or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering
Sell Us Your Item
For a $1.20 Gift Card
Trade in
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Tell the Publisher!
I'd like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Color:
Image not available

To view this video download Flash Player

 

Perfect Your Chess [Paperback]

Andrei Volokitin , Vladimir Grabinsky , Steve Giddins
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

List Price: $28.95
Price: $22.85 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $6.10 (21%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Only 2 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Want it Tuesday, May 21? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
Image
Looking for the Audiobook Edition?
Tell us that you'd like this title to be produced as an audiobook, and we'll alert our colleagues at Audible.com. If you are the author or rights holder, let Audible help you produce the audiobook: Learn more at ACX.com.

Book Description

June 30, 2007
Andrei Volokitin is one of a rare breed of players: he achieved a ranking in the world's top 20 while still a teenager, playing dynamic and often brilliant chess. Although we cannot all aspire to emulate his achievements, there is much that we can learn from his training methods, his games and his general approach to chess. These topics are the subject of this book, written in collaboration with his trainer.

The core material of the book is 369 positions where the reader is given a task or asked a question. These tasks resemble those that players regularly face over the board, and are especially useful from a training viewpoint. Sometimes we are told we need to find a combination, but often the task is simply to decide on a move. It is for us to determine whether to play quietly or stake everything on a sacrificial attack!

The examples are all from recent years, and so even the most zealous reader of chess literature will have seen few of them previously. Many of the positions are from Volokitin's own games, so we get the 'inside story' on some truly spectacular chess. We are also presented with fine examples from Grabinsky's training files, carefully collected and graded over the years for their instructive merit. The commentaries and detailed solutions explain the key issues in each position, and also convey the authors' philosophy of chess and their love for the game.


Frequently Bought Together

Perfect Your Chess + Invisible Chess Moves: Discover Your Blind Spots and Stop Overlooking Simple Wins
Price for both: $40.81

Buy the selected items together

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Grandmaster Andrei Volokitin was born in 1986 in Lvov. In 2004, he won the Ukrainian Championship and was a member of the team that won the Chess Olympiad in Calvia. In the January 2005 rating list he was, at age 18, placed in the world's top 20 for the first time. He has won many prizes in junior championships and major international events.

International Master Vladimir Grabinsky is the coach of the Ukrainian youth team. In addition to Volokitin, his pupils include several other players who have achieved international titles at an early age.


Product Details

  • Paperback: 159 pages
  • Publisher: Gambit Publications (June 30, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1904600824
  • ISBN-13: 978-1904600824
  • Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 0.5 x 9.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #978,551 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
(6)
3.8 out of 5 stars
Share your thoughts with other customers
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
43 of 47 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars the best new tactic book in many years August 24, 2007
Format:Paperback
it's true (previous reviewer) that this book is hard, but if you are over 1800, it's also AWESOME. the section called make a move-- its premise is that strategy, calculation, opening prep, etc. is all fine and well, but the real characteristic of a strong player is the ability to make really good moves a lot of the time. i read this and wasn't impressed, but when i looked at each problem, the same thing would happen: 1. i wouldnt see the solution. 2. i'd start thinking about some interesting tension or possibility. 3. i'd think "wait, can move x possibly work?" 4. i'd start looking at move x, and realize it's UNBELIEVEABLY STRONG. and after making move x, the opponent basically has to resign. There are 125 examples of this, all excellent and previously unpublished. (I'm so completely sick of seeing the same Capablanca problem in every stupid book)
other sections are almost as great. find the win has examples where you are better but have to find some way to clarify the position. very useful for me-- im always self-destructing in good positions.
answer a question has nice, unusual questions (ex: what's the best square to move the attacked bishop to?).
answers are peppered with amusing, slightly strange stories-- all very enjoyable.
this book is a real labor of love, truly beautiful problems, definitely definitely worth it for anyone over 1800.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
25 of 27 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars This book is good for us lesser players too November 25, 2007
Format:Paperback
As other reviewers mention, there is no doubt that the problems in this book are quite difficult (after all the book itself states that they are aimed at the FIDE Master level and up). So why should you bother with it if you are a low ranker?

I oscillate between the lower and upper 1300 range, a low ranker indeed; yet I am finding the book very helpful by using it carefully. What I do is make each problem the basis of a modified Stoyko exercise --- more like the exercises recommended in "Chess for Zebras." I put out a chess clock, set it for 20 minutes and start it. In that 20 minute time period I focus as intently as possible and try to understand everything I can about the problem position. At the end of the 20 minutes I require myself to come up with the move I would have made.

Then I look at the solution. Thus far I'm doing well enough about finding decent candidate moves but not the full correct line of play. That surprises no one, least of all myself. But I follow up with a look on Fritz to see just how good or bad my chosen line was. In some cases it fails entirely; in others it simply wasn't optimal.

How much am I learning from this process? A lot! I am learning how to think better about chess positions. I am learning why or why not my ideas were good, bad, or indifferent. I get to see the refutations. I get to try alternatives. But above all, the 20 minutes spent on primary analysis teaches me concentration and good thinking habits.

Using rich and challenging positions is the only choice for such exercises. I think this book is useful at the 1200 level on up, if used as I describe. To repeat, the point is *not* how many you get right or wrong, the point is how you learn to improve your thought processes.

One star off because a few of the solutions don't stand up to computer analysis (rather surprisingly). Otherwise, the fact that these are all fresh, recent, real-life, downright hard positions makes the book very useful.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
3.0 out of 5 stars Method OK February 26, 2013
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Self discipline in your study and your play. Seeking a study guide for self improvement then this is a great book.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Forums

There are no discussions about this product yet.
Be the first to discuss this product with the community.
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 



So You'd Like to...



Look for Similar Items by Category