In this sequel to his instant classic, Arthur van de Oudeweetering presents players of almost every level with a fresh supply of easy-to-remember building blocks for their chess knowledge.
Pattern recognition is one of the most important mechanisms of chess improvement. It helps you to quickly grasp the essence of a position on the board and find the most promising continuation.
In short, well-defined and practical chapters, IM Van de Oudeweetering presents hundreds of surprising middlegame themes.
After working with this book, you will find the right move more often and more quickly!
To test your understanding, Van de Oudeweetering provides an abundance of exercises.
Content
007 Preface
010 Explanation of Symbols
011 Part I: Typical Manoeuvres
013 Chapter 1 Ladies First
018 Chapter 2 Réti’s Rifle
025 Chapter 3 Alekhine’s Gun
031 Chapter 4 Rocking King’s Rooks
037 Chapter 5 The Swinging Queen’s Rook
044 Chapter 6 Mysterious Rook Moves
049 Chapter 7 A Little Leap Forward
055 Chapter 8 The Modern King
060 Exercises Part I
063 Part II: Sacrificial Patterns
065 Chapter 9 Arturito’s Exchange Sac for... What?
071 Chapter 10 Brutal Exchange Sacs
077 Chapter 11 Don’t Move! (Your Knight)
083 Chapter 12 Open up! (the Centre)
089 Chapter 13 Sacrificium Universalis: g2-g4!
095 Chapter 14 The Weakest Link
101 Chapter 15 The Weakest Link Round Two
107 Exercises Part II
109 Part III: Breaking Pawn Moves
111 Chapter 16 The Other Dynamic Pawn Sac
117 Chapter 17 Firing at the Fianchetto
124 Chapter 18 ...b7-b5 - The Regular Guest?
130 Chapter 19 The Fearless Break
137 Chapter 20 A Versatile Pawn Sac
143 Chapter 21 The En-Passant Break
148 Exercises Part III
149 Part IV: Material Matters
151 Chapter 22 Lost Without a Queen?
157 Chapter 23 Major Pieces in the Twilight Zone?
163 Chapter 24 The Pair of Compensators
168 Chapter 25 The Bishop’s Monopoly
174 Chapter 26 The Lost Knight
181 Exercises Part IV
183 Part V: Play With Your Pieces! Stop the Counting
185 Chapter 27 Queen or Two Rooks: How to Choose?
190 Chapter 28 The Three Musketeers
196 Chapter 29 The Lonesome Queen vs Rook and two Pieces
203 Chapter 30 The People Versus the Queen
209 Chapter 31 When Two is Enough
217 Chapter 32 Two Minor Pieces or a Rook?
223 Chapter 33 Three Pawns for a Piece
229 Exercises Part V
231 Part VI: Bad Patterns
232 Chapter 34 A Nightmare Pawn Structure
238 Chapter 35 The Worst Knight
244 Chapter 36 Another Bad Knight
251 Chapter 37 Buried Bishops
257 Exercises Part VI
259 Solutions
277 Index of Players
281 Bibliography
283 About the Author
Pattern recognition is one of the most important mechanisms of chess improvement. It helps you to quickly grasp the essence of a position on the board and find the most promising continuation.
In short, well-defined and practical chapters, IM Van de Oudeweetering presents hundreds of surprising middlegame themes.
After working with this book, you will find the right move more often and more quickly!
To test your understanding, Van de Oudeweetering provides an abundance of exercises.
Content
007 Preface
010 Explanation of Symbols
011 Part I: Typical Manoeuvres
013 Chapter 1 Ladies First
018 Chapter 2 Réti’s Rifle
025 Chapter 3 Alekhine’s Gun
031 Chapter 4 Rocking King’s Rooks
037 Chapter 5 The Swinging Queen’s Rook
044 Chapter 6 Mysterious Rook Moves
049 Chapter 7 A Little Leap Forward
055 Chapter 8 The Modern King
060 Exercises Part I
063 Part II: Sacrificial Patterns
065 Chapter 9 Arturito’s Exchange Sac for... What?
071 Chapter 10 Brutal Exchange Sacs
077 Chapter 11 Don’t Move! (Your Knight)
083 Chapter 12 Open up! (the Centre)
089 Chapter 13 Sacrificium Universalis: g2-g4!
095 Chapter 14 The Weakest Link
101 Chapter 15 The Weakest Link Round Two
107 Exercises Part II
109 Part III: Breaking Pawn Moves
111 Chapter 16 The Other Dynamic Pawn Sac
117 Chapter 17 Firing at the Fianchetto
124 Chapter 18 ...b7-b5 - The Regular Guest?
130 Chapter 19 The Fearless Break
137 Chapter 20 A Versatile Pawn Sac
143 Chapter 21 The En-Passant Break
148 Exercises Part III
149 Part IV: Material Matters
151 Chapter 22 Lost Without a Queen?
157 Chapter 23 Major Pieces in the Twilight Zone?
163 Chapter 24 The Pair of Compensators
168 Chapter 25 The Bishop’s Monopoly
174 Chapter 26 The Lost Knight
181 Exercises Part IV
183 Part V: Play With Your Pieces! Stop the Counting
185 Chapter 27 Queen or Two Rooks: How to Choose?
190 Chapter 28 The Three Musketeers
196 Chapter 29 The Lonesome Queen vs Rook and two Pieces
203 Chapter 30 The People Versus the Queen
209 Chapter 31 When Two is Enough
217 Chapter 32 Two Minor Pieces or a Rook?
223 Chapter 33 Three Pawns for a Piece
229 Exercises Part V
231 Part VI: Bad Patterns
232 Chapter 34 A Nightmare Pawn Structure
238 Chapter 35 The Worst Knight
244 Chapter 36 Another Bad Knight
251 Chapter 37 Buried Bishops
257 Exercises Part VI
259 Solutions
277 Index of Players
281 Bibliography
283 About the Author