Customer Reviews

Chess Middlegames: Essential Knowledge

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In this slender volume, Averbakh, a renowned Russian GM (?) and famed coach, surveys middlegame knowledge from a tactical perspective. The chapters cover such things as pins, forks, double attacks, etc. and provide definitions as well as examples. Averbakh does not discuss strategy except in the sense of aiming for pins, forks and double attacks and positional topics like weak squares, outposts and pawn structures are not on the menu. Although I've seen middlegame discussions limited to tactical themes before, I am puzzled that planning and positional chess were not included in a middle essentials but...anyway, you've been advised.

This is a great compact book, covering important middlegame concepts. Mostly of the tactical nature, such things as double blow, double attack etc. The book is broken into lots of small chapters so looking things up is pretty easy. What is important is that you learn basic concepts that you can expand on. He shows examples from games and other sources, teaching the idea as well as showing. This is almost a crib notes book to help you in the middlegame. If your over 2000 this book might not really be much use to you. I figure anyone U1800 can least learn something from this book. Just about anyone should be able to follow along and understand it. The book might only be 100 pages about, yet the content is better than most books that size. The Endgame Book in this series is also worth picking up. I think everyone should own a copy of this book. The price isnt really that bad for what you get in return. Not sure there is a better general idea middlegame book on market. If there is one, I really can't think of it. I have Art of Middlegame as well, which is a bit more advanced. This book is one of best gifts that I ever got to be honest.

In this book the author tells us so there are only 2 effective attacking procedures, which leading to success - the combined attack and double blow. This is very important and not quite understood, but if you mastery these techniques you might not be so dangerous, but much more carefully player.
If you want to make this book useful to you, you have to study it very carefully and minimum twice (it is thin - only 110 pages). All subjects are devoted to tactics, but there is one chapter devoted to strategy of attack. If you are "tactics scientific" you are in good place. In this book there are few useful mating attack mechanisms, it has showed coordination of the pieces and combinations - how it has born and how arises. I like to recover it because from time to time (once a 2-3 months), because each time I read it, I discover new things - particuraly how important is coordination of the pieces, how hidden treats are dangerous and complex to recognize (and to build) - sometimes they are very deep underground, but if you know how they build [what elements] and how to recognize them early, then you should not be afraid of them. I should note: sometimes complexity of chess combinations are sometimes very frustrating too see, but in closer look (and with much practice!) you can see and understand that they are "connected [composed] simple blocks".
This book contains 19 (short) chapters and has no any tasks to solve. Level of this book is not so high [it is not difficult; maybe a bit - especially for quite begginers].
Advice for begginers: when you study it carefully you might see that it is quite fine and nice. To the end of my opinion I can only say that this author is respected Soviet author... (he wrote great endings in 5 volumes 20 years ago).
I think this book is too expensive if you compare price to what it contains. If you want any good book about tactics and combinations you should to consider (best im my opinion): "Art of Attack in Chess" by Vladimir Vukovic or "One Thousand and One Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combinations".
IMPORTANT: Review of Paul Imseih (Sydney) [Complete waste of money, January 30, 2005] is right :-(. This book is really poor. If you have bag of money to waste you might buy it, but I think there are many books much better than this one (see a bit sooner). If you have to buy book of this author you might buy "Chess Tactics for Advanced Players" - this is really good book which is worth its money. But this "Chess middlegames - essential knowledge" with 100% certanity is not!
I gave it note 2 stars, because material might be interested (but not for 15$ - maximum 3 to 5$).

The theory of combinations based on contacts, as well is it's thesis that there are only two attacking procedures leading to success-the combined attack and the double blow- were very useful in my understanding of the middlegame. I think the criticism on the book not having strategy is unfounded. First, strategy without tactics is useless. Planing to occupy an open file or gaining space is useless if you get a knight fork and loose your queen. Strategy exists to create the possibility of tactics. Second, the title of the book is "Essential" not "Comprehensive" and I think what's in the book is more essential than knight outposts and other strategic concepts that become useless if you can't circumvent a tactical blow coming at you.

It didn't take long to realise that this book was the odd one out in my rapidly expanding chess book collection.

It's neither a classic to read nor a book to learn from such is the paucity of its material. There is far too little in this book and too lightly covered to be of any use to begginners or intermediates. Judging from its style, it would be of very limited value to more advanced players.

I'm very surprised that the book refers to middlegames at all as it has almost no material on development in the middlegame, how to create plans or execution of same.

Rather you will find a focus on a single theme of double attack/double blow. If the publishers had called this book "Double Attack - Essential Knowledge" it would have been far more accurate but far less sellable. Hence my feeling of being conned.

I could give several suggestions of much better treatises on the middlegame including Vukovic's "Art of Attack in Chess", "Secrets of Grandmaster Chess" by Nunn (for more advanced players), Silman's "How to Reassess Your Chess" or my current read - Euwe and Kramer's "The Middlegame".

The latter book is for serious chess study and leaves this Averbakh book for dead.

In short - there are many, many books far better than this trivial piece. Use your money on one of the other books instead.