Modern Chess Planning

by Efstratios Grivas

Good planning is central to good chess. A plan gives meaning to manoeuvres and tactical devices, forming a coherent whole that brings us closer to our goals. The modern understanding of chess planning has evolved considerably since the days of the "grand plan", whereby a player might even try to map out the whole course of the game. Nowadays, top-class players appreciate that the opponent's ideas also deserve respect, and our own plans must take them into account too. Modern grandmasters plan with great purpose but also flexibly, ready to adjust or even change direction completely when the situation demands it. Grivas provides 75 superb practical examples where it is important to make the right plan. Once the critical position is reached, he guides you through the options and challenges you to find the right path. Detailed solutions are provided, with a full discussion of the pros and cons of the various options.

Genres: Chess

143 pages, Paperback

First published March 30, 2007

Reviews

[Ardith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Planning is one of the hardest aspects of chess to learn on your own. This book shows positions that came up in real live games, and asks you to choose between 3 plans. Truthfully, it's advanced for me, so I really can't use it as a test yet. What I do instead is read the plans, and they give me ideas. I used to be clueless about how to formulate a plan in rook endgames, and this book has given me some good pointers. It's going to take me a long time to absorb all of this.