Customer Reviews

The Art of the Middle Game (Dover Chess)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a breif review of what this book contains and how usefull it will be to various players. It is writen in descriptive notation (i.e. P-K4), which is difficult to muddle through in our modern, algebraic world, but wonderful fruits will flow from its examination.

Part one is relatively simple, concerning itself with basic planning and the attack on the king in various positions. (Another excellent book on this is 'Art of Attack in Chess' by Vladmir Vukovic in algebraic notation, which is considerably larger.)

Part two is more complex, discussing how to defend difficult positions and pawn configurations in the center. Keres' section on defence is, relatively speaking, a masterpiece and contains many ideas that are virtually indispensible. The section on pawns is also very informative though not exhaustive on the role of pawns. (Hans Kmooch's book 'Pawn Power in Chess' is certainly more in-depth concerning pawn positions that cover the entire board, but it has the special detraction of being almost incomprehensible due to its excessive complexity and needless terminology.)

Finally, part three is generally for the more advanced player. Called 'The Art of Analysis', it concerns mental computation in conjunction with written variations (particularly concerning the endgame). Not for the weak of heart, this section would probably intimidate most novices because the numerous variations often stretch to 20 moves or more. That is not to say that it isn't valuable - on the contrary, this section provides valuable study by any player of any strength, but only relatively strong players will reap the fullest benifits of its study.

Then this is the book for you! Be prepared to do more than read this book. The ideas it plants in your chess brain are the seeds of future success. Keres, with Kotov, two great players of the past have put to paper chess lessons for the ages. Don't worry about the descriptive notation, if you can figure out 12 moves of some obscure King's Indian line then you can master an old way to record moves. Keres' section on defending difficult positions is worth the price of the book alone. Add in his section on the art of analysis and we have a true winner. Granted, adjoured games have gone the way of the wind in many cases but this is still good fertile ground for the correspondence player and for over the board tournament players because it goes into how to assess a position and the ramifications of your decision. Read the book and you will never look at one of your games the same way. Kotov's sections are good too but they are just a bonus for a book that doesn't cost much but is full of instruction and in how a great Grandmaster (Keres) thinks.

Written in descriptive notation (wish they would update it to algebraic, but since this book is written for Intermediate or or Advanced players, this should not be a biggie) 'Art of the Middlegame' will help you formulate a 'plan'. Actually written by several top notch Grandmasters taking on certain chapters, each one teaches what they consider to be important themes (ranging from defending a difficult position to strategy and tactics in attacking the King). Books that will go along well with this are those with complete games containing good middlegames (suggested: "Unbeatable Chess lessons for Juniors", "More Unbeatable Chess" and "Understanding Chess, move by move" - for advanced players).

Conclusion: If you are rated 1500+, want to improve your ability to plan, and don't mind descriptive notation "The Art of the Middle Game" would make an excellent choice.

The chapters by Kotov on attacking the king and pawn structures aren't bad. In particular, he covers attack in a way I've seen no other author do. The chapters by Keres on defending difficult positions and the art of analysis are phenomenally good. The chapter on analysis examines minutely half a dozen adjourned positions. I have to admit I have found errors here and there,in sub-lines, using Fritz. What is staggering is there are so few errors. The first adjourned position, against a player by the name of Szapiel, takes up twenty pages. Keres brings to light the subtleties and finesses involved in an ostensibly simple position. A salutory reminder to every chessplayer to look below the surface.

Buy the book if you don't already have it. My gratitude to Dover for keeping the book in print.

I am a chess teacher, and have been one for a long time. I have many students, both locally and hundreds on the Internet.

If there were one book you could buy as a primer to the middlegame, this would have to be it.

Virtually every reasonable topic is tackled; most standard mid-game positions are covered. Keres shows you how to attack the King: when it is caught in the center; how to attack a King, based on an open file; how to weaken the King's enemy pawn cover to initiate an attack; how to use the 2 Bishops to attack your opponent's King; how to sacrifice to expose the King ... I could go on and on, but I trust by now you get the point. The positions were carefully chosen by the author, indeed they are probably the result of the famous 'Russian School' of chess.

Some of the material is slightly dated, but as a Master and a professional chess teacher, this makes little difference.

You should already know the 20-30 basic mating positions; Keres does NOT cover them here. (See D. Kopec's book, "Practical MiddleGame Techniques," for these in detail.)

A word of warning, the book I just got (a local student purchased one copy for me and one copy for himself); is in descriptive notation. Many students are somewhat put off by this, indeed I think it is time for a good writer to bring out an algebraic edition of this book.

My experience is that the serious students who will apply themselves will definitely profit from this book. With almost no conditions! (I do NOT think the absolute beginner should tackle this book ... see my website for a list of books for each class of player. A real beginner should probably get "Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, " first, and then Fred Reinfeld's, "The Complete Chess-Player.")

This is one of my favorite books on the middle-game. IF you finish this book, and want more, Fine's book on the middlegame, and Euwe's book would be a good next step. (IF ... they are available!) Then you might be ready for GM Larry Christiansen's excellent book, "Storming The Barricades," which is a fantastic book on this subject.

Overall this is probably the best single book on the middlegame, and I would have gladly awarded it five stars, if it were available in algebraic notation.

This book is not only a great buy but a great instructional book. Kotov does an excellent job on pawn storming the king and how to play in different pawn positions. Keres breaks down a position meticulously, explaining ideas that most annotators would just give mind numbing lines. The examples used are beautiful and instructive. Definately a must buy! By the way, I bet this book had a big influence on Jeremy Silman's Reassess Your Chess.

Previous reviews have already listed the contents of this book, however, I believe a bit more disclosure might be helpful. Firstly, this book is old. And although the material covered is certainly essential knowledge, the methods of instruction therein are somewhat dry. Secondly, the notation is not algebraic but rather the confusing descriptive sort. For the class C-B player, this text may prove noticeably useful. But for class A players and above, I might suggest a more thorough survey into each of the general topics essayed in "Art of the Middle Game." A few suggestions would be "Pawn Structure Chess," "The Art of Chess Analysis," and "The Art of Attack in Chess." In agreeing with what has been said before me, the essay on defending difficult positions is exceptional. All considered, this book is a very good book inasmuch that it does offer a lot of important information all in one small volume.

Another reviewer said that the chapters by Keres are outstanding. I would, rather, emphasize the chapters by Kotov!

The chapters by the legendary Keres are good, yes. But Kotov's Chapter 2, "Strategy and Tactics of Attack on the King," is to me the most valuable chapter in the book: very clear and shows you the methods of play needed for success in these positions, ESPECIALLY in opposite-wing castling scenarios. Many authors will simply say "when the kings are castled on opposite sides, it is a race" or something to that effect. Kotov does a much better job than this!

Kotov's Chapter 4, "Various Pawn Positions in the Centre," is good for orienting advanced beginners/intermediate players on how to play with various types of pawn centers.

Overall, I don't think this is a great, great work in chess literature. It gets a ton of praise because Kotov and Keres wrote it (with a decent chapter by IM Golombek, I might add), but it is not a bad work by any stretch. I would recommend reading it.

This is a good book. I think each chapter deserves a praise, especially Keres' two chapters about Defense and Analysis. Comparatively, Keres' chapters are better than Kotov's. The latter's chapters are just like a textbook, not as vivid as Keres'. Also, Keres' analysis is far better than Kotov's. Anyway, if you have played more than 100 games and are eager to improve, read this book. By the way, if you read this book, find other cheap and good books published by Dover at Amazon. I really appreciate Dover's contribution to chess fans.

This book is certainly one of my best books in my chess library. It contains all of the information needed for you to succesfully survive the Middle Game. Before I read this book I was always lost in the Middle Game, I didn't know how to create a plan! I was rated about 1400 and today I have 2150 in ICC (Internet Chess CLub). I'm thankful to have this book because it really helped me since in my country, chess is very weak. want MIDDLE GAME? then BUY this!