Müller: TACTICS, STRATEGY, POSITIONAL PLAY, DEFENSE Book package

Autor: Müller, Karsten
Verlag: Beyer
Erscheinungsjahr: 2018
Sprache: German
Buchumschlag: hardcover

Chess tactics

GM Karsten Müller's Chess Tactics occupies an excellent place among the practice and test books, as can be deduced from the success of the first English edition. The work, now available for the first time in German translation, brings together a total of 565 mental exercises from the field of tactics, taking into account all phases of the chess game. The first part of the book presents all conceivable elements and motifs of chess tactics in brief form and links each of these with a series of instructive exercises aimed primarily at advanced beginners. The second part offers test tasks of varying difficulty that appeal to ambitious club players right up to masters. The examples are mostly taken from contemporary tournament practice and are often at grandmaster level. Brief notes (solution aids) for the tests are offered in a separate chapter. Between the two main parts of the book, the author also presents a small selection of the most beautiful combinations in chess history as well as some tactical "pearls" from recent tournaments.

Since tactics are an essential element of the game, without which success is not possible, practicing and internalizing them is of paramount importance for every aspiring player. This book provides valuable help in preparing for any challenge of a tactical nature.

Chess strategy

Playing strategically in chess means planning long-term goals and, if possible, achieving them within a limited phase of the game. Strategic play is therefore essentially different from combination play, which uses tactical means to achieve short-term goals. It is in the nature of things that a strategy is led to success in small steps that are usually tactical in nature. Strategic and tactical approaches are therefore closely interwoven and cannot be clearly separated. As is well known, all good moves have a strategic purpose and most of them also have tactical elements.

This is the fourth and crowning final volume of Karsten Müller's series of textbooks and practice books devoted to the middle and endgame. Thematically closely related to the previous volume "Positional Play", this work aims to set further priorities in the area of ​​strategic game management and in turn guide the reader to improve and perfect themselves using numerous practice and test tasks. The authors' core topics include prevention, the right exchange, domination, exploiting an advantage, etc. This training course is undoubtedly aimed at advanced players who already have basic strategic knowledge, but who are also willing to work on their skills and develop them optimally through conscientious self-training. The player trained in this way will certainly show noticeable progress in the process of strategic decision-making at the board and will be able to gradually increase his success rate by choosing the right strategy in each case.

Positional play

Positional play is fundamentally different from combination play, which aims to quickly gain material or achieve checkmate through tactical maneuvers. Positional play, on the other hand, aims to gradually improve the position until it is ready for a decisive blow. With this step-by-step strategy, it is usually not possible to calculate or evaluate the moves precisely. In addition, there is often a choice between various healthy continuations, which requires the player to make a difficult decision. This decision can usually only be made on the basis of a deep understanding of positional play, sometimes simply intuitively from a feeling for position, which must first be developed and acquired through several years of playing practice.

This work aims to improve the player's positional play skills, sharpen positional awareness and help develop a feeling for the right strategic decisions. To this end, the author presents a large number of carefully selected, instructive practice and test tasks. The reader is encouraged to study these intensively and work out the solutions given later in the book (often continued until the end of the game). Numerous motifs associated with positional play are addressed: bad bishops, domination, undermining, prophylaxis, blockade, positional quality sacrifices, color complex weaknesses, etc. This training program is certainly aimed at advanced players who already have a solid basic knowledge. Anyone who has completed this training seriously will be noticeably better equipped to fight on the board when confronted with positional problems, the solution of which is essential for successful play.

defense

The art of defence has generally received less attention in chess literature than attacking play.

In this book, the authors have taken a special approach to defense by not only introducing the reader to the individual topics using instructive examples, but also motivating them to go to the "limits of their comfort zone" as solvers of selected exercises and brain teasers. The topics covered include:

- Principles and methods of the defender

- Defence against a king attack

- Neutralization of an initiative

- Saving the draw

- Passive or active defense

- the development of counterplay

but also questions that are otherwise only neglected, such as defense against the minority attack. A whole chapter is dedicated to one of the most resourceful and toughest defenders among the world champions, Tigran Petrosjan, and the German edition has been expanded to include a new chapter with current examples and test tasks. The exercises are aimed at experienced club players; if you take these "challenges" seriously, you will be rewarded with having significantly improved and consolidated your own defense skills. Only those who master defense and do not lose sight of it until the end of the game will ultimately succeed in the battle on the board!