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Book Reviews

Slimmer Trimmer Winners


Richard Roseborough

Winning Chess Tactics (2nd ed.) by Yasser Seirawan with Jeremy Silman,
Everyman Chess 2005, Figurine Algebraic Notation, Softcover, 240pp., $19.95

Perhaps the most common piece of advice given to


beginning chessplayers who seek a magic bullet to
rapid improvement is to read a book on tactics. And
perhaps the most common lament of beginning
players who try to follow this advice is that books on
tactics “don’t have enough words.” It is
understandable that the uninitiated would be
distressed upon opening a book and finding no text
but only page after page of mute diagrams.

I will leave it to others to debate the relative merits of


verbal instruction versus symbolic pattern recognition
as training tools, noting that until recently the beginning student did not have
much choice – diagram books were all we had, the one notable exception being
Winning Chess: How to See Three Moves Ahead by the industrious Messrs.
Chernev and Reinfeld.

Winning Chess also happens to be what Yasser Seirawan decided to name his
series of instructional books for beginners. I remember the arrival of this series
several years ago because it occurred at a time when both chess and computers
started to make significant demands of my time, and it struck me as odd when I
saw a series of chess books with a Microsoft Press imprint. I assumed that this
probably had something do to with the fact that Seirawan and Microsoft both
make their home in the Seattle area, but beyond that I’ve never heard how this
curious partnership came about.

Alas, Microsoft seems not to have achieved quite the same success in the realm
of chess book publishing as they have in other endeavors, and the Winning Chess
series is now published by Everyman Chess, where it seems to have done quite
well. Everyman is now issuing a “fully revised and updated” edition of the series.
For those beginners who believe that “more words” will help them figure out
what’s happening in all those diagrams, Winning Chess Tactics by Yasser
Seirawan with Jeremy Silman is probably the book they seek. In fact, it’s hard to
imagine how a book on tactics could be any more verbose.

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First, to dispense with the comparison of editions: apart from an altered layout
and a few minor elisions and emendations, the book is the same as it ever was (as
the lyric goes). While nothing significant has been lost (it is unlikely anyone will
miss the poorly-contrasted black-and-white photos in the “Great Tacticians”
section), there likewise is nothing new here. In fact, the new edition is some 20-
odd pages shorter than the previous edition due primarily to slightly smaller
diagrams and a more efficient use of space. The content itself is almost
completely unchanged. In this particular instance, “fully revised and updated”
seems to mean that the publisher has managed to rearrange things in order to
reduce the page count, presumably saving a few dollars on this printing. For
those of you who own a copy of the previous Everyman edition, there is no need
to upgrade.

Winning Chess Tactics is divided into three sections. Part 1, Tactics and
Combinations, comprises the main part of the book. This is where tactical terms
are defined and illustrated. Part 1 includes thirteen chapters:

● Definitions
● The Double Attack
● The Pin
● The Skewer
● King Tactics and Combinations
● Deflection
● Battery on an Open File or Diagonal
● The Power of Pawns
● The Decoy
● Clearance Sacrifice
● X-Rays and Windmills
● Zwischenzug
● Other Kinds of Draws

Seirawan’s classification and organization of tactical motifs has its


idiosyncrasies. Forks are covered in the chapter “The Double Attack,” although
many would consider forks to be a separate species of double attack. Windmills,
which are also a special type of double attack, share a chapter with x-rays. Back-
rank mates can be found in the chapter “King Tactics and Combinations.” And
the classification “Battery on an Open File or Diagonal” does not really describe
a specific tactical pattern any more than, say, “Outposted Knight on the Fifth
Rank.” Nonetheless, it is a useful attacking pattern to be aware of, and it must be
said that Seirawan has been thorough in his coverage of tactical ideas. You may
have to search a bit to find a particular tactical theme, but it’s bound to be in here
somewhere.

It is perhaps nitpicking to complain about the organization of material when the


material itself is so good. Seirawan does an excellent job of explaining the
tactical ideas. He writes with clarity and humor, and while his informal tone is
aimed at younger players, adult beginners will also benefit from the detailed
discussions of various tactical motifs.

Clearance Sacrifice

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Imagine this situation: You have an opportunity to make a big


move – a move that’s strong enough to win material or perhaps
even checkmate. The catch is that one of your own pieces is in the
way, and taking the time to move the obstruction to a safe square
will give your opponent the chance to mount a defense.

The solution to this dilemma is to sacrifice the obstructing piece!


Known as a clearance sacrifice, this tactic forces your opponent to
take the obstructing piece, thereby vacating the square of your
dreams and forestalling any defensive measures.

DIAGRAM 99.
White to play.
Lisitsin – Zagoriansky
USSR, 1936

How can you force your opponent to capture the piece, even
though this action will lead to his doom? The best way is to check
your opponent’s King with the obstructing piece, which forces a
response. The next best way is to capture something with the
obstructing piece. If your opponent does not recapture, you will
have gained a material advantage.

