Most chess players shy away from positions with material imbalances, because they feel insecure in face of their unclear nature. Traditional chess teaching does not spend much time on understanding such imbalances, but in this original book Esben Lund discusses one of the most common imbalances, where one player has a rook, and the other two minor pieces. He does so by starting at the basics with the theoretical foundations and basic endgames, and then moving on to deep studies of two main lines from the Catalan Opening and the Scotch Opening, lines that have not been investigated in serious depth before this book. Lund's lucid style of explanation carries the reader effortlessly through the book, resulting in the reader's understanding increasing at the same pace as the complexity of the chess.

To read Esben Lund's writing is like having an experienced trainer at your side, but no good trainer will do all the talking. Therefore, Lund has included 42 exercises, to which he explains the solutions with great clarity over the last quarter of the book.

Though the subject of the book appears narrow, the lessons to be learned go far beyond this specific material imbalance, and those who study this book will improve their general feeling for the pieces and their interrelation.

Esben Lund is a young Danish FIDE Master, who is currently chasing the International Master title. Three days before this book went to the printer he made his first IM norm.

Esben has great experience as a trainer at international level, having coached the most talented juniors from both Denmark and Scotland at World Championships and other international events.

004 Bibliography

005 Preface

Part I: Theory

009 1. Theoretical Foundation

033 2. Fundamental Endgames

Part II: Practice

051 Introduction to Part II

053 3. The Nc6 Catalan

071 4. Evaluation Exercises

077 5. The Scotch Endgame

Part III: Training

123 6. General Exercises

133 7. Solutions to Evaluation Exercises

145 8. Solutions to General Exercises

171 Indexes