Positional Play (Batsford Chess Library) [Paperback]

Mark Dvoretsky (Author), Artur Iusupov (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1996 | Series: Batsford Chess Library

This is the fourth in the series of phenomenally successful training manuals by the world's leading trainer and his star pupil. By instilling players with an understanding of persistent positional features, they stress the features of positional play most relevant to the practical struggle, assuring over-the-board success.

Beginner

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Co (P) (April 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805047298
• ISBN-13: 978-0805047295
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,088,800 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Atypical, but quite worthwhile, May 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Positional Play (Batsford Chess Library) (Paperback)

The reader from Brazil has noted that this work is not a primer on positional play (for that, see Nimzovich's *My System* or Euwe and Kramer's two-volume *The Middlegame*). And I would agree that some of the material isn't overly thematic, either.

However, there is much of value in this book: the discussion of prophylactic thinking, for example, raises a topic of fundamental importance in the formation of a strong chessplayer. And to discuss briefly the three chapters ridiculed by the Brazilian reviewer: the section on not managing without combinations is really a short addendum to the section on opposite-colored bishops in the middlegame. And the latter is an *extremely* worthwhile chapter, particularly for those of us who learned that opposite-colored bishop endings have strong drawing tendencies and just assumed the same would be true of the middlegame. I have used this chapter a number of times with my own students, and have benefited from it as well.

Finally, the chapter on the Dutch Stonewall is a wonderful case study for illustrating positional play. The Brazilian reviewer seemed unhappy about this, but elsewhere in his review suggested that the isolated pawn should have been covered. Well, isolated pawns don't arise in a vacuum; they arise from particular openings. So why not cover a different sort of pawn structure, especially given that treatments of the isolani abound? I should add that one need not play a particular opening to benefit from knowing something about it.

In conclusion, if you're looking for a middlegame primer, then look elsewhere. But if you're looking for a book that will broaden your knowledge base and offer some new concepts with which to approach the game, then this is a book well worth considering, particularly for USCF 1600-1700 and up.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best Modern treatment of Advanced Positional play, June 9, 2005

By 

Realreviewer "reviwerparexc" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Positional Play (Paperback)

This book is for intermediate or advanced players who have been exposed to the elements of positional play (Such as "My System", "Judgment & Planning", etc..)
What this book does is take positional play to a new level through the eyes of the best school since the Second World War, the Soviet school of play.
Maneuvering is covered in an early chapter, what is that? its re positioning your pieces to induce or exploit positional weaknesses in your opponents set up. Of course this assumes that you can determine what those weaknesses are (Hence why you need to study a primer first).
This book reinforces the importance of prophylactic thinking perhaps the most important topic to learn in advanced positional play. Devoretsky has been the primary author in advancing this thinking (First proposed by Nimzovitch). Basically it is the elimination or minimization of weaknesses. For instance it may be right to sacrifice a pawn to prevent a fatal positional weakness or move a piece not under attack to prevent a weakness. This style of play is evident particularly in Petrosian and Karpov's play. By eliminating weaknesses there is nothing for the attacking player to attack, instead you are able to exploit his weaknesses.
Finally there are the usual advanced difficult but rewarding exercises that Dvoretsky is famous for. One thing I took away was how to study middle game positions. Instead of playing through a whole game often in opening systems I know little about. I now set up the middlegame based on one of the key diagrams (Often move 15 to 17) and take in the positional elements and start to guess the next moves for each side I then compare this to the game notes. After a while you will guess the next moves with more accuracy at a faster rate then trying to play thought the whole game. Then you can start to time yourself to simulate play under competitive conditions.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dvoretsky is the worlds's best trainer!, March 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Positional Play (Batsford Chess Library) (Paperback)

It has long been known that Dvoretsky is the world's to chess trainer; he has played an integral role in the development of such strong players as Dolmatov, Yusupov, Zviagintsev, and Kramnik. This book reveals much of his wisdom considering positional play, in a very practical format. Honest and informative, Dvoretsky teaches not of the fundamentals of a position but of how to approach positional problems in general. Especially interesting is the chapter written by GM Bareev on what decision making is genuinely like at the top. An excellent book!