Winning Ugly in Chess: Playing Badly is No Excuse for Losing

by Cyrus Lakdawala

When was the last time you won a perfect game? A game that wasn’t tainted by inferior moves? Every chess player knows that smooth wins are the exception, that play is often chaotic and positions are frequently irrational. The road to victory is generally full of bumps and misadventures. Welcome to the world of imperfection! Chess books usually feature superbly played games, in Winning Ugly in Chess you will see games where weird moves are being rewarded. Cyrus Lakdawala knows that playing good chess is all very well, but that beating your opponent is better. He demonstrates the fine art of winning undeserved victories by miraculously surviving chaos, vile cheapos, refusing to resign in a lost position, lucky breaks, provoking unforced errors, improbable comebacks and other ways to land on your feet after a roller-coaster ride. Lakdawala shows how you can make sure that it is your opponent, not you, who makes the last blunder. If you’d rather win a bad game than lose a good one, then this your ideal guide. The next time ‘the wrong player’ wins, you will be that player!

Genres: Chess, Reference

762 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 2, 2019

Reviews

[QOH · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most useful and genuinely fun chess books I've encountered. The author doesn't spare himself (or many other great players) in his analyses. I seriously love this one.