Chess Lessons: Solving Problems & Avoiding Mistakes - Softcover

Dvoretsky, Mark

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1941270700 ISBN 13: 9781941270707

Publisher: Russell Enterprises, Inc., 2018

Synopsis

“Success is a collection of problems solved.” – I.M. Pei, Architect

In this, his penultimate work, legendary chess instructor Mark Dvoretsky (1947-2016) explores identifying and dealing with problems on the chessboard.

“While working on the games that I have included in this book, I have sought to uncover their core ideas which are important for a chessplayer's improvement and demonstrate them as vividly as possible. Those may include both approaches to playing out certain typical situations and mastering various positional and tactical ideas, as well as improving technical skills and training an ability to search for decisions and to make them on the basis of the precise calculation of variations.

“The last two parts of the book are devoted to the specific forms of training that I routinely use during my lessons: analysis of games in the form of solving a string of consecutive tasks and playing out of certain specially selected positions.

“I hope that this book will be of help not only to high-ranking players at whom it is primarily aimed, but also to every reader who is serious about self-improvement and wishes to understand problems that grandmasters and masters face over the board and the ways they solve them; what are the reasons for errors they sometimes commit and how to avoid those mistakes.”

– Mark Dvoretsky, from his Foreword

About this title

About the Author

(1947-2016) is widely regarded as one of the best chess instructors ever. His books are routinely best sellers. He is probably best known for his "Endgame Manual" which many consider the best single-volume work on the endgame.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

A Stumbling Block

Ashot Nadanian is a multi-talented
man, and I have read his book Moyi
Shakhmaty (My Chess) with great
pleasure. He is an interesting player, an
informative and objective commentator,
and his writing style is “savory.” While
demonstrating his best games and
unexpected and spectacular ideas he has
carried out over the board, Nadanian
never tries to convince us that all his
novelties are impeccably correct and
supplies his readers with the results of
an objective analysis.
Nowadays, when everything gets
checked with help of the all-powerful
“iron friend,” it is only rarely that you
manage to cast doubt on the picture of
a struggle painted by a conscientious
annotator, to discover ideas that change
the perception of an examined game (I
do not speak here about picking on the
details or different approach to
controversial moments). Still, I did
manage to do this in one of the games
quoted in Nadanian's book, and the
results turned out to be so interesting
that I would like to introduce them here
for your consideration.

1.e2-e4 c7-c5 2.Ng1-f3 e7-e6
3.d2-d4 c5xd4 4.Nf3xd4 Bf8-c5!?

[Diagram]

An extremely rare continuation that
is nevertheless connected with quite a
concrete plan. Having developed his
bishop on the g1-a7 diagonal, Black is
going to advance to e7 with his knight
and, after castling, carry out f7-f5.
In his comments, Nadanian tells
about the origin of this move.
he Basman-Sale Variation. I have
included it in my opening repertoire
after having read an article by the
Croatian master Srdjan Sale in one of
the issues of New in Chess.
It is thought that the strongest
continuation is, as Kiril Georgiev played
against me in the 2000 European
Championship. He had also seen the
article in New in Chess and knew Sale's
recommendation.
As usual, after a while, certain
theoretical evaluations got corrected.
Ashot's reaction in the above-mentioned
game was not successful:
7...d5?, and after 8.N2b3, his position
became difficult. He should have
answered 7...Nxd4, for example, 8.Nc4
Qc6 9.Bxd4 Qxe4+ 10.Be2 Be7! 11.0-
0 Nf6 12.Bf3 Qf4 with unclear play
(Spasov-Sale, Zagreb 2012).

5.Nd4-b3 Bc5-b6 6.Nb1-c3
Ng8-e7 7.Bf1-c4

White hampers the freeing move 7...d5.

7...0-0 8.Bc1-f4 f7-f5!

[Diagram]

Edition details

• Publisher: Russell Enterprises, Inc.
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1941270700
• ISBN 13: 9781941270707
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 274