Many of the classics of Soviet chess literature have struggled to see the light of day, but none more so than Soviet Middlegame Technique by Peter Romanovsky. The original version of this famous guide to the middlegame was published in 1929 when Romanovsky was Soviet Champion. Romanovsky later decided to update and improve his work. As he finished his work in 1942, World War II was underway and Romanovsky was trapped in the notorious siege of Leningrad. The author barely survived and his manuscript was lost.

Romanovsky was undeterred and finally recreated his improved book in 1960. His writing was later translated into English and published in two titles – one on Planning and the other on Combinations. In this fresh translation we have included both works to create the ultimate version of a classic of Soviet chess literature.

GM Alexander Kotov on Romanovsky: “One of the best books in the world’s chess literature.

Content:
003 Foreword by the UK Publisher

006 Key to symbols used & Bibliography

007PART ONE: PLANNING

007 Introduction

008 (A) General System

008 (i) Basic concepts

010 (ii) Concrete scheme

018 (iii) Dynamics

025 (iv) Harmony

035 (B) Squares

035 (i) Weak point

037 (ii) The “permanent” knight

042 (iii) Weak squares on the sixth (third) rank

049 (iv) A few conclusions

050 (C) Open Lines

058 1. Two Wins by Wilhelm Steinitz - Their Creative and Technical Substance

066 2. Stages in a Plan - Square and File as Targets of the Plan - The Preparatory Stage - The Stage of Concrete Action - Exploitation of Gains

083 3. Play on the a-File

095 4. The Centre - Its Strategic Significance - Knights on e5 and d5 (e4 and d4) - The Pawn Centre - Attacking with the Centre Pawns - Hanging Pawns

137 5. More about Active Pawn Play - The Pawn Wedge and How to React to It - The “Nail” Pawn - The Phalanx of e- and f-pawns - The Pawn Storm

169 6. Battle of the Major Pieces

187 7. Manoeuvring - The Initiative

209 8. The Two Bishops

221PART TWO: COMBINATION

221 9. What is a Combination?

223 10. The Elements of Combination - Motif and Theme

228 11. The Aesthetics of Combination: General Concepts

232 12. Idea and Technique of an “Incarcerated King” Combination

236 13. More about Aesthetics - Pseudo-Sacrifice - Queen Sacrifice

248 14. On the Theory of Combination - Typical Ideas

267 15. Modern History of Combinations - The Immortal Game - Masterpieces from the End of the 19th Century

291 16. Double Attack - Attacks on Pieces by Pawns

313 17. Positional Weakness as a Combinative Motif - Combinations Invited by Weaknesses in the Castled Position - Sacrifice of Bishop for Pawn on g3, h3, g6, h6

333 18. Combinative Attack with Two Bishops - Harmonious Action of Rooks on the Second and Seventh Ranks - Rook Sacrifice on g7

361 19. Harmonious Action of Rook and Bishop - The Theme of Trapping a Piece

380 20. The Interference Device in Various Combinative Schemes

389 21. How Players Think During the Game

413 Index of Names