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Very Hot Topic (More than 25 Replies) Winning Chess Middlegames (Read 16479 times)
micawber
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Re: Winning Chess Middlegames
Reply #11 - 02/11/09 at 19:28:21
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@ Dragan Glas,

You are right, that Barburin also discussed hanging pawn structures,
but it was only a small section of his book and mainly in relation to hanging pawn structures arising from a isolated pawn structure.

As far as I know Marovic wrote 4 middle game books:
Beside the two allready mentioned, the other two are:
Secrets of Chess Transformations (converting advantages)
Secrets of Positional Chess

Obviously you cant write on positional chess without touching the subject of pawn structures, but there is more to it than that: piece positioning and piece coordination, regrouping your pieces etc.
  
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Dragan Glas
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Re: Winning Chess Middlegames
Reply #10 - 02/11/09 at 19:14:55
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Greetings,

Baburin does have a section on hanging pawns (isolated pawn couplet or IPC, as he calls them) and discusses the various pawn structure transformations related to the IQP/IPC.

[I thought that that had been resolved!?]

What might also be useful is a comparison of the various books on pawn structures as to which is best!?

Also, I thought Marovic had written four books related to pawns, not just two?!

Kindest regards,

Dragan Glas
  
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micawber
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Re: Winning Chess Middlegames
Reply #9 - 02/11/09 at 18:30:32
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Well, 
on the bright side:
"Winning pawn structures" (Barburin) only covered the isolated d-pawn.
Still a classical book (unfortunately Batchford cheated the author out of his fee) 
Even if youre a top GM player, you cant force an e4 opening by legal means.........
when you have black!
so the book will probably be usefull regardless your white opening repertoire.  Smiley

By the way some pawn structures occasionally make a surprise appearance: 
The minority attack is well known as White's main strategic weapon in the Exchange variation of the Queens Gambit.
But do you know it as an essential weapon for the black side in the (spanish) Marshall Attack, and in some variations of the Kings Gambit accepted?
It's my experience that not a few white e4 players only recognize this, when it is allready too late ...... Smiley
Finally Capablanca showed great originality by launching a mirror minority attack against the pawn structure e5-f6-g7-h7
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As for myself I dont see the necessity to buy a new book on pawn structures.
Besides Barburin's book I own a set of Marovic books:
Understanding pawn play in chess
Dynamical pawnplay in chess (devoting approx 100 pages to typical pawn play in sicilian systems of a total of 270 pg.)
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Shereshevsky's two volume set:
on typical endgames related to pawnstructures ordered by opening.
These books could do with a reprint, as the price for a second hand copy seems to have gone through the roof these days  Sad
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And I must have buried an ancient copy of Kmoch's
Kunst der Bauernfuehrung somewhere. Embarrassed
Here is another unfortunate title as a very large part of this book only 
treats closed ruy lopez (with a white pawn on d5) and benoni pawn structures.
  
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FischerTal
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Re: Winning Chess Middlegames
Reply #8 - 02/11/09 at 13:22:14
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From my quick browse at a bookstal - I agree the pawn structures seem to be mainly from QID or NID maybe QG as well. It looked OK I am not sure that it is bringing anything new to the party that other pawn structure books have not.
  
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Re: Winning Chess Middlegames
Reply #7 - 02/11/09 at 12:51:27
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I received the book today and I can say it is very good like the usual quality of New in Chess books. For d4 players is a must but I think that others can benefit from the book because an isolated pawn position and the treatment of the position and what one can learn is equal for isolated pawns in French or Caro and once one learn how to treat the position like hanging pawns or majorities on one side it is equal for lots of openings. I rate this book very highly!  Wink
  

It has been said that chess players are good at two things, Chess and Excuses.  It has also been said that Chess is where all excuses fail! In order to win you must dare to fail!
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Antillian
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Re: Winning Chess Middlegames
Reply #6 - 02/04/09 at 23:00:56
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Thanks for the feedback, MilenPetrov,

I am not sure I fully understand your disappointment. One would naturally normally expect d4 structures to dominate any pawn structure book, no? but I can suppose  if it is exclusive to d4 structures,  a 1. e4 player might be let down. ( Personally, I don't mind that it concentrates on d4 pawn structures since I am a d4 player.)

