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Instructive Chess Miniatures
Lessons from 53 of the greatest short victories in chess history
New ebook each diagram is also a link to a lichess analysis board of that position!
“a book that will provide plenty of pleasure and instruction at a very reasonable price ... recommended” – IM John Donaldson, USA Team Captain
“A good introductory guide to tactical chess” - Carsten Hansen, Perpetual Chess Podcast
this book is not just entertainment. The author wants to teach you a lot about chess and improve the quality of your play! He has selected 53 miniatures from throughout chess history – the earliest are from the 1850s, while the most recent are from grandmaster events just before the book was published.
A miniature is a decisive game, won in 25 moves or fewer. Most of these 53 games feature brilliant tactics, attacks on the king, and even a few outrageous king-hunts. In many, the winner had to overcome cunning defensive ploys and inventive counterattacks. Our aim in this book is not just to admire the players’ skill, but to learn how we can play like this in our own games.
Chess coach Ataman is keenly focused on the instructive points, explaining which features of the position justified the attacks, and what prompted the critical decisions. Where analysis is given, it is restricted to what it would be realistic for a human to work out at the board.
But why are miniatures so instructive, especially for younger players? It’s because we get to see an idea or plan implemented successfully, in full. Once we understand what players are trying to achieve, we can then appreciate how to oppose these ideas, and the cut-and-thrust typical in modern grandmaster play will make a lot more sense.
Alper Efe Ataman is a FIDE Master from Turkey. He is a chess publisher, author and an experienced trainer, especially at the scholastic level.
“Bright and breezy ... a nice mixture of the familiar and unfamiliar” - GM Matthew Sadler, New in Chess
“Following the annotations opened my eyes to a different understanding of the game. Yes, we can have 1000 miniatures at our fingertips with a few clicks of the mouse, but they will not open our eyes to the meaning behind those miniatures if we don’t have a wise teacher like FM Ataman guiding us ... through the review of these games, I’ve noticed how many things I thought I knew and I didn’t, so I thank FM Ataman for writing a book which is really instructive!” - Davide Nastasio, Georgia Chess News
“A good selection of some of the most famous games of all time. Tons and tons of explanation ... a fantastic job” - Ben Johnson, Perpetual Chess Podcast
New ebook each diagram is also a link to a lichess analysis board of that position!
“a book that will provide plenty of pleasure and instruction at a very reasonable price ... recommended” – IM John Donaldson, USA Team Captain
“A good introductory guide to tactical chess” - Carsten Hansen, Perpetual Chess Podcast
this book is not just entertainment. The author wants to teach you a lot about chess and improve the quality of your play! He has selected 53 miniatures from throughout chess history – the earliest are from the 1850s, while the most recent are from grandmaster events just before the book was published.
A miniature is a decisive game, won in 25 moves or fewer. Most of these 53 games feature brilliant tactics, attacks on the king, and even a few outrageous king-hunts. In many, the winner had to overcome cunning defensive ploys and inventive counterattacks. Our aim in this book is not just to admire the players’ skill, but to learn how we can play like this in our own games.
Chess coach Ataman is keenly focused on the instructive points, explaining which features of the position justified the attacks, and what prompted the critical decisions. Where analysis is given, it is restricted to what it would be realistic for a human to work out at the board.
But why are miniatures so instructive, especially for younger players? It’s because we get to see an idea or plan implemented successfully, in full. Once we understand what players are trying to achieve, we can then appreciate how to oppose these ideas, and the cut-and-thrust typical in modern grandmaster play will make a lot more sense.
Alper Efe Ataman is a FIDE Master from Turkey. He is a chess publisher, author and an experienced trainer, especially at the scholastic level.
“Bright and breezy ... a nice mixture of the familiar and unfamiliar” - GM Matthew Sadler, New in Chess
“Following the annotations opened my eyes to a different understanding of the game. Yes, we can have 1000 miniatures at our fingertips with a few clicks of the mouse, but they will not open our eyes to the meaning behind those miniatures if we don’t have a wise teacher like FM Ataman guiding us ... through the review of these games, I’ve noticed how many things I thought I knew and I didn’t, so I thank FM Ataman for writing a book which is really instructive!” - Davide Nastasio, Georgia Chess News
“A good selection of some of the most famous games of all time. Tons and tons of explanation ... a fantastic job” - Ben Johnson, Perpetual Chess Podcast
- GenresChess
417 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 1, 2016
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16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 14, 2022
This book was recommended to me by Chess Twitter and I’m glad I picked up a copy! What a great idea to do 53 games that were miniatures, meaning very short games! The author provided excellent but not excessive annotations. He presented games with numerous openings, stated the plans for both black and white, discussed middle game and threw in a few variations of what a player could have done and excellent tactics to win/end the game! Really enjoyed this book! Great job!😎
Displaying 1 of 1 review