The Chess Toolbox

En erfaren nederlandsk trener og IM trener oss i å mestre temaer han mener er de viktigste for at en ambisiøs klubbspiller skal komme videre. Mange eksempler og mange oppgaver! Aller best for spillere med ratingnivå ca 1400 - 2100.

Fra forfatterens forord:

Congratulations! You have just acquired your first Chess Toolbox. Inside, you will find concrete tools that you can apply to your game, improving your results. These tools are not easy to use, but I will demonstrate the techniques in great detail and provide you with enough exercises to master them.

Chess is fun The aim of this book is to make you a better chess player, but never forget: studying chess has to be fun! Therefore, I have added quizzes, puzzles and as many entertaining subjects as possible. Think, for instance, of beautiful combinations like the Windmill and Lasker’s double bishop sacrifice . These topics were a lot of fun to cover; hopefully you will appreciate studying them as well.

The most important tools When you study chess, it is much more effective to become an expert on a limited number of topics than to acquire only a shallow knowledge of almost everything. Drawing from my experience as a trainer, I have carefully selected the most important tools; the ones that I consider to be the most beneficial for your improvement. The tools I picked are all related to one central theme: piece coordination . We will see how important concepts like structure and initiative can help us to find the right destination for our pieces. In the first three parts, you will learn a whole range of techniques that enable you to make the right exchange , mobilize your rooks and execute a successful attack or defence . In the final part, we will wrap up all the techniques and apply them to a practical situation: the Isolated Queen’s Pawn (IQP). In my experience, IQP positions are extremely suitable occasions to demonstrate the clash between structure and initiative and practice your piece coordination skills.

Ambitious club player If you want to learn new skills, you have to make sure they connect to your current level. This book is written for the ambitious club player. I have broken down the subjects into pieces that are both large enough to stay interesting and small enough to digest. The exercises have the same level of difficulty, although, I must admit, I have added quite a few brain teasers.

Forlagets egen omtale

In chess, as in repair or construction jobs, you will not get very far without the right equipment. If you want to win more games you simply need the right tools. Unfortunately, most amateur chess players have no toolbox to speak of. What’s more, they don’t even know which tools they actually need. Or what tools are available. If a chess hardware store would exist, most amateur chess players would be clueless what to ask for.

International Master and experienced chess trainer Thomas Willemze is the handyman you are looking for. He tells you which are the most urgent problems that need fixing. In his no-nonsense guide, Willemze presents essential techniques on how to mobilize your pieces in order to gain the upper hand.

The Chess Toolbox teaches you how to:

• conquer an open file
• eliminate an important defender
• lift a blockade
• get rid of an inferior piece
• exploit the 7th rank
• simplify your position (why and how)
• fight for entrance squares

and much more.

In order to make you feel comfortable and let you get used to these essential techniques, the author gives lots of fascinating examples and hundreds of instructive exercises. He even teaches you how to think outside your toolbox!

Thomas Willemze is an International Master from Holland. He is an experienced trainer of amateur players and has been the National Youth Coach of the Dutch Chess Federation.

Award-winning author IM John Watson: “I can’t think of another book that would be more helpful to the avarage player who is intent upon improving his chess.”