Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy

Dette er forlengst en moderne klassiker, om noen slik finnes. IM John Watsons monumentale bok om sjakkstrategiens utvikling siden Aron Nimzowitsch (som døde i 1935 og ga ut hovedverket sitt, Mein System, i 1925-26) vant i 1999 både det amerikanske sjakkforbundets "Fred Cramer Award for Best Chess Book" og det britiske sjakkforbundets "Book of the Year Award".

Boka er faktisk et must for virkelige sjakk-entusiaster. Den legger vekt på noen av paradoksene i moderne sjakk, der de klassiske reglene blir utfordret på mange områder.

Forlagets egen omtale

It is now seventy years since Nimzowitsch wrote his monumental work My System. While it remains a fundamental work on chess strategy, the way chess positions are handled has changed greatly since Nimzowitsch's time - both refinements to existing ideas, and completely new concepts. This book fulfils the need for a thorough, profound work on the modern handling of chess positions, and how Nimzowitsch's theories - still controversial and revolutionary at the time My System was written - have been refined and used alongside classical concepts.

The first section of the book discusses how the understanding of classical themes, such as pawn majorities, the centre and structural weaknesses, have been refined. Watson then moves on to discuss new concepts, including the willingness of modern players to accept backward pawns in return for dynamic play, the idea of a good 'bad' bishop, knights finding useful roles at the edge of the board and the exchange sacrifice ideas that became prevalent with the post-war Soviet world champions.

This profound yet thoroughly practical work is rounded off with sections on prophylactic thinking, dynamism, modern concepts as they apply to the critical contemporary opening systems, and some thoughts on the future of chess.

International Master John Watson is one of the world's most respected writers on chess. His ground-breaking four-volume work on the English and Play the French, often described as the French player's bible, firmly established his reputation in the 1980s, and he has produced a string of top-quality works since. His pupils include 1997 World Junior Champion, Tal Shaked.