The Complete Book of Chess Strategy

the complete book of chess strategy is an amateur's dream come true! Due to the overwhelming amount of strategic and tactical ideas in chess, students of the game buy dozens of chess books but still find it impossible to isolate the key points. Seeing the problems his students faced, Mr. Silman has created the first comprehensive strategic guide in dictionary form. Now all aspects of chess strategy, tactics, basic opening and endgame ideas, and even psychology are painlessly accessible to players of all degrees of strength. Each concept is listed alphabetically, accompanied by a clear, easy-to-absorb explanation and an example.

Studying has never been easier! Take this book to work, on vacation or, if you're a serious competitive player, to all your tournaments.' The world's best players make regular use of this information. With everything presented in simple, easy-to-understand language, Grandmaster techniques can finally become your technique too?

Introduction:

Years ago I heard a student lament that he wasn't able to read a chess book and digest its lessons in a proper way - he couldn't understand what the book was really trying to teach him.

I thought a lot about his complaint. It finally dawned on me that the vast majority of books are so filled with soulless rhetoric that it would take a genius to sift through the all the glittering rocks to find that one tiny bit of gold that may or may not be floating somewhere in its pages.

Positions and moves won't teach you much without carefully chosen words to fill in the gaps. Sadly, that's what most chess books are made of - positions and moves with little or no proper explanation.

One day I noticed another student diligently writing in a notebook. He explained that he would take the salient points of his studies and my lessons and write them down in a simple, easy to understand form. This way he could go to a tournament and review this material before his games. No digging was necessary, no hard work, just instant facts and strategies waiting at his fingertips.

This book is a more detailed version of that extremely practical notebook. All aspects of basic strategy and tactics are presented in a simple, easy to absorb manner. You look at the information you want to learn, it tells you what you need to know and gives you a quick illustration, and then you move on to the next fact.

I have presented the material in four parts: The Opening, The Middlegame, The Endgame, and Practical Matters. All the information in these sections is presented in alphabetical order so you can access it immediately.

Finally, I have added quizzes at the end of each section so you can test yourself and see if you really understood the material.

This book was written for players in the class "E" (pre-tournament or beginning tournament) through class "A" (experienced tournament) categories. It gives advice about chess psychology, tells you how to handle different types of structural problems, gives you the basics on all major openings, provides instruction for would be attackers, and...well, you name it, I've tried to address it!

My intention in writing this book is to help players who have nowhere else to turn, so let me know if I have succeeded in answering your questions. If I've overlooked some important subject, write to me (care of Siles Press) and I will add it to a future edition.

Jeremy Silman March 1998

the complete book of chess strategy is an amateur's dream come true! Due to the overwhelming amount of strategic and tactical ideas in chess, students of the game buy dozens of chess books but still find it impossible to isolate the key points. Seeing the problems his students faced, Mr. Silman has created the first comprehensive strategic guide in dictionary form. Now all aspects of chess strategy, tactics, basic opening and endgame ideas, and even psychology are painlessly accessible to players of all degrees of strength. Each concept is listed alphabetically, accompanied by a clear, easy-to-absorb explanation and an example.

Studying has never been easier! Take this book to work, on vacation or, if you're a serious competitive player, to all your tournaments.' The world's best players make regular use of this information. With everything presented in simple, easy-to-understand language, Grandmaster techniques can finally become your technique too?

Introduction:

Years ago I heard a student lament that he wasn't able to read a chess book and digest its lessons in a proper way - he couldn't understand what the book was really trying to teach him.

I thought a lot about his complaint. It finally dawned on me that the vast majority of books are so filled with soulless rhetoric that it would take a genius to sift through the all the glittering rocks to find that one tiny bit of gold that may or may not be floating somewhere in its pages.

Positions and moves won't teach you much without carefully chosen words to fill in the gaps. Sadly, that's what most chess books are made of - positions and moves with little or no proper explanation.

One day I noticed another student diligently writing in a notebook. He explained that he would take the salient points of his studies and my lessons and write them down in a simple, easy to understand form. This way he could go to a tournament and review this material before his games. No digging was necessary, no hard work, just instant facts and strategies waiting at his fingertips.

This book is a more detailed version of that extremely practical notebook. All aspects of basic strategy and tactics are presented in a simple, easy to absorb manner. You look at the information you want to learn, it tells you what you need to know and gives you a quick illustration, and then you move on to the next fact.

I have presented the material in four parts: The Opening, The Middlegame, The Endgame, and Practical Matters. All the information in these sections is presented in alphabetical order so you can access it immediately.

Finally, I have added quizzes at the end of each section so you can test yourself and see if you really understood the material.

This book was written for players in the class "E" (pre-tournament or beginning tournament) through class "A" (experienced tournament) categories. It gives advice about chess psychology, tells you how to handle different types of structural problems, gives you the basics on all major openings, provides instruction for would be attackers, and...well, you name it, I've tried to address it!

My intention in writing this book is to help players who have nowhere else to turn, so let me know if I have succeeded in answering your questions. If I've overlooked some important subject, write to me (care of Siles Press) and I will add it to a future edition.

Jeremy Silman March 1998