What is the best way to improve your chess results? Memorising an opening encyclopaedia, learning endgame theory, solving puzzle positions ... there must be an easier way. How about making the most of your existing talent?
In this book, John Nunn helps you to do precisely that. Drawing upon more than three decades of experience, he provides advice that will help players of all standards, playing styles and temperaments to achieve improved results. His methods take into account psychological factors and are firmly based on good common sense and the objectivity that ha made John Nunn one of the world's favourite writers in chess.
Topics include:
Content
005 Introduction
008 1 At the Board
008 Decision-making
008 The Tree of Analysis revisited
015 Evaluation functions
019 When to analyse
022 DAUT
027 Safety-nets
029 When the tactics have to work
031 Implicit commitments
035 Positional thinking
045 The method of comparison
047 Making your opponent think
050 Oversights and blunders
052 Warning signals
056 'Hard-to-see' moves
060 Time-trouble
063 Laziness
064 Determination
068 2 The Opening
068 Building a repertoire
070 Using opening books
071 Books on offbeat openings
083 3 The Middlegame
083 Good positions
089 Bad positions
099 Attack
099 'Inviting everyone to the party'
104 Over-sacrificing
106 Defence
113 4 The Endgame
113 King and Pawn endings
113 Opposition
118 The Réti manoeuvre
119 Triangulation
121 Expect the unexpected
123 Chess is more than counting
125 Rook endings
126 Rook and Pawn vs Rook
129 The extra Pawn
136 Positional advantage
139 Minor-piece endings
140 Knight endings
142 Bishop vs Knight endings
144 Bishop endings
148 Queen endings
148 Queen and Pawn vs Queen
153 The extra Pawn
156 Common endings without Pawns
156 Rook vs minor piece
159 Rook and minor piece vs Rook
165 Quick-play finishes
167 5 Using a Computer
169 Game databases
184 Playing engines
192 Limitations of Computer analysis
196 Case study 1: Poisoned Pawn
209 Case study 2: Rossolimo Sicilian with 3...g6
218 Online chess
220 6 Chess Literature
220 Choosing a book
222 Mistakes
244 Book review 1: Rapid Chess Improvement by Michael de la Maza
246 Book review 2: Basic Chess Endings by Reuben Fine
250 Recommended reading
253 Index of Names
255 Index of Openings
In this book, John Nunn helps you to do precisely that. Drawing upon more than three decades of experience, he provides advice that will help players of all standards, playing styles and temperaments to achieve improved results. His methods take into account psychological factors and are firmly based on good common sense and the objectivity that ha made John Nunn one of the world's favourite writers in chess.
Topics include:
- Defending difficult positions
- How to study the openings
- How to make decisions
- Avoiding common mistakes
- When to calculate
- Avoiding time-trouble
- Using chess books
- Making the most of computers
Content
005 Introduction
008 1 At the Board
008 Decision-making
008 The Tree of Analysis revisited
015 Evaluation functions
019 When to analyse
022 DAUT
027 Safety-nets
029 When the tactics have to work
031 Implicit commitments
035 Positional thinking
045 The method of comparison
047 Making your opponent think
050 Oversights and blunders
052 Warning signals
056 'Hard-to-see' moves
060 Time-trouble
063 Laziness
064 Determination
068 2 The Opening
068 Building a repertoire
070 Using opening books
071 Books on offbeat openings
083 3 The Middlegame
083 Good positions
089 Bad positions
099 Attack
099 'Inviting everyone to the party'
104 Over-sacrificing
106 Defence
113 4 The Endgame
113 King and Pawn endings
113 Opposition
118 The Réti manoeuvre
119 Triangulation
121 Expect the unexpected
123 Chess is more than counting
125 Rook endings
126 Rook and Pawn vs Rook
129 The extra Pawn
136 Positional advantage
139 Minor-piece endings
140 Knight endings
142 Bishop vs Knight endings
144 Bishop endings
148 Queen endings
148 Queen and Pawn vs Queen
153 The extra Pawn
156 Common endings without Pawns
156 Rook vs minor piece
159 Rook and minor piece vs Rook
165 Quick-play finishes
167 5 Using a Computer
169 Game databases
184 Playing engines
192 Limitations of Computer analysis
196 Case study 1: Poisoned Pawn
209 Case study 2: Rossolimo Sicilian with 3...g6
218 Online chess
220 6 Chess Literature
220 Choosing a book
222 Mistakes
244 Book review 1: Rapid Chess Improvement by Michael de la Maza
246 Book review 2: Basic Chess Endings by Reuben Fine
250 Recommended reading
253 Index of Names
255 Index of Openings