The Road To Chess Mastery

One of the greatest chess legends of all time, Aron Nimzowitsch (1886-1935), is best known for founding the Hypermodernism school of chess, which emerged after World War I to challenge the chess ideologies of traditional central European masters. This first full-scale biography of Nimzowitsch chronicles his early life in Denmark, his family and education, and his fascination with the game that would become the focus of his life. Also included are explorations of his tournament games and records, his dispute with influential chess teacher Siegbert Tarrasch, and his role in the development of Hypermodern Chess. With detailed accounts of nearly 450 games and the only narrative of Nimzowitsch from 1914 to 1924, a period formerly cloaked in mystery, this volume offers the most thorough profile available of one of chess's greatest innovators.

Renowned grandmaster Artur Yusupov completes his course of chess improvement. Volume 1, The Fundamentals, showed club players the basic ideas they should know; Volume 2, Beyond the Basics, set off on the road to chess mastery, and now in Volume 3 we arrive at our final destination. Yusupov guides the reader using carefully selected positions and advice. This new understanding is then tested by a series of puzzles.

Today’s young players have benefited greatly from working with chess computers. There is little doubt that advanced software and electronic training programs have significantly contributed to the rise of the standards of play. But there is a negative side to this. Many young chess players see the computer as the ultimate response to nearly everything. They think that computer analysis is the best and the fastest way to find the truth in any position on the board. As a result, many of those players have gradually stopped thinking and analysing for themselves. Prominent Russian chess trainer Alexander Kalinin knows that what you need in order to make real progress in chess is not more computer input, but increased understanding. To fully digest all available data and to discover the ultimate secrets of chess you must dislodge your decision making from your addiction to the computer and (re)develop the habit of using your own brain. Kalinin helps players seeking the master title by showing how concrete knowledge leads to improved decisions at the board. A master must understand the importance of aesthetics, knows how to curb the influence of the computer, accepts that the classical heritage is essential in his development, learns the importance of human interaction in reaching analytical mastery and grasps how to spot and fight his weaknesses. Kalinin provides candidate masters with a wealth of study and training material. The large majority of that material has never been published before. Kalinin reveals the mistakes he himself made on his road to the master title. Most examples are taken from games of players who themselves are on the road to chess mastery.

Are you keen to improve your chess, but not sure how to go about it? Do you know how to make the most of your chess library? These questions, and more, are tackled in this practical book by Russian grandmaster Alexei Suetin