| The Art of Planning in Chess: Move by Move The English GM Neil McDonald is turning into a modern Irving Chenev. Older readers will remember classics like Logical Chess Move by Move and The Most Instructive Games of Chess ever Played where Chernev annotated a series of classic games with instructive comments after every single move. Now with Chess: The Art of Logical Thinking and his new title, The Art of Planning in Chess: Move by Move ( Batsford 2006 - www.anovabooks.com, paperback, 247 pages, figurine algebraic, $21.95) McDonald has made himself the contemporary favorite of many aspiring players who like this learning format. McDonald offers plenty of insightful commentary and more concrete variations than Chernev, must not so much as to lose the reader. The Art of Planning in Chess: Move by Move offers thirty six instructive and well-annotated games with an emphasis on finding the right plan. The games are played some of the world's best including Kasparov, Kramnik and Crafty. Yes, I am afraid that one of the Silicon Oracles made the cut and I don't think it will be the last time. McDonald has written a book that should find two audiences. Those looking to improve who follow the sage counsel that playing over well-annotated games is a guaranteed method to get better will be pleased with The Art of Planning in Chess: Move by Move. So will lovers of fine chess that like nothing better than to play over good games with proper notes. Recommended Secrets of Chess Endgame Strategy Secrets of Chess Endgame Strategy ( Gambit 2006 - www.gambitbooks.com , 223 pages, paperback, figurine algebraic, $26.95) by the Danish GM Lars Bo Hansen deals with that part of endgame play that is less examined. It is well known that to play endgames properly you must have both concrete knowledge of basic positions and the ability to play those with more pieces on the board. Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual is an example of a book that does a great job of teaching fundamental endgame theory. But what does one do before they reach Rook and Pawn versus Rook? How does one learn to play more complicated endgames, ones that often cannot be analysed to a forced result? Secrets of Chess Endgame Strategy is not the first book to deal with this topic. The Belorussian writer Mikhail Shereshevsky has visited this territory on more than one occasion, but GM Hansen has his own way of presenting the material. A semi-pro, who still manages to keep his rating over 2550 despite the responsibilities of work and family, Hansen uses his excellent endgame abilities to to help make up for the lack of sharpness in his opening repertoire. In Secrets of Chess Endgame Strategy he tries to share some of his secrets. This book is divided into three parts. The first, almost 40 pages, deals with general principles and covers many familar topics such as the power of the two Bishops and the role of Rook activity in the endgame. The second, the meat of the book, over 140 pages, deals with the role of the pawns in the ending and then moves on to examine various material distributions. The final part of the book returns to a theme the author dealt with in his previous work, Foundations of Chess Strategy. Hansen uses his classification system (activists, reflectors, pragmatists and theorists) to show how equally strong GMs may not treat certain positions the same, that stylistic preference can extend to non-theoretical endgames. Secrets of Chess Endgame Strategy is a challenging book that cannot fail to improve the understanding of any player below 2400 FIDE. I can easily imagine a player jumping one rating class after studiously going through this book and Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual. Recommended The Queen's Indian The second volume in Gambit's new Chess Explained opening series is GM Peter Wells' The Queen's Indian Explained (Gambit 2006 - www.gambitbooks.com, 127 pages, paperback, figurine algebraic, $19.95). Like the first volume in this series by GM Yermolinsky on the Classical Sicilian, the present book is aimed at the aspiring player who lacks a coach and needs a guide to explain what is important in the opening, what the reliable variations are and what typical middlegame plans crop up time and time again.Wells does all this and more in a book that is a pleasure to read for players 1800 on up to Grandmaster. The Queen's Indian Explained features 25 recent games (mostly 2002-2006) that are thoroughly annotated with a nice combination of prose explanation and concrete variations as needed. Each chapter features an overview at the beginning and a summary at the end. Despite having only 127 pages Wells manages to do a fine job of covering all that is important. He accomplishes this by treating less popular lines concisely. The old main line 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Nc3 Ne4 8.Qc2 Nxc3 9.Qxc3 gets only one game and 4...Bb7 in entirety four while the modern and dynamic merits 4...Ba6 gets twice as many. That seems a pretty fair division considering modern tournament play. Wells continues this emphasis on dynamic lines in his treatment of the Queen's Indian/Nimzo Hybrid where he gives primary coverage to1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.Nc3 Bb4 including the trendy 5.Bg5 Bb7 6.Nd2!?. Black defenders are given the no frills essentials to sidelines like 4.e3 and 4.Bf4. This book is not an encyclopedia on the Queen's Indian nor is it for those who wish to face it as White, but it is a tremendously useful guide for those who wishg to play this opening as Black. Wells makes a convincing case that the Queen's Indian is not the boring and drawish opening that it is sometimes made out to be. Strongly Recommended |