This can be rather startling for anyone brought up on Kotov and Botvinnik. Yermolinsky is acutely aware of the psychological and emotional element involved in chess, and devotes a full chapter to ways of coping with the emotional ebb and flow of the game. As someone who has always had to work hard to succeed, Yermolinsky gives practical advice which is probably more useful to the ambitious player than that which is passed down from the chess greats. One theme running through the book is the overriding need to be sceptical of chess books, teachers and advice in general, including his own writings and teaching. He looks into the ideas behind a number of important openings, and gives some invaluable advice on how to choose an opening repertoire and get started with a new opening.
Later chapters deal with tactics and strategy, and computer chess.
He was something of a rebel and his reminiscences of being taught by Vladimir Zak are at times painful as well as humorous. He rejected the dogmatism of the teaching he received, but one cannot help thinking that his famous old teacher at least gave him something tangible to rebel against and indirectly helped to build his chess philosophy. He is refreshingly free of any impulse to justify himself, and is not afraid to show himself in a bad light from time to time. In summary, the book contains many invaluable insights into how a promising but underachieving player turned himself into a very strong one, and reveals the author's honest and practical approach to chess. Of course, a lot of material has had to be pruned back from the five full volumes, and unfortunately the cross-referencing of variations is sometimes unsystematic, but nevertheless it is a very useful reference source for the practical player, backed up by the Informator reputation for excellence.