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Under the Surface
The most significant difference between a grandmaster and a club player is not simply that the grandmaster calculates more accurately, but rather that he sees more deeply. This book invites you beneath the surface, where you can learn to navigate the depths of chess. Jan Markos shows how a strong player perceives chess, which features of a position he focuses on, and how he thinks at the board. The author’s philosophy is that understanding chess brings pure happiness, and he would like to share this happiness with you.
- GenresChess
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2016
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228 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 20, 2020
What Rybka Couldn't Tell You and Fritz Didn't Know
This is one of the more interesting chess books out there. It leans toward a minimalistic approach that is definitely not for everyone. There are some sections where the author limits his lines of analysis to a single move. This can be jarring. I had to put some of those positions on a board and think not only about the position but why would Markos only give one move as the "explanation." Maybe it was a trick to get me to think for myself and if so, it mostly worked.
The funny thing is that this book never gives a side variation as long as the one on the cover. I understand why some might consider this book a bit on the superficial side.
I will have to disagree because Part 4 pays for the whole book.
Club players like me are addicted to their engines. I have purchased Komodo for years and recently made significant contributions to Leela Chess Zero (reaching the top three in daily contributed games). Regardless of the engine of your choice, there is a problem with using the principal variation from any engine. I gave the fortress positions in Chapter 28 to several good engines, and they all miss the fact that the positions are drawn (including Leela).
The advice in this part of the book is simply priceless and I will spoil it here: give two average A-B search engines (Stockfish, Fritz, Komodo, etc.) a position and let them play both sides in an engine-engine match and then use the win/loss percentage as the evaluation. Fortress positions all come out as draws using this idea. The real evaluation in real games is much better evaluated using this approach than seeing 0.00 from Komodo. It takes more time, so you have to be less lazy, and also do some thinking of your own, but it is a much more rewarding use of engines than anything I've read anywhere.
Try it with your favorite position and let your mind be blown. Engines are useful, but the funny thing is that you have to think more than you thought. Picking the right pair of engines and the time controls for mini-matches matters.
I enjoyed the book up to the point where the author runs off the rails interviewing a modern correspondence player in Chapter 30. This was not very helpful to me, and I am not sure who would benefit from this Chapter.
Overall, the book was completely worth the time - I advise using an e-reader (Forward Chess) for the majority of the book, but several positions are worth having on a board to look at for few days just for the enjoyment of trying to find the one move that the author gives as the "solution".
This is one of the more interesting chess books out there. It leans toward a minimalistic approach that is definitely not for everyone. There are some sections where the author limits his lines of analysis to a single move. This can be jarring. I had to put some of those positions on a board and think not only about the position but why would Markos only give one move as the "explanation." Maybe it was a trick to get me to think for myself and if so, it mostly worked.
The funny thing is that this book never gives a side variation as long as the one on the cover. I understand why some might consider this book a bit on the superficial side.
I will have to disagree because Part 4 pays for the whole book.
Club players like me are addicted to their engines. I have purchased Komodo for years and recently made significant contributions to Leela Chess Zero (reaching the top three in daily contributed games). Regardless of the engine of your choice, there is a problem with using the principal variation from any engine. I gave the fortress positions in Chapter 28 to several good engines, and they all miss the fact that the positions are drawn (including Leela).
The advice in this part of the book is simply priceless and I will spoil it here: give two average A-B search engines (Stockfish, Fritz, Komodo, etc.) a position and let them play both sides in an engine-engine match and then use the win/loss percentage as the evaluation. Fortress positions all come out as draws using this idea. The real evaluation in real games is much better evaluated using this approach than seeing 0.00 from Komodo. It takes more time, so you have to be less lazy, and also do some thinking of your own, but it is a much more rewarding use of engines than anything I've read anywhere.
Try it with your favorite position and let your mind be blown. Engines are useful, but the funny thing is that you have to think more than you thought. Picking the right pair of engines and the time controls for mini-matches matters.
I enjoyed the book up to the point where the author runs off the rails interviewing a modern correspondence player in Chapter 30. This was not very helpful to me, and I am not sure who would benefit from this Chapter.
Overall, the book was completely worth the time - I advise using an e-reader (Forward Chess) for the majority of the book, but several positions are worth having on a board to look at for few days just for the enjoyment of trying to find the one move that the author gives as the "solution".
September 13, 2018
Quite superficial, which is ironic since the book claims to help you get “under the surface.” It utterly fails at its stated goal.