Obviously, a checking move is the most compelling method. An


example is shown in Diagram 99, where White is mounting a
strong attack down the g-file. If his Rook were not on g7, he could
make a brilliant checkmate with Qg7. The problem here is to
jettison the obstructing Rook and clear the g7-square, without
giving Black the time to stop the desired checkmate. Because
1.Rg8?? fails to 1…Rxg8 and 1.Rxf7 Qxf7 allows Black to defend
the g7-square, White must find a more forcing variation. This is
where the clearance check comes in. White plays 1.Rh7+!. Black
must take the Rook but has no time to stop the checkmate –
1…Kxh7 2.Qg7 Checkmate.

At the end of each section in Part 1 there is a handful of test positions to reinforce
the tactical idea just discussed.

Part 2 of Winning Chess Tactics is Great Tacticians and Their Games, where one

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or two complete games or game fragments from some of the game’s tactical
luminaries are presented and annotated. This section succeeds on a number of
levels. By showing how the most basic tactical motifs occur in the games of even
the immortals, students immediately gain a sense of the importance of mastering
tactical play. The inclusion of complete games also introduces readers to the idea
of studying great games of the past as a way to improve. And, finally, it gives
readers a taste of some of the classic games and combinations in the literature.

Spielmann – A. Flamberg
Mannheim, 1914

This game is a good example of Spielmann’s early style.

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f4

The Vienna Opening was a great favorite of Spielmann’s early in


his career.

3…d5 4.fxe5 Nxe4 5.Nf3 Bg4

Today’s theorists recommend 5…Be7 as Black’s best move.

6.Qe2 Nc5 7.d4 Bxf3?

Black thinks he is forcing a trade of Queens, but he is really


handing White the kind of opportunity for attack that Spielmann
dreamed about. Black should have played 7…Ne6, giving White
only a small advantage.

8.Qxf3 Qh4+ 9.g3!

Black expected 9.Qf2, leading to a trade of Queens. But Spielmann


has no compunctions about sacrificing a couple of pawns for a lead
in development and a subsequent attack.

9…Qxd4 10.Be3! Qxe5 11.0-0-0

While Black’s Queen is busy snacking on pawns, White rushes to


bring out all his pieces.

11…c6 12.Nxd5!

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DIAGRAM 135.
Black to play

As Diagram 135 shows, this piece sacrifice opens up all the central
files to Black’s King.

12…cxd5 13.Rxd5 Qe6?

Confused, Black makes a mistake and goes down fast. The best
defense, 13…Qc7, still gives White a winning attack after 14.Bb5+
because of his commanding lead in development.

14.Bc4

White threatens the simple 15.Bxc5, as well as 15.Rd8+ and


16.Bxe6 with a discovered attack and capture of Black’s Queen.

14…Qe4 15.Bxc5!

Black resigns. White’s last move is a killing blow, and Black


recognizes that 15…Qxf3 16.Re1+ Be7 17.Rxe7+ Kf8 18.Rd8
Checkmate is a gruesome end.

Part 3 of Winning Chess Tactics is dedicated to test questions and answers. Even
here, Seirawan does not merely give you the winning line in the answer, but lots
of verbal explanation to go with it.

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TEST 98.
White to play.

Test 98: A hasty player might slide home with 1.c8=Q?? and
expect his opponent to give up. However, Black’s King would then
be stalemated and the shocking 1…Qxb2+!! would deliver both a
draw and a harsh dose of reality. White sees this possibility and
makes a point of freeing the Black King and stopping any
stalemates with 1.Rc4!. Then Black cannot prevent 2.c8=Q.

Altogether, the test positions at the end of each chapter plus the additional test
positions in Part 3 total less than 200. For junior players, who tend to be
impatient with books, yet who also have an enviable ability to soak up
information like a sponge, this seems about the right number, and this may be the
only tactics book they will need for some time. For older beginners, Winning
Chess Tactics is an excellent starting point, but if they are serious about
improving their tactical ability they will likely need to supplement this book with
a more traditional type of tactics workbook with more positions and fewer words.

Another volume in Seirawan’s series that has been “fully revised and updated” is
Winning Chess Strategies. Like the tactics book, most of the revisions to this
book appear to be minor formatting changes designed to make more efficient use
of space on the page. The content, so far as I can tell, is unchanged but for a word
here or there. Again, if you own a previous edition of the book, there is no need
to invest in this latest edition.

Strategies is laid out much the same way as Tactics and the books compliment
each other perfectly. The bulk of Strategies identifies the fundamental strategic
elements of a chess game in the following chapters:

● The Importance of Strategy


● Making the Most of a Material Advantage
● Stopping Enemy Counterplay
● Understanding Where the Pieces Go
● Superior Minor Pieces
● How to Use Pawns
● The Creating of Targets
● Territorial Domination
● Attacking the King
● Faulty Strategies

Like the other books in the series, the target audience of this book is beginners,
junior players, and those who have little or no experience with the strategic
elements of a chess game, and Seirawan does a solid job of laying out the
foundations of sound positional play. Each chapter begins with a brief discussion
of the strategy in question, followed by full games or game fragments illustrating
how such a strategy is employed in an actual game. A fair number of classic
examples are used, such as Damjanovic – Fischer, Buenos Aires, 1970; or
Botvinnik – Alekhine, AVRO, 1938 – but most of the examples are from either
Seirawan’s or Silman’s own oeuvre. In the chapter Superior Minor Pieces,

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Seirawan uses the following fragment to illustrate how a Knight can dominate a
Bishop.