On the point of wanting more games, if the book is  already 290 pages, I suppose it is a tradeoff between more games and less depth per game.

I may probably get this book, if nothing else but to see a bunch of d4 middlegames annotated by a fine player like Sokolov. 
  

"Breakthrough results come about by a series of good decisions, diligently executed and accumulated one on top of another." Jim Collins --- Good to Great
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MilenPetrov
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Re: Winning Chess Middlegames
Reply #5 - 02/04/09 at 21:52:24
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Hello, today i got my copy of the book.
I spent some 2-3 hours checking the content and my first impression is that i spent my money for nothing. OK we have about 48 typical pawn structures covered but they are mainly from 1.d4 openings. I was interested in doubled pawns (because of my Sicilian Rauzer repertoire) and i was simply bored when I saw that all the structures are arising from NID or QID or TD. Maybe it would be better if the book was named something like 1.d4 pawn structures. There is no single game arising from open or semi-open openings. Brrrrrrr.
Or maybe we need to wait a second volume covering these and spend another 25 EUR.
My impression is that it is not enough to analyse in depth 1 or 2 games which cover a typical pawn structure. Even if they are played by top GMs. For example the Saemisch structure in NID is covered only in one or two games, but it is not enough. I can recall at least 10 more typical classic games which show the typical plans.
My overal assessment is that the book is beyond the expectations.
My rating is 3/10 (or even 1/10) and it does not worth money  Angry
  
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Re: Winning Chess Middlegames
Reply #4 - 02/02/09 at 05:36:23
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007 Foreword by Michael Adams 

009 Introduction 

011 Chapter 1 Doubled Pawns: 12 essential structures 

085 Chapter 2 Isolated Pawns: 10 essential structures 

179 Chapter 3 Hanging Pawns: 4 essential structures 

221 Chapter 4 Pawn Majority in the Centre: 7 essential structures 

283 Index of Players 

285 List of Games 
  

Don't check me with no lightweight stuff.
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Antillian
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Re: Winning Chess Middlegames
Reply #3 - 02/02/09 at 01:35:56
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Based the following limited information from BCM Chess, the focus seems somewhat different from Soltis' Pawn Structure Chess:

Winning Chess Middlegames: An Essential Guide to Pawn Structures - Ivan Sokolov

Paperback, 260 pages

Winning Chess Middlegames addresses the often ignored but extremely important topic of pawn structures, divided into four main types: doubled pawns, isolated pawns, hanging pawns and pawn majorities. With its highly accessible verbal explanations and deep analyses of top-level games, this book helps you to solve the basic problems of the middlegame: space, tension and inititative.

Club players studying Winning Chess Middlegames will:

* greatly enhance their middlegame skills

* develop an accurate feeling as to which particular positions suit their style

* acquire new strategic and practical opening knowledge
  

"Breakthrough results come about by a series of good decisions, diligently executed and accumulated one on top of another." Jim Collins --- Good to Great
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MilenPetrov
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Re: Winning Chess Middlegames
Reply #2 - 01/30/09 at 16:20:42
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I have ordered that book and hope will receive it in a few days. Then I will check it and will be able to tell my opinion. The title sounds best selling but I am not sure if the content will be of such quality. I tried to find the Content in the internet but unfortunately did not succeed. So I decided to spend some money without reading a single review.
  
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Re: Winning Chess Middlegames
Reply #1 - 01/29/09 at 03:18:46
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I second that question.  I wonder how it compares to "Pawn Structure Chess" and "Dynamic Pawn Play in Chess," both of which I like a lot.
  
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Seth_Xoma
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Winning Chess Middlegames
01/29/09 at 02:53:26
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This is the title of Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov's new book on middlegame structures. Anybody have it yet? Do you like it? Could you give a review of it? Any information is welcomed Smiley
  
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