The inner game of chess
By: Andrew Soltis
Edition: Revised edition.
Publisher: Mongoose Press
Published: 2014
Language: eng
Number of pages: 324
ISBN-13: 9781936277605
Subjects: Chess; Psychological aspects
Description: Do masters methodically cut their way through the branches of a tree of analysis? Is it true that attacking players calculate a dozen moves ahead, while positional specialists rely on abstract principles? What exactly does it mean to calculate, anyway? In The Inner Game of Chess, GM Andy Soltis shows that the key to good calculation is good visualization of the position in front of us and then after the moves we re considering. Being aware of tactical motifs; knowing when to stop looking; and verifying your chosen move are essential, but they all depend on the basic requirement to see clearly what s going on. The author discusses common obstacles to clear visualization and offers techniques to overcome them in your own play. This 21st-century edition of Soltis s celebrated work features new material and revised analysis, while retaining all the insights that made The Inner Game of Chess an instant classic.
Table of contents: title: 1. What calculation is; title: and isn't (The myth of the long variations ; 'Positional playesr don't calculate' ; 'Calculation means finding mates and sacrifices ; The joys of calculating ; Learning to visualiaze); title: 2. Ideas (Master vs. novice ; Looking for the weakness ; Patterns ; Hints); title: 3. Trees and how to build them (A family of ideas ; Candidate moves ; The tree of analysis ; How chessplayers really think); title: 4. Force (Let the force ; Force vs. speed, force vs. force ; Opening a Pandora's box ; The limits of force ; Force in action); title: 5. Counting out (The bottom line ; First step: Count the pieces ; What is compensation? ; Is it over? ; Move order ; Serendipity and sequence ; Orders and options ; Bailout ; Calculating in stages); title: 6. Choice (Tactical vs. technical vs. positional ; Defensive choice); title: 7. Monkey wrenches (Assumption ; Advanced assumption ; Quiet move ; Destruction of the guard ; Zwischenzug ; Attack-defense ; Desperado); title: 8. Oversights (Simple visual oversights ; Retreats ; Line blocks ; Unveiled attacks ; The retained image ; Optical illusions ; It's a big board); title: 9. Rechecking (Walkthrough ; Where are the pieces? ; Remember to remember ; Ghosts ; Lasker's Law ; Improving the breed ; Achilles' heel); title: 10. The practical calculator (When you must calculate ; Getting fancy ; Beware understandable moves ; Believing him ; Summing up)