Good defensive abilities earn players a great many half-points and full-points. The climax of the defense is the launch of a devastating counter-attack, a skill at which all the great chess champions have been adept. Of particular interest to club players is Marin's discussion of how to defend against unsound attacks, and the problem of how to parry the attack while retaining winning chances. Other topics include attack and defense in equal positions, where both sides must judge carefully how much of their resources to devote to the attack and the counter-attack. The main subject, though, is the case where the defender is fighting for his life, and must decide how to maximize his chances of survival. Marin considers psychological issues and explains the main options available to the defender: simplification, cold-blooded defense, a positional sacrifice, 'blackmailing' the attacker, or a counter-attack.

The use of the queen, the active king, exchanges, pawn play, the center, weak squares, more. Often considered the most important book on strategy. 298 diagrams.

The first section of [this] book discusses classical themes, such as pawn majorities, the centre and structural weaknesses. Watson then moves on to discuss new concepts, including the willingness of modern players to accept backward pawns in return for dynamic play, the idea of a good 'bad' bishop, knights finding useful roles at the edge of the board, and the exchange of sacrifice ideas that became prevalent with the post-war Soviet world champions. ..." --

This book teaches basic tactical ideas such as the fork, pin, and discovered attack, and introduces general ideas such as elimination, immobilization and compulsion. A basic knowledge of simple tactics will enable a novice to start winning games, by giving checkmate or capturing material. As the player progresses, his tactical arsenal will broaden, and he will start to play sacrifices and combinations, and develop a deeper understanding of the game. Players who fail to study tactics systematically tend to suffer from tactical blind-spots that plague them throughout their playing career, and thus they fail to realize their full potential.

"A chess Olympic Gold Medal winner explains how you can dramatically improve your chess results"--Cover.

Understand when, where, and how to attack Features numerous practical examples from top-level play In his celebrated Secrets of Chess Defence, Marin examined the task facing the defender. He now turns his prodigious expertise to the other side of the coin. In this wide-ranging treatise, he discusses many topics including: the balance between attack and defence the premises for initiating an attack advantage in development intuitive sacrifices ...and much more Looks at all aspects of attacking play, from the decision to attack right through to the finish