Dynamic Pawn Play in Chess

Rating:
Summary: Marovic's crowning achievement
Review: Darzen Marovic is my favorite chess author. It has been said that his style is "laconic" and "pedagogic," and although I agree with these descriptions, I disagree with any negative connotations with those words. Marovic excels at imparting maximum important practical knowledge with the minimum of verbiage. I know of no one who can explain a critical moment of a chess game with such succinct clarity. For instance, here is the note accompanying Ljuobojevic's move 12... d5 in his game against Anand (p. 168): "a move before white is ready to play g5, Black strikes back in the centre. His king is still in the centre and the prospects of castling quite unclear, but for the time being the king is well protected where it is and, besides, the threat of g5 must be met radically." Any of you who are reading "The Method in Chess" by Dorfman will recognize the emphasis on the center coupled with position of the kings which goes into the dynamic evaluation of a position. Marovic adds important variations, often with an insight into why a player did or did not choose a move. There is a heavy emphasis on the Sicilian Defence in this book. I have admired Marovic's work for years, particularly "Play the Queen's Gambit" and "Play the King's Indian Defence," both of which are excellent instructive opening manuals. We are truly lucky that Marovic has now written more general treatises on pawn play, in beautiful GAMBIT publications works. Another reviewer points out the "overall quality" of this work. To me, it has an eye-popping quality. When I study Marovic, I feel that I have hope, after all, to understand the center, dynamics, and the game of chess. This book is very special, and it is quite meaty at 256 pages.

Rating:
Summary: Marovic's crowning achievement
Review: Darzen Marovic is my favorite chess author. It has been said that his style is "laconic" and "pedagogic," and although I agree with these descriptions, I disagree with any negative connotations with those words. Marovic excels at imparting maximum important practical knowledge with the minimum of verbiage. I know of no one who can explain a critical moment of a chess game with such succinct clarity. For instance, here is the note accompanying Ljuobojevic's move 12... d5 in his game against Anand (p. 168): "a move before white is ready to play g5, Black strikes back in the centre. His king is still in the centre and the prospects of castling quite unclear, but for the time being the king is well protected where it is and, besides, the threat of g5 must be met radically." Any of you who are reading "The Method in Chess" by Dorfman will recognize the emphasis on the center coupled with position of the kings which goes into the dynamic evaluation of a position. Marovic adds important variations, often with an insight into why a player did or did not choose a move. There is a heavy emphasis on the Sicilian Defence in this book. I have admired Marovic's work for years, particularly "Play the Queen's Gambit" and "Play the King's Indian Defence," both of which are excellent instructive opening manuals. We are truly lucky that Marovic has now written more general treatises on pawn play, in beautiful GAMBIT publications works. Another reviewer points out the "overall quality" of this work. To me, it has an eye-popping quality. When I study Marovic, I feel that I have hope, after all, to understand the center, dynamics, and the game of chess. This book is very special, and it is quite meaty at 256 pages.

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: This book will someday be a classic, to be on your shelf alongside works such as Pawn Power in Chess and Winning Pawn Structures by Baburin, and the great works by Ludek Pachman. Not many GMs can write like Marovic.