The Dominating Knight


As I said in Chapter Four, a Knight can easily beat a Bishop if you
can close the position or plant your horse on an advanced support
point. How strong is a Knight that is firmly planted on the 5th rank?
Let’s take a look at Diagram 60 and find out.

DIAGRAM 60.
Black to play.
Karpov – Seirawan
Mar del Plata, 1982

You can see that I am winning this position against the World
Champion because my Knight completely blocks his pawns on c3
and c2, covers several squares deep in the White camp (a3, b2, d2,
and e3), and only gives the White King one square (e2) to run to.

How does his Bishop compare with my Knight? It serves a


defensive function on d4 (guarding the c3-pawn) but is blocked by
the pawns on c3 and e5. It does have some activity on the g1-a7
diagonal, but nowhere near as much as my accomplished Knight.
When you take his endangered King and inferior minor piece into
account and then note that his pawns are weak and his Rook is less
active than mine, you must agree that I ought to be able to
somehow push White over the cliff. Indeed, had I played 1…Qe8!,
which threatens the crushing 2…Rh3+ 3.Ke2 Qh5+, I would have
surely been victorious.

Unfortunately, I failed to take this opportunity and ultimately


allowed White to escape with a draw. However, my lack of follow
through should not detract from your appreciation of the power of
my Knight, which is eating White’s position alive. A wonderful
horse like this will almost always be stronger than any Bishop, and
your strategic sense should be alert to any opportunities to create
such a beast. Remember:

The prospect of gaining a fine support point for your Knight should

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excite you. When it can work from a secure base, your horse
becomes and extremely powerful piece.

Scattered throughout the book at the end of major topics are problems, twenty-six
in all, to quiz the reader on material that has just been covered. Strategy problems
are by their nature much more slippery than tactics problems, and even readers
who have carefully worked through the text may have some difficulty applying
the lessons to real-world positions. In the answers to the problems, provided in
the final chapter of the book, Seirawan makes an effort to explain clearly and
thoroughly the strategic ideas in the problem, so that each problem is a miniature
lesson in itself. In the chapter The Creation of Targets, Seirawan discusses
various methods of inducing and exploiting pawn weaknesses in your opponent’s
position. He finishes the section with the admonition that “weak pawns don’t just
magically appear; you must create them,” and offers this problem:

Wood – Seirawan
Seattle, 1994

PROBLEM 19. It’s White’s turn to play. My last move was


1…Qc7, attacking White’s pawn on f4. After 2.g3, I had achieved
an important goal. What was that goal. And how should I
continue?

Answer: If you noticed that there is a Bishop vs. Knight battle


going on, pat yourself on the back and buy yourself something
decadent. I wanted White to play g2-g3, which places another
pawn on a black square and hurts his dark-squared Bishop by not
allowing it to get outside the pawn chain via a Be3-f2-h4
maneuver. After 2.g3, I immediately gained space on the queenside
and prepared a minority attack with 2…b5!. Later I was able to
play …Rb8, …b5-b4, and …bxc3, a series of moves that left White
with attackable weaknesses on the queenside. I eventually attacked
and surrounded these targets, which proved to be enough for the
victory.

And just as Winning Chess Tactics included a section which introduced the
reader to some of the great tacticians of the game, so does Winning Chess
Strategies devote a section to some of the players considered to be great
positional geniuses, including Steinitz, Rubinstein, Capablanca, Nimzovich,

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Petrosian, and Karpov. Seirawan provides a brief biography of each player


followed by a lightly-annotated game. The annotations do not provide any great
insight into the games but, again, players who are new to chess will be introduced
to players whose games they might try to study and whose styles they might try
to emulate.

Finally, it should be noted that despite trimming some fat in both the Tactics and
the Strategies volumes, Everyman has retained the glossary and the index from
the previous editions. Too often editors view an index as a luxury, but every
chess book worth owning should have one.

Taken together, Winning Chess Tactics and Winning Chess Strategies provide
about as complete an introduction to fundamental chess ideas one could wish for
in two volumes.

I would like to emphasize the word introduction. For players who are new to the
game but who have little appreciation for the tactical complexities or strategic
depth to be found in a game of chess, these books will go a long way toward
building such an appreciation. Similarly, advanced beginners who are not quite
ready to spend months working through a book of tactical diagrams or trying to
absorb Nimzovich’s My System may find these books a useful stepping stone to
more advanced texts. Chess is a big game, and Seirawan covers a lot of ideas, but
it’s only the tip of the iceberg. Readers will not come away from reading these
books and realize an immediate 400-point jump in their rating. However, this
accessible and entertaining series of books is an easy way for beginning players
to broaden the foundation of their chess knowledge.

Order Winning Chess Tactics (2nd ed.)


by Yasser Seirawan with Jeremy Silman

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