Combinations are the central element in chess; they make the game so magical and captivating. The beautiful point of sacrificing a queen, the strongest piece, in order to checkmate with a lowly pawn brings a smile of joy to all chess lovers. Virtually all chess games possess a combination, either one hidden in the shadows of analysis carefully avoided or one that provides a decisive blow.
Winning Chess Combinations is a unique work that doesn't merely repeat the wonderfully rich and vast numbers of combinations, asking readers to solve a particular diagrammed position; it is a work that is far more realistic. A combination involves a sacrifice upsetting the balance of forces, but will it work or tragically boomerang? The reader is invited to solve this critical question by identifying the advantages that a specific position holds which might make the combination successful.
Winning Chess Combinations is the seventh in Yasser Seirawan's highly acclaimed Winning chess series - probably the best-selling series of chess books ever published.
- A complete guide to chess combinations
- Includes stunning sacrifices
- Ideal for the improving player
Yasser Seirawan is one of the top-ranked chess player in the USA and was the first American candidate for the World Championship title since Bobby Fischer. He is a four-time US Champion, the 1989 Western Hemisphere Champion and a ten-time member of the US Chess Olympiad team. His achievements distinguish him as one of only a handful of players to have defeated world champions Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov in tournament play.
005 Introduction
012 Chapter One: Starting Out: Three Combination Types
024 Chapter Two: Checkmate! Recognizing Patterns
077 Chapter Three: The Classical Bishop Sacrifice
109 Chapter Four: The Case of the Clumsy Rook
139 Chapter Five: Blunders and Boomerangs
161 Chapter Six: Inspiring Combinations
192 Chapter Seven: Test Positions
201 Chapter Eight: Solutions
239 Summary
242 Index |