Practical Chess Tutor - From Basics to Mastery 2 is a complete manual of chess strategy for club players, with some introductory tactical themes at the very end of the book. All the crucial elements of strategy are examined in great detail by examining the most instructive classical and modern games (100 games in total).
Strategic themes we focus on are: strong and weak squares, open file, center, exchanging and improving of the pieces, bishop pair, bishop versus knight situations, various pawn structures and formations, prophylactic play etc. I decided to explore strategic themes by presenting model games in their entirety so you could have a whole picture of the developments and see how the game ended once the strategic advantage had been obtained.
I advise you to go through the whole games on a chess board and to invest time and attention to diagram positions. You can try to find the correct move in those situations on your own, having in mind that these positions are strategic in nature so quite often there are multiple good moves (you could even find some improvements over the game moves). Such practice will help you to absorb the ideas and principles much easier!
This manual can be used by students working alone or with fiends, parents who study chess with their children, and of course chess trainers who need carefully prepared material for lectures. Finally, this book can be read as a collection of instructive and entertaining chess games with special emphasis on chess strategy.
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