November 25, 2023
An incredibly engaging, deep, and practical book! I will be re-reading this for sure.
The author not only found incredibly instructive ideas and depth but does so in an engaging and accessible manner.
Unique, fresh examples and short chapters making it easy to read.
The author not only found incredibly instructive ideas and depth but does so in an engaging and accessible manner.
Unique, fresh examples and short chapters making it easy to read.
February 19, 2022
This book is a kind of relaxed conversation about the interesting features of chess pieces (and some other interesting topics). Two examples were very interesting to me: on pages 213-14 (Stockfish-Hiarcs) one can see how the c5/d5-phalanx gives a long-term compensation for a piece.
Secondly, on page 233 the author mentions the corr game Schoen-Persson, in which Black has the backward e6-pawn with just major pieces on the board. After seeing it in a full length in the database (131 move!), I wish somebody writes a booklet analyzing just this single game.
However, there is just one mistake (as I can see) in the author's analysis. In the chapter "Understanding the Beast" the author uses the game Laurent-Renet (page 73), in which one can see how two knights has outplayed two bishops (the famous variation of the Chigorin Defense in the Queen's Gambit). The move 10 c4? (the author's question mark) is actually strong, the same could be said for 11 d5? (also the author's question mark). However, instead of 12 Qb3, a mistake which the author has missed, far better is 12 Rb1! (White is better) with the idea 12...b6 13 Bb4 c5 14 Bc3 and the "hole" on c5 is "cemented", depriving the black knights of an important square.
Considering how the issue of 2 bishops vs 2 knights is tricky, the mistake is understandable.
Secondly, on page 233 the author mentions the corr game Schoen-Persson, in which Black has the backward e6-pawn with just major pieces on the board. After seeing it in a full length in the database (131 move!), I wish somebody writes a booklet analyzing just this single game.
However, there is just one mistake (as I can see) in the author's analysis. In the chapter "Understanding the Beast" the author uses the game Laurent-Renet (page 73), in which one can see how two knights has outplayed two bishops (the famous variation of the Chigorin Defense in the Queen's Gambit). The move 10 c4? (the author's question mark) is actually strong, the same could be said for 11 d5? (also the author's question mark). However, instead of 12 Qb3, a mistake which the author has missed, far better is 12 Rb1! (White is better) with the idea 12...b6 13 Bb4 c5 14 Bc3 and the "hole" on c5 is "cemented", depriving the black knights of an important square.
Considering how the issue of 2 bishops vs 2 knights is tricky, the mistake is understandable.
October 24, 2023
This has to be one of the best chess books ever written. It is definitely not for non-players and to get through the theory you have to be pretty serious, though I don't think there is anything that is too hard to understand.
He really tries to find very interesting positions, distill them and apply them in general to the game of chess.
Perhaps the most interesting was his discussion of computer chess. He goes over many positions where the computers shuffle around forever like old patzers and it is actually quite nice to see because as he points out may chess is a 'slower' game than we think.
Finally he gets into 'beauty' in chess which is quite an interesting topic. It gets a little philosophical, Socrates appreciated reason, Nietzsche tended towards passion. Jan seems to agree with me that a mix of knowledge backed up with some reason is real beauty in most things.
My one criticism is I don't think this is a book that is going to make me a lot better at chess. There are no exercises (though I think you should in general treat every diagram like an exercise) and calculation is not at the forefront. But that was not the point of the book and not every book does that. I remember that was a criticism with Silman, however the assumption is that all analysis is backed by calculation and tactics.
A great chess book, for all chess players.
He really tries to find very interesting positions, distill them and apply them in general to the game of chess.
Perhaps the most interesting was his discussion of computer chess. He goes over many positions where the computers shuffle around forever like old patzers and it is actually quite nice to see because as he points out may chess is a 'slower' game than we think.
Finally he gets into 'beauty' in chess which is quite an interesting topic. It gets a little philosophical, Socrates appreciated reason, Nietzsche tended towards passion. Jan seems to agree with me that a mix of knowledge backed up with some reason is real beauty in most things.
My one criticism is I don't think this is a book that is going to make me a lot better at chess. There are no exercises (though I think you should in general treat every diagram like an exercise) and calculation is not at the forefront. But that was not the point of the book and not every book does that. I remember that was a criticism with Silman, however the assumption is that all analysis is backed by calculation and tactics.
A great chess book, for all chess players.
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September 19, 2025one of the best books regarding chess culture and really interesting phenomenons inside the chess cosmos, mixed with a bit of psychological insights, great author and such a good book
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews