Customer Reviews

Attacking Technique

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International Master Colin Crouch has a lot of good books to his credit and 'Attacking Technique' continues that admirable trend. Weighing in at a "mere" 105 pages, one is tempted to think there simply can't be that much Chess knowledge to be had within, but this book is a poster child for the oft-repeated maxim of not judging a book by its cover. Crouch approaches the topic like an arrow would a target. He starts with a chapter titled 'Basics of the Kingside Attack: The Three Piece rule" which outlines what I think is a unique but very sensible approach to formulating and coordinating an attack on the enemy king. He surmises, correctly, that "...In general, a successful kingside attack will need at least three pieces participating; one to be sacrificed and two to give checkmate." What a succinct and logical statement that will help a lot of novices understand what is necessary to have on deck before conducting an attack! In addition to such an erudite summary, he goes on to annotate a series of instructive games that serve to buttress his 'rule'.

One excellent chapter follows another. Chapter two details his characterizations of the game as having two "personalities": fighting chess and technical chess. This brings to mind the usual strategy versus tactics argument. Strategical operations seem to be what the author likes to term "fighting chess" (the jockeying for a better position) and once that is achieved, launching tactical operations (his "technical chess"). Crouch does a very good job of explaining the differences and goes on to give examples with well-annotated games. The wonderous thing is the precise brevity with which he explains that which some other authors have wasted reams of paper on. He is to be commended. After these come the following chapters: Sacrifices and Combinations; Piece Mobility: Breaking the Symmetry; Piece Mobility: The Center and the Flank; The Initiative; The Attack Goes Wrong and finally, Quizzes. In all these chapters, Crouch, to show proper attacking technique, uses the games of (then and still) rising superstar Alexander Morozevich as he hacked his way through the 1994 Lloyds Bank Masters tournament, ending with a 9.5/10 score against titled players!

The whole book is dotted with good advice on how to carry out attacks (and importantly, without prejudice to either the kingside or the queenside, a point he stresses and one that is well worth remembering). He highlights each important point with italicized text, a nice addition to an already superlative effort. In all, I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to start playing clean, surgical but imaginative chess. The kind of chess that creates tournament winners. The final "Quizzes" chapter enables the reader to show how well understood the text was (or wasn't!). A fitting companion to the attacking Bible: The Art of Attack by Vukovic.

This book has 8 chapters, totaling 105 pages, that cover attacking fundamentals as demonstrated through complete games from older, "classical" masters to current Grandmasters. The chapters, (Ch.1 Basics of the Kingside Attack, Ch.2 Technical Chess & Fighting Chess, Ch.3 Sacrifices and Combinations, Ch.4 Piece Mobility: Breaking the Symmetry, Ch.5 Piece Mobility: The Centre and the Flank, Ch.6 The Initiative, Ch.7 The Attack Goes Wrong, Ch.8 Quizzes) are clearly written, and the author emphasizes key points, lessons to be learned, and how one could do the same in one's own games. From the back cover: "This book will teach you to... * Exploit your opponent's weaknesses *Force home your advantage *Launch standard attacks *Handle desperate attacks *Know when and how to exchange off into a winning endgame " Personally, I think Attacking Technique may be of more long-lasting value than books on "opening x, y, z," in that at some point, in some position, everyone must attack.

This is still available as a new book at amazon.co.uk, and it may be worth getting there even for US players, as it's getting rare and pricey on this side of the Atlantic.

It's an excellent book on the basics of conducting an attack. Topics covered include the 3-piece rule(brilliant!), technical vs. fighting chess, sacs and combinations, piece mobility, the initiative, and refuted attacks.

Highly recommended before longer works like Art of Attack by Vukovic. It's perfect for club players, or those of us who find Mark Dvoretsky's serious works on similar topics tough to absorb.

Anything written by Crouch can be bought sight unseen; quality is assured. This book is no exception. A number of topics are presented which other writers have glossed over. One example is the fight for piece activity, which is a goal in itself, regardless of whether the opponent has weaknesses or not. Another example is the use of initiative. Though the book is thin, the density of ideas is high and there is much to ponder and digest. I'm now waiting for his book on defensive techniques.

What a shame this book isn't in print. Although the book is slim, the author gives plenty of good direct advice. The advice is focused on attack. This is not an openings book or a tactics book. There are a series of about 20 quiz positions in the rear of the book. Many of these center around a move that creates a positional weakness that can be attacked later.

An annotated example game (or two) is given as the body of each major theme. Attacking with the three piece method. When the attack goes wrong. Switching attack. Very useful. Very readable.

First off, I bought this book for $8 at a local book store. There's no reason that this book should be so darn expensive. It's not THAT good. It's just supply and demand. No single chess book will help you that much more than another one. It does provide simplified concepts, but again backing them up with tactical acumen is as important as knowing how to attack.