HOW CHESS GAMES ARE WON AND LOST (Lars Bo Hansen)
256
pages (248 mm by 172 mm).
£15.99/$29.95/€21,60
Traditionally, chess games have been divided into three
stages - opening, middlegame and endgame - and general principles presented for
how to handle each stage. All chess-players will be well aware that these
principles all too frequently fail to help in their selection of the best move.
In this important work, Lars Bo Hansen, grandmaster and
professional educator, presents chess as a game of five phases, and explains
the do's and don'ts in each: * the opening * the transition to the early
middlegame * the middlegame * strategic endgames * technical endgames *
With a wealth of examples from both his own practice and
that of his colleagues, Hansen discusses the typical mistakes and pitfalls, and
shows how to handle the subtleties unique to each stage. He also advises on how
to work on your chess in each aspect of the game. Of special value is his
explanation of how to study typical middlegames, and that middlegame
preparation - a neglected area for most players - is both possible and
necessary.
Lars Bo Hansen is a well-known grandmaster from
Denmark. He has won the Danish Championship on two occasions, and represented
his country in four olympiads, winning a bronze medal for his individual
performance in 1990. His many tournament victories include first prize in the
strong Copenhagen Open in both 1997 and 2000. Away from the board, he teaches
and lectures on business studies, with a particular focus on marketing,
organization and strategy.
Download a pdf file with a
sample from the book.
"...contains good, fresh examples, and the writing is
instructive and fluent, making the book easy to understand. Because of the many
diagrams the book could be read without a board and pieces. Hansen's
recommendations appear straightforward, and when you read them through, you
immediately want to test your new-found skills in practice - and what could be
a better recommendation for a book than that?" - Marko Tauriainen, Suomen
Shakki
"Hansen illustrates the five stages of a chess game with
insight and clarity" - Bill Whited, www.chesscountry.com
"I buy chess books in hopes of finding a treasure - the
improvement of my chess game. With each book I usually find a clue that gets me
closer to the treasure of a better understanding and better results. If I'm
lucky, I find a couple clues-which I can understand and incorporate into my
game. But with How Chess Games are Won and Lost, I found an easy to read
map of almost all the clues that promises to significantly improve my entire
game. As stated in the first line of the Introduction, this is truly 'a book
about chess improvement.' It is jam-packed with clues, suggestions, examples,
directions, and instructions - everything you need to get to a higher level
(and maybe more) of chess. It is a treasure map for those wanting direction in
self training." - George S Eichorn, The Chess Reports no. 87 2009
"...will improve the chess strength of any amateur if he
takes good heed of the various pieces of advice of the extremely competent
Danish GM Lars Bo Hansen" - Dr W Schweizer, Rochade Europa
"...recommended for the ambitious and experienced player" -
Uwe Bekemann, www.bdf-fernschachbund.de
"Very rarely is so much good advice packed into one book.
Hansen considers the lessons to be learned from the way his opening repertoire
evolved, pawn structures, advice on swindling, defending, when to seek
counterplay, tactics, technical endgames and how to use computers to analyse.
This amongst many other ideas. What was particularly impressive to me was the
25 pages of discussion on how to play Queen's Gambit Exchange structures from
the point of view of Black and White. Really good stuff. This may be for the
advanced player (1800+), but it's a real treasure trove of ideas. It is very
rare that one volume can contain such a wide breath of information over the
whole spectrum of chess ideas without sacrificing depth. A true 'desert island'
chess book." - Munroe Morrison, Open File
"This book is written by a strong Danish Grandmaster and
discusses how you can improve your play by focused study. It does this by
explaining what you need to study for each of the five stages of the game:
opening, transition from opening to middlegame, middlegame, transition from
middlegame to endgame, and finally the endgame. He breaks the book up into
these sections because how you study each of these parts of the game is
completely different. He finishes the book with a section on practical tips.
Hansen uses examples from his own games and from games of the strongest players
to explain techniques of study. He states that in Denmark there are not many
chess coaches and so for him to improve required him to work alone on his own
game. This book documents his experiences in detail. He uses recommendations
from other books and discusses them, adopting what he believes works and he
points out mistakes he has made in his own process of improvement. This book is
an important tool for both players and coaches. Very Highly Recommended." -
Paul Dunn, Australasian Chess
"Here you will find typical pitfalls and mistakes and how to
handle them. He also examines the subject of middlegame preparation, an area
terribly neglected by most of us. This strong Grandmaster from Denmark uses
many examples from his own play and writes lucidly and logically." - Carl
Portman, Defence Focus
"There are many excellent chess books on the market. For the
serious chess student, it's not always easy to choose between them. Sometimes,
it's worth picking up a book by an author you don't know yet. You may be
pleasantly surprised. … plenty of inspiring games and analysis, a highly
structured and coherent overview of the most important themes in chess with
good and often very recent examples, from a serious author who knows what he's
doing. Highly recommended." - Arne Moll, www.chessvibes.com
"...stands apart from the vast array of new chess books
seemingly published every few minutes now. Whereas most books are strictly
limited to a single phase of the game - typically openings, endgames or
tactics, here Hansen takes a more holistic approach to the game as a whole. But
rather than dividing a chess game into the typical three portions of opening,
middlegame and endgame, the author carefully examines what he describes as the
five stages of the game. This approach is reflected in his chapter divisions:
Ch. 1: The Opening
Ch. 2: Transition from Opening to Middlegame
Ch.
3: The Middlegame
Ch. 4: Transition from Middlegame to Endgame
Ch. 5:
Technical Endgames
Ch. 6: Practical Tips.
... well-written, entertaining
and informative book. I had not previously read anything by Lars Bo Hansen, but
I'm quite impressed with the clarity of his writing. For any player trying to
better grasp the intricacies of the five components of a chess game, this book
is a breath of fresh air." - Steve Goldberg, ChessCafe.com
"...a delightful modern chess manual." - GM Lubomir
Kavalek, Washington Post
"The time-factor in modern chess is one of many interesting
topics that are discussed" - GM Paul Motwani, The Scotsman
"...an impressively organised and well thought-out book
which flows beautifully and provides eminently sensible advice on how to work
on your game. ... A great many books have crossed this reviewer’s desk
this year but this is one of the very best. Highly recommended" - John
Saunders, BCM
"All together there is more text than moves and that makes a
learning book superb! ... This book truly helps you to become a chess master!"
- John Elburg, www.chessbooks.nl
"Hansen ... while drawing very much on his own experiences,
makes the autobiographical aspect subsidiary to his main purpose, which is to
provide the reader with a recipe of practical suggestions by which he can
improve his play. ... At the end of the day, as in all walks of life, time,
effort and motivation are key factors, but these three elements, allied to the
guidelines and suggestions set out in the book are a good basis for ensuring
future success. It's up to you now!" - Alan Sutton, En Passant
"Readers will find an abundance of entertainment and
instruction in this excellent book." - Sean Marsh,
Marsh Towers
Gambit books by Lars Bo Hansen: Foundations of Chess Strategy, Secrets of Endgame Strategy, How Chess Games are Won and Lost, Improve Your Chess - by Learning from the
Champions. |
