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Pawn Power in Chess (Dover Chess) Paperback – November 1, 1990

by Hans Kmoch (Author)

33 customer reviews

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"One of the few books…which, at a glance, one can recognize as an immortal." — Chess.
The proper use of pawns — of paramount importance in chess strategy — sometimes even puzzles experienced players. This profoundly original and stimulating book by an International Master and prolific chess writer offers superb instruction in pawn play by isolating its elements and elaborating on various aspects.
After a lucid exposition of the fundamentals and the basic formations of one or two pawns that virtually constitute the keys to winning chess strategy, the reader is shown a multitude of examples demonstrating the paramount significance of elements of pawn manipulation. The author’s masterly explanation makes it perfectly clear to the beginner as well as the advanced player how the fate of a game depends on pawn formation and how pawn power holds the proceedings under its remote control. Over 180 games and diagrams illustrate the author’s theory and make it easy to follow the points made in the text.
Hans Kmoch played with distinction in several international tournaments and is the author of a number of books and columns on chess and chess tournaments.
“We consider it the best publication on chess strategy since the end of World War II.” — Die Welt.

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Product details

Series: Dover Chess
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Dover Publications; Reissue edition (November 1, 1990)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0486264866
ISBN-13: 978-0486264868
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 33 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #264,601 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #292 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Chess

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K & J

Very good coverage of Kings Indian and Benoni formations

June 8, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Very good coverage of Kings Indian and Benoni formations. Beware this book is in descriptive notation P-Q4 N-KB3 etc.

5 people found this helpful

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Robert H. Nunnally Jr.

less a religious revelation than a new way of thinking

October 26, 2001

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

When I was 20 years younger and my rating was 300 points lower (but I feel as though my play was 3000X more interesting), I continually ran into folks who said that they really advanced their game by reading Pawn Power in Chess. Finally, I got around to reading it. It has some really useful insights into how to think about pawn chains. I didn't find that it had the miracle cure for their rating that those who recommended the book apparently had, but it's good to see a systematic way of thinking about pawn structure in a simple guide, even if the Benoni structures given much attention here are not structures that appear much in my simple-minded games. A good read, an interesting concept, not quite a religious revelation.

10 people found this helpful

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April 10, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book has lots of good info that is not contained in many other books. If you are serious about improving your game this book will help.

I only gave it 4 stars because I thought the writing style wasn't very good. The author went out of his way to make the reading as difficult as possible. Excessive use of big words and weird phrasing make it a slow read. I think this book would benefit from having a few editors clean it up and then re-release it as a second edition.

I would not recommend this to younger readers just because of how slow and difficult the reading is.

5 people found this helpful

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It's a shame I can't give this book a 5 stars

April 17, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book is a classic for a reason.
Its focus on the pawn structure in the game of chess, or more generally, the creative and asymetric aspects that often determine the outcome of war against apparent odds, makes it a must read.
It is a 'painful' and demanding read nevertheless, that forces to reader to venture out of his comfort zone to adapt to the analysis and lingo of the author. kt

6 people found this helpful

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Zachary Wilson

To find the treasure you have to dig

September 8, 2009

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I have read many chess books. As my rating is only in the 1700's I am by no means an expert. I am however a person who enjoys chess, studies chess, and wants to know more. I am also a person that is not so committed that I want to drag out a chess board and study every possible variation of a position. When I look for chess books I look for ones that are easy to read focusing on concepts more than variations. For this reason I really enjoyed Silman's Endgame Course. Probably the most impact for the buck on your game. However I've learned that the player who understands Pawn Structure is better prepared. It guides you, shows you a plan of action, sets you up for success, etc. Understanding End Games and Pawns are the keys to winning!

So: This book is good. It provides the concepts of Pawn Play. It is easy to understand without too many variations to dig through. The only negative is that he first creats his own vocabulary for you to follow. At first it is daunting to learn so many new terms, but there is a method to his madness. once you understand the language he is using the concepts and ideas become very clear and more importantly...useful!
enjoy

10 people found this helpful

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Excellent Complement to Kopec's Video

August 20, 2010

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Many reviewers miss the fact that one of the leading pawn structure training videos-- IM Dr. Danny Kopec's Pawn Structures & How to Play Them -- is based on Kmoch's system. The combination of this book and that DVD are a powerful duo in the eternal quest to understand the subtleties of pawn structure at every stage of the game. Kasparov said that he was still learning about pawn structure as an advanced GM, so don't feel discouraged if you feel you're the only one who doesn't get the whole picture, and don't believe those who pretend it's a simple topic! Both Dr. Kmoch and Dr. Kopec use the term "levers" to illustrate the reach and structure of pawn moves both in defending squares and opening/closing files in open and middle, and in the threat of pg8=Q at endgame. Soltis states that investing in understanding pawn structures gives a "quantum" shortcut to pattern analysis in general-- meaning we can save a lot of terabytes of gray matter in specific storage with the general hints we get from pawn formations for all four skills: strategy, tactics, analysis and pattern recognition.

11 people found this helpful

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Aukie

For serious chess players

June 27, 2010

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book teaches a critical part of chess strategy and can improve your results against strong players. You must be willing to deal with descriptive notation. This is not a good book for a beginning player or someone with just a passing interest in chess.

6 people found this helpful

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March 1, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Got it for my grandson, who's won a tournament since.

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Most recent customer reviews

Edward Vaughn

Hard Digging Reveals Gold

This book has an enormous amount to teach re: chess pawn structure. The problem with it is this: One is forced to struggle through an onslaught of unnecessary and ridiculous...Read more

Published 5 months ago

Derek Tyler

Good but not great

It's an alright book in my opinion. He discusses pawn theory in depth, though it seems he sometimes makes up his own terms as he goes along.

Published on August 1, 2015

Travis Caskey

Five Stars

awesome

Published on April 9, 2015

Mark Goewey

Not in algebraic format

Not in algebraic format. I'm sure it's very good from the reviews I've read but there are many books with modern notation you can read much easier.Read more

Published on September 25, 2014

Lee J. Pelletier

Advanced Pawn Play

Sometimes a book has great content, but the presentation makes the material inaccessible to the reader. That is the main issue with Pawn Power in Chess. The material is great.Read more

Published on August 5, 2014

nirmal

One of Anand's favourite book.

The book clearly explains the basic ,important(but often ignored) aspects of pawn play. Apart from the annoying nomenclature (which you will get used to), this is an excellent...Read more

Published on June 19, 2014

mark P murtha

an extremely hard book to follow...and for no good reason

it seems like this person has decided to change the terminology for everything that is used in chess..why? I have no idea...Read more

Published on January 27, 2014

Ron Strong

A good chess book

This reprint of a chess library standard use notation written in the 1950's (b6 is the same as KB3). Every modern chess term has been renamed including the color of the squares.Read more

Published on July 9, 2013

Max

Loved the goofy terminology!

I know there is a TON of people who dislike Kmoch's odd terms about pawn structure; however, I thought they were more visceral and easy to remember than terms like Break move.Read more

Published on April 16, 2013

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