevance to the hurly-burly of practical chess. Here, experienced trainer Valeri Beim strikes a balance by explaining how to use intuition and logic together to solve tactical problems in a methodical way. He also offers advice on when it is best to calculate 'like a machine', and when it is better to rely on intuitive assessment. Part one of the book explains how to analyse positions logically and how to develop tactical skills. Part two examines some techniques which can be used to help calculate variations. Both sections end with a series of test positions (100 in all) for the reader to solve. Valeri Beim is a grandmaster who lives in Austria. This is his fifth chess book. Pub. 2006, softback, 175 pages.
This book is aimed at improving the reader's attacking skills through the use of diagrammed exercises. In six chapters English I.M. Simon Williams explains the most important attacking ideas, shows them in action, then gives you the chance to test your attacking play with through series of puzzles of varying difficulty. Solutions and explanations are included for each of the 249 test positions. Topics covered include: Attacking the King Caught in the Centre, Attacking the Castled King, Strike in the Centre, Time is Everything, Attacking on Opposite Sides and Expect the Unexpected. Can be followed without a chess set. Pub. 2004, softback, 160 pages.
Originally published in 1982 as "King Power in Chess" this is a fascinating look at the role of the king in middlegame play. World Champions such as Steinitz and Karpov have used the king actively in the middlegame and Tal has estimated it's middlegame value as about equal to a minor piece. Here are numerous examples, with text and analysis, of ways to utilize the king before the endgame arises. pub. 1999, softback, 181 pages.
The disease of chess blindness affects us all at times. Instead of just winning a pawn and settling for a clear advantage we play for a spectacular checkmate only to find that, one move from the finish, it doesn't work. This collection of 180 annotated examples of the great blunders of others serves as both a warning and a living example of what to avoid in the quest to play better chess. Relax and enjoy the misfortune of others! Pub. 2004, softback, 119 pages.
Foreword by Alexei Shirov
This book is concerned not with basic tactical ideas but with complicated tactical problems of the kind that arise in real play and often require hours of analysis to solve completely. The authors offer many examples from Grandmaster play, in depth analyses and exercises for solving that should help the reader to develop intuition, imagination and precision. Includes material on sacrificial attacks, attack and defence, fortresses, queen & knight, the bishop pair and many other topics. Aimed at strong club players and above. Karsten Muller is a German Grandmaster whilst Claus Dieter Mayer is a chess coach and I.M. Pub. 2002, softback, 259 pages.
Volume 2 of the series deals with the dynamic elements of middlegame play including the initiative, Attacking the King, How to Defend, Manoeuvring and Psychological Factors before concluding with examples of the style of various leading Grandmasters. Algebraic notation. pub. 1994, softback, 279 pages.
Rumanian Grandmaster Mihail Marin examines the preconditions which are necessary for an attack with the aid of some extensively annotated masterpieces of attacking chess. In a wide ranging discussion he considers subjects such as planning an attack, play on two wings, advantage in development, the balance between attack and defence, the premises for starting a successful attack, intuitive sacrifices and typical scenarios. An absorbing and painstaking work. Pub. 2005, softback, 192 pages.
