Chess Middlegames: Essential Knowledge

Rating:
Summary: Tactical possibilities only on 2 attacking procedures!!? Yes
Review: In this book the author tells us so there are only 2 effective attacking procedures, which leading to success - the combined attack and double blow. This is very important and not quite understood, but if you mastery these techniques you should be very dangerous player. If you want to make this book useful to you, you have to study it very carefully and minimum twice (it is thin - only 110 pages). All subject is to tactics, but there is one chapter devoted to strategy of attack. If you are "tactics scientific" you are in good way. In this book there are useful mating attack mechanisms, coordination of the pieces and combinations - how it is born and how arises. I like to recover it because in each time I discover new things - in particuraly how important is coordination of pieces and how dangerous are hidden treats - sometimes they are very deep underground, but if you know what are they build from (what elements) and how to recognize them you should not be afraid. Complexity of chess combinations are sometimes very frustrating, but in closer look (and with a little practice) you can see that they are "connected simple blocks". This is not difficult book (maybe a little, but only for quite begginers). Advice for begginers: when you study it carefully you see that it is fine and nice. On the end of my opinion I can only say that this author is respected Soviet author... nothing more to add.

Rating:
Summary: Renowned Russian Author Gives Concise Middlegame Survey
Review: In this slender volume, Averbakh, a renowned Russian GM (?) and famed coach, surveys middlegame knowledge from a tactical perspective. The chapters cover such things as pins, forks, double attacks, etc. and provide definitions as well as examples. Averbakh does not discuss strategy except in the sense of aiming for pins, forks and double attacks and positional topics like weak squares, outposts and pawn structures are not on the menu. Although I've seen middlegame discussions limited to tactical themes before, I am puzzled that planning and positional chess were not included in a middle essentials but...anyway, you've been advised.

Rating:
Summary: Complete waste of money
Review: It didn't take long to realise that this book was the odd one out in my rapidly expanding chess book collection.

It's neither a classic to read nor a book to learn from such is the paucity of its material. There is far too little in this book and too lightly covered to be of any use to begginners or intermediates. Judging from its style, it would be of very limited value to more advanced players.

I'm very surprised that the book refers to middlegames at all as it has almost no material on development in the middlegame, how to create plans or execution of same.

Rather you will find a focus on a single theme of double attack/double blow. If the publishers had called this book "Double Attack - Essential Knowledge" it would have been far more accurate but far less sellable. Hence my feeling of being conned.

I could give several suggestions of much better treatises on the middlegame including Vukovic's "Art of Attack in Chess", "Secrets of Grandmaster Chess" by Nunn (for more advanced players), Silman's "How to Reassess Your Chess" or my current read - Euwe and Kramer's "The Middlegame".

The latter book is for serious chess study and leaves this Averbakh book for dead.

In short - there are many, many books far better than this trivial piece. Use your money on one of the other books instead.

Rating:
Summary: Russian techniques
Review: There are more than 100 positions in this book which require basic but interesting tactics, such as the blockade, but the chapters are not really interrelated and the book doesnt come off as a cohesive work. Averbakh's better book is Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge.

Rating:
Summary: Great Compact Book...
Review: This is a great compact book, covering important middlegame concepts. Mostly of the tactical nature, such things as double blow, double attack etc. The book is broken into lots of small chapters so looking things up is pretty easy. What is important is that you learn basic concepts that you can expand on. He shows examples from games and other sources, teaching the idea as well as showing. This is almost a crib notes book to help you in the middlegame. If your over 2000 this book might not really be much use to you. I figure anyone U1800 can least learn something from this book. Just about anyone should be able to follow along and understand it. The book might only be 100 pages about, yet the content is better than most books that size. The Endgame Book in this series is also worth picking up. I think everyone should own a copy of this book. The price isnt really that bad for what you get in return. Not sure there is a better general idea middlegame book on market. If there is one, I really can't think of it. I have Art of Middlegame as well, which is a bit more advanced. This book is one of best gifts that I ever got to be honest.

Rating:
Summary: Great Compact Book...
Review: This is a great compact book, covering important middlegame concepts. Mostly of the tactical nature, such things as double blow, double attack etc. The book is broken into lots of small chapters so looking things up is pretty easy. What is important is that you learn basic concepts that you can expand on. He shows examples from games and other sources, teaching the idea as well as showing. This is almost a crib notes book to help you in the middlegame. If your over 2000 this book might not really be much use to you. I figure anyone U1800 can least learn something from this book. Just about anyone should be able to follow along and understand it. The book might only be 100 pages about, yet the content is better than most books that size. The Endgame Book in this series is also worth picking up. I think everyone should own a copy of this book. The price isnt really that bad for what you get in return. Not sure there is a better general idea middlegame book on market. If there is one, I really can't think of it. I have Art of Middlegame as well, which is a bit more advanced. This book is one of best gifts that I ever got to be honest.