GAPRINDASHVILI - Critical Moments in Chess

Un classique constamment réédité depuis bientôt 40 ans. Le sujet exclusif en est l'attaque sur le roi - avec tout de même, ce qui est bien le moins, un chapitre sur la défense de ce même roi sauvagement agressé. Cibles, outils (i.e. les différentes pièces), moyens (les lignes d'attaque), timing... Tout est passé en revue dans ce gros pavé, qui reste la somme définitive sur le sujet.

Sergei Tiviakov was unbeaten in a streak of more than a hundred chess games as a professional player. Who better to share the secrets of Rock Solid Chess and the activity and value of pieces than Tiviakov?

The highly acclaimed first volume of his chess strategy trilogy dealt with pawn structures. In this second volume, Sergei moves on to discuss piece play and unique chessboard situations. Topics covered include the bishop pair, opposite-coloured bishops, centralization and the almost-ignored question of when and whether to castle.

Tiviakov also demonstrates how the value of pieces can vary drastically depending on their exact position. He shows how the entire assessment of a position, and the correct strategy for playing it, can be changed by moving a single pawn from one square to another.

In the final chapters, Tiviakov discusses how to play cramped and passive positions, how to play for a win with Black and how to choose your strategy, based on the opponent’s style and other psychological factors.

Illustrated with examples from classic games and from his own games, and supported by instructive exercises, Volume Two of Rock Solid Chess offers invaluable and unique instruction on topics not covered in traditional textbooks. These strategy lessons will significantly improve your chess and are suitable for all readers, from club players to grandmasters.

Sergei Tiviakov is a grandmaster, Olympic gold medallist, three-time Dutch Champion and European Champion.
Yulia Gökbulut is a FIDE Women's Master, chess author and sports writer from Turkey.

251 pages

Georgy Lisitsin (1909-72) was a respected Soviet master, theoretician and writer. In 1958 he published a revised edition of his most ambitious work, entitled Strategy and Tactics of Chess, which became one of the most legendary manuals in the Soviet chess school, and no doubt one of the books that motivated the young Bobby Fischer to learn Russian.

Lisitsin broke down Strategy and Tactics into their key constituent elements, enabling players of all levels to study chess systematically, learning from carefully selected game fragments and studies. Key Elements of Chess Tactics and its companion volume Key Elements of Chess Strategy are the first ever complete English translations of Lisitsin’s classic.

In Key Elements of Chess Tactics, Lisitsin illustrates key tactical concepts such as pinning, discovered attacks and checks, deflection, interference and many more, building a foundation before moving on to more complex and beautiful tactical themes. Hardcover 392 pages

A book for beginners or teachers. It's a well-done book, the author is a famous professor in the USA and more specifically in Illinois. His method seems clear: the study of simple positions with few pieces on the chessboard, and the further you go, the more you'll have pieces and complex positions to resolve. This method isn't really new, but it should work perfectly.

Un nouveau livre, mais une formule qui rappelle singulièrement les vieux “101” : 100 courts chapitres (2 pages pièce) chacun sur un sujet précis, deux exemples pour illustrer ledit sujet et zou, voilà un nouveau chef-d'oeuvre vite pondu Trêve de plaisanterie : l'ensemble se laisse lire et constitue une bonne introduction à des thématiques qu'on aura ensuite profit à approfondir via des ouvrages plus spécialisés.