Elements of Chess Strategy - Softcover

Kosikov, Alexei

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1906454248 ISBN 13: 9781906454241

Publisher: Gambit Publications, 2010

Synopsis

Forming a plan is the most important goal of logical chess thought. Without a good plan, we are reduced to tactical opportunism, rather than harnessing the power of our pieces to achieve specific tasks and make methodical progress towards victory.

However, few chess-players - even those fortunate enough to have a trainer - develop a disciplined approach to planning. In this book, one of the world's leading chess teachers provides step-by-step guidelines for identifying the features of a position onto which our strategy should be latched. He adopts a thoroughly modern approach, recognizing that the opponent will have his own plans and be attempting to disrupt ours. The effectiveness of Kosikov's methods - in particular the STEPS algorithm - is shown by his pupils' over-the-board proficiency.

Having presented the basics of orderly strategic thinking, Kosikov shows them at work in a variety of middlegame and endgame situations, especially the strategic minefield of minor-piece play. Examples are taken from both classic games and modern grandmaster play, together with instructive moments from games by the author's pupils.

About this title

About the Author

Alexei Kosikov is a chess master from Ukraine who has enjoyed an illustrious career as a chess trainer. He has nurtured a vast array of chess talents, including nine who have achieved grandmaster titles, perhaps most notably Vladimir Baklan and Dmitry Komarov. He has written extensively about chess - and combinations in particular - and was a frequent lecturer at the Yusupov/Dvoretsky elite chess school, to whose training manuals he also contributed.

Edition details

• Publisher: Gambit Publications
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1906454248
• ISBN 13: 9781906454241
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 144