A Fresh Look at Chess

Publisher: ISHI Press
Author: Ludek Pachman
Year of Publication: 2012 (Reprint) Pages: 185
Notation Type: Descriptive (DN)


Book Description Continuing his major work on strategy and tactics in modern chess, the internationalyl renowned Grandmaster, Ludek Pachman, now turns his attention to the play of the pawns and the achievement of control of the center squares. Though the pawns are the weakest pieces in chess, their importance in determining the character of the attack (and defense) and the development of strategic play cannot be underestimated. Pawns are essential to the protection of important squares and pieces. They are the best means of blockading enemy pawns and when correctly deployed, their advance can open vital files and diagonals, thereby creating weaknesses in the opposite position. Despite its limited power, the pawn has one special advantage over other pieces in that it can be promoted when it reaches the eighth rank; a successful pawn advance can completely change the balance of power and the outcome of a game. Pawns have aptly been described as "the soul of chess." Vital of chess mastery is a basic understanding of the importance of control of the center squares. The effectiveness of the pieces depend upon the strength of their position and center control creates a vital sapatial superiority. The effective play of the pawns and center control have been touched upon on other works, but seldom with the insight and lucidity revealed in this second volume of Pachman's masterwork.

Tigran Petrosian (1929-1984) was World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969 and was one of the strongest players in the world throughout his lengthy career. Petrosian was a Candidate for the World Championship on eight occasions (1953, 1956, 1959, 1962, 1971, 1974, 1977 and 1980).

This is a reprint of the 1891 edition of "Chess Praxis" by Howard Staunton. This book contains so much valuable infomation about chess and chess players that it has never gone out, and never will go, out of style. This book is especially noteworthy because of the sections of the games by Morphy.

The battle for the World Chess Championship has witnessed numerous titanic struggles that have engaged the interest not only of chess enthusiasts but of the public at large. The chessboard is the ultimate mental battleground and the world champions themselves are supreme intellectual gladiators.

In this authoritative reissue of one of the most important chess books ever written, the great Bobby Fischer takes the reader move by move through 60 of his most instructive and entertaining games, including the astounding 'Game of the Century' played when he was only 15 years old!

Grandmaster Edmar Mednis, a world expert on the endgame, shows how to proceed in the minimum number of moves from the opening to a favorable endgame, essentially bypassing the middlegame. He discusses 11 different openings, including both open and closed systems, in each case explaining the best routes to particular endgame positions. These positions are then analyzed, using master games to illustrate various winning plans. Because of the clear exposition of endgame principles, the student will learn not only about these specific positions, but also about endgame play in general.

Paul Keres — "the greatest player never to have been world champion" — was a legendary figure in chess. The depth of his conceptions and the elegance and beauty of his play rank him among such immortals as Alekhine, Tal, Bronstein, Botvinnik, and Bobby Fischer.

The battle for the World Chess Championship has witnessed numerous titanic struggles which have engaged the interest not only of the chess enthusiasts but of the public at large. The chessboard is the ultimate mental battleground and the world champions themselves are supreme intellectual gladiators.

This magnificent compilation of play from the 1960s through to the 1970s forms the basis of the third part of Garry Kasparov's long-awaited definitive history of the World Chess Championship. Garry Kasparov, who is universally acclaimed as the greatest chessplayer ever, subjects the play from this era to a rigorous analysis, the examination being enhanced by the use of the latest chess software.