Amateur to IM

by Jonathan Hawkins

International Master Jonathan Hawkins was a relatively slow starter in the world of chess. Learning the game at the age of eight, he was a keen junior who won a number of local tournaments. But by his own admission, ‘by the time I was in my mid-teens my age-to-playing-strength ratio was distinctly average.’

He started to study chess very seriously in his late teens and achieved a rapid rise through the ranks. He became a FIDE Master in 2008 and earned the title of International Master in 2010. 2011 brought Jonathan two Grandmaster norms. One of them was earned at the super-strong British Championship, in which he outscored numerous Grandmasters to share third place.

How did Jonathan Hawkins manage to go from being an average tournament competitor to a player on the brink of clinching the Grandmaster title? It took just three years for him to become a FIDE Master, an International Master and to achieve his first two Grandmaster norms.

The secret was knowing what to study and how to learn as efficiently as possible. Focusing his attention firmly on the endgame, Jonathan devised a number of building blocks and identified a number of very important areas of study. The result of his hard work was a meteoric rise through the ranks, as he became firmly established as a prominent GM killer on the English tournament circuit.

These pages reveal the secrets of his notebooks for the first time. IM Hawkins presents special material aimed to help you become a much better practical player, one armed with a deeper understanding of key aspects of chess.

A careful study of the lessons presented in this book should enable the chess student to gain a significant improvement in both performance and rating.

Genres: Chess

372 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Goetz Holic · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the (endgame) book I ever wanted to read. Hawkins shows you the 'most important' endgame patterns/techniques. Be aware, this is not an exhaustive collection of technical endgames, even though it covers a good share of them. This is a clear 5-star book IMO because he gives me (a 2200 lichess, 1850 FIDE patzer) the impression I actually understand what is going on. He also shows me how I can respond if my opponent, also being aware of endgame theory, tries to avoid the Philidor, Lucena positions. I feel confident in these positions now and look forward to playing more endgames. I compared the coverage of rook endgames to other literature I own, e.g., 'the survival guide for rook endgames' by Emms, and I must really wonder how the same topic can be treated so differently. Emms also covers everything you need to know, but I struggle to remember it for the way he presents it. Hawkins, instead, just went straight into my brain.

[Mat]

How did Jonathan Hawkins manage to go from being an average tournament competitor to a player on the brink of clinching the Grandmaster title?

The secret was knowing what to study and how to learn as efficiently as possible. Focusing his attention firmly on the endgame, Jonathan devised a number of building blocks and identified a number of very important areas of study. The result of his hard work was a meteoric rise through the ranks, as he became firmly established as a prominent GM killer on the English tournament circuit. These pages reveal the secrets of his notebooks for the first time.

IM Hawkins presents special material aimed to help you become a much better practical player, one armed with a deeper understanding of key aspects of chess. A careful study of the lessons presented in this book should enable the chess student to gain significant improvement.