Studies for Practical Players
Improving Calculation and Resourcefulness in the Endgame
Nowadays, chessplayers spend almost all their free time preparing openings, and rarely spend the time necessary to perfect the vitally important technique of calculating. Regular training in solving and playing out endgames studies is a good recipe for eliminating that shortcoming.
This training is directed at developing resourcefulness, fantasy (in chess, these qualities are called "combinative acuity"), and the readiness to sacrifice material, in pursuit of the goal - winning!
How do we develop good habits of winning endgame play? There are lots of manuals; but this may be the first in which a famous practical player, a trainer with a world-renowned name, and a study composer who has earned the title of International Grandmaster of Composition, share their views in one and the same book.
Join one of the world's premiere chess instructors, along with one of the most respected grandmasters of endgame study composition, as they take a journey through the wonderful world of endgame studies, a journey that will instruct and inspire you.
Introduction
Back in 1910, the classic study composer Alexei Troitsky wrote: "A study is the more valuable, the more complex it is - the richer in ideas. The most attractive aspect of chess is the struggle. This is what one must strive chiefly to depict, by leaving the defeated side as many defensive resources as possible in the course of the solution."
There are studies which are so close to actual play that it seems we are observing the ending of some actual game. Such studies have special value, and are rightly reserved a place in chess manuals. Their characteristic form makes them easier to remember; and in them, one may find together a whole row of interesting ideas and positions with great practical value.
Today's generation of chessplayers no longer knows what an adjourned game is. As a consequence, they no longer have the opportunity of thoroughly analyzing the endgame they have reached (middlegame positions do not often remain on the board for 40 moves) in a quiet setting. Now, when the outcome of a game is not infrequently decided under the constraint of extremely limited time, the ability to orient oneself unfailingly in the endgame has become practically a priceless quality for the chessplayer.
How do we develop habits of endgame play? There are lots of manuals, but this may be the first in which a famous practical player, a trainer with a world-renowned name, and a study composer with an International Grandmaster of Composition's title share their views in one and the same book.
Mark Dvoretsky has employed studies in his trainer's career for more than 30 years. Many grandmasters have achieved considerable success in their careers thanks to his methods. Oleg Pervakov came to the field of composition through practical play, whose principles he has always striven to follow in his creative work.
The impulse for writing this book was given by the article, "Studies From My Notebook," and the international composing tournament, "Studies For Practical Players," dedicated to Mark Dvoretsky's 60th birthday. The tournament was a success: 25 notable compositions were annotated by the arbiters, among whose ranks were the authors of this book.
The book itself consists of several chapters, united by the title, "Studies For Practical Players." Examples that most closely resemble "battlefield conditions," where both sides must resolve interesting tasks, are provided to serve as exercises for your own solving, or for playing out. Separate chapters are devoted to the creative work of the famous Austrian study-composer Alois Wotawa and to that of practical players, including the world champions.
Oleg Pervakov
Moscow, July 2009
Content:
005 Foreword by Jan Timman
007 Introduction by Oleg Pervakov
Part 1: International Composing Tournament
Chapter 1
008 Mark Dvoretsky: Studies From My Notebook
008 "A Small Genre"
009 Endgame Studies
014 A Difficult Choice
015 Playing Out Studies
020 Two-Sided Play-outs
Chapter 2
024 Oleg Pervakov: Tournament Results
025 Prizes
030 Special Prizes
038 Honorable Mentions
045 Commendations
Part 2: Two Study Themes
Chapter 3
052 Oleg Pervakov: Left Bank, Right Bank
Chapter 4
061 Oleg Pervakov: Ours among Strangers; A Stranger among Us
Part 3: Training
Chapter 5
080 Mark Dvoretsky: Studies by Wotawa
087 Solutions
Chapter 6
103 Mark Dvoretsky: Challenge to a Duel
103 Sacrifice - or be sacrificed!
110 Accurate calculation
137 Strategic Studies
143 Endgame Studies
153 Cooked Studies
Part 4: From Steinitz to Morozevich
Chapter 7
163 Oleg Pervakov: Studies by Practical Players
163 At the Summit of Olympus
164 Wilhelm Steinitz
164 Emanuel Lasker
165 Jose-Raul Capablanca
165 Alexander Alekhine
166 Max Euwe
167 Mikhail Botvinnik
168 Vassily Smyslov
173 Mikhail Tal
174 Anatoly Karpov
Grandmaster Study-Composers
176 Siegbert Tarrasch
178 Oldrich Duras
180 Richard Reti
183 Aron Nimzovich
183 Nicholas Rossolimo
186 Paul Keres
188 David Bronstein
189 Yuri Averbakh
190 Igor Zaitsev
191 Pal Benko
195 The Polgar Sisters
197 Jan Timman
200 Daniel Stellwagen
201 John Nunn
202 Jonathan Speelman
203 Valery Salov
204 Alexei Shirov
205 Vladimir Akopian
206 Alexander Morozevich
Duets
207 Alexander Beljavsky/Adrian Mikhalchishin
209 Boris Gelfand / Emil Sutovsky
210Index | 
