 SECRETS OF MODERN CHESS STRATEGY (John Watson)
272 pages (248
mm by 172 mm).
£19.99/$29.95/€27,00
It is now seventy years since Nimzowitsch wrote his
monumental work My System. While it remains a fundamental work on chess
strategy, the way chess positions are handled has changed greatly since
Nimzowitsch's time - both refinements to existing ideas, and completely new
concepts. John Watson's book fulfils the need for a thorough, profound work on
the modern handling of chess positions, and how Nimzowitsch's theories - still
controversial and revolutionary at the time My System was written - have
been refined and used alongside classical concepts.
The first section of the book discusses how the
understanding of classical themes, such as pawn majorities, the centre, and
structural weaknesses, have been refined. Watson then moves on to discuss new
concepts, including the willingness of modern players to accept backward pawns
in return for dynamic play, the idea of a good 'bad' bishop, knights finding
useful roles at the edge of the board and the exchange sacrifice idea that
became prevalent with the post-war Soviet champions. This profound yet
thoroughly practical work is rounded off with sections on prophylactic
thinking, dynamism, modern concepts as they apply to the critical contemporary
opening systems, and some thoughts on the future of chess.
Download a pdf file with a
sample from the book.
Gambit books by Watson: The Gambit
Guide to the Modern Benoni, Secrets of
Modern Chess Strategy, Chess Strategy in
Action, Mastering the Chess Openings volume
1, Mastering the Chess Openings volume
2, Mastering the Chess Openings volume
3, Mastering the Chess Openings volume
4.
“...can, without resorting to hyperbole, be considered
a classic...” - GM Nigel Short, THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
“A masterpiece... its feast of featured themes is
wonderfully elucidated by very clear explanations and hundreds of illustrative
examples” - GM Paul Motwani, THE SCOTSMAN
“No one who reads this book can fail to learn
something... one of the best books to appear for a very long time” - Alan
Sutton, EN PASSANT
“A thoughtful and stimulating book providing the chess
student with revealing and original insights into chess thinking” - John
Saunders, BBC CEEFAX
“...may have as much influence on our future
understanding of chess as Nimzowitsch’s My System had” - GM
Simen Agdestein, VERDENS GANG
“Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy has the kind
of staying power and relevance that will bear reading and re-reading in decades
to come... belongs on the shelf of any serious chess student” - Randy
Bauer, RANDY’S REVIEWS
“No matter what your level of play, you will marvel at
the insights...Watson teaches you the classical rules of chess, and then
illustrates how those rules often must be broken” - Cecil Rosner, WINNIPEG
FREE PRESS
“An excellent work” - GM Lubosh Kavalek,
WASHINGTON POST
“We took copies to the Warren Stenburg Memorial in
Minneapolis... we sold every one of them. Word of mouth spread like crazy.
Highly recommended” - Bob Long, THE CHESS GAZETTE
“Marvellously written, scholarly and persuasive... the
best available discursive history of strategic developments in modern
chess” - John Hurley, SUNDAY TRIBUNE |
