Pawn Structure Chess

by Andrew Soltis

Book Overview

Pawns form the "playing fields" of chess, a semipermanent "structure" that can determine whether a player wins--or loses. This major update to the classic guide to pawn structure, written by international Grandmaster Andrew Soltis, teaches readers how to handle their pawns. He explains where best to place them, which pawns to advance or exchange, and why certain structures are good and others disastrous. Pawn Structure Chess is a must-have...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1849940703
• ISBN13: 9781849940702
• Release Date: February 2013
• Publisher: Batsford
• Length: 286 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Excellent

Andrew Soltis as written a great number of chess books. This ranks among his best. Most other books on pawn structures deal with the usual doubled pawns, isolated pawns, passers etc. However this book is different, as it deals with pawn structures that come out of most standard openings. This is very useful because say your opponent plays the caro-kann (1. e4 c6), by knowing the pawn structure arising from that opening you can transpose the game to obtain a structure that you are familiar with. By doing so you know the main plans/breaks which are typical of that structure. This is a far cry from memorising standard openings when most people are clueless as to the main plans arising in the middle game. This book is best studied slowly. The best way, is to study a structure that you encounter most often in your games, go through the supplementary games at the end of the book, and finally get some more games from your database (e.g. chessbase) with the same structure. This will ensure you will remember the plans and ideas more often than your opponent, and hopefully lose less often. Finally this book is rather advanced so for beginners/intermediate players it is recommended to spend time doing lots of tactics before buying this book.

Excellent if this books fits your personal need

I bought this book and it sat on my shelf for several months, as I didn't immediately have the level of understanding required to benefit from it.When I finally came around with a serious need to understand openings and middlegame better, this book was a true lifesaver, showing me the underlying principles which constitute many of the game's famed openings (Sicillian, Caro-Kann, etc) which had so far eluded me entirely. It has given me greater appreciation of how the pawn structure affects the avenues of attack and defense in those instances, and how a single pawn move will affect those plans.This is *not* light reading by any stretch of the imagination, but for the serious student of chess, this work shows many essential principles that no player should do without. Absolutely outstanding.

Helps alot when learning the openings

I hate learning openings. This book has actually helped me learn the ideas behind the openings in a rather painless way. How can that be you may ask, since this is a book about the middlegame based on various pawn structures. Well, the reason is that you cannot really differentiate easily between an opening a middlegame and an endgame. They are all part of a seemless whole. Various openings lead to certain pawn structures which dictate certain middlegame plans for both sides. If you understand what the idea behing the middlegame plan is, then you understand the moves you need to make in the opening which makes memorization of variations easier. It also allows you to play the right move once your opponent goes "out of book" because you have a better understanding of what position the particular opening is trying to accomplish.I'll give an example of how the book has helped me. About a month ago I decided to learn the Caro-Kann as black (mostly to cut down on the amount of theory I need to know against e4). So what I did was look through the various line of the Caro-Kann in the MCO and see what the final pawn structures looked like. As it turns out, there are only about 5 pawn structures that are likely to develop. They are the: Caro-Slav formation; Kingside pawn chain; the panov formation; isolani; and the orthodox exchange center. Each of these pawn formations are discussed in pawn structure chess (the first three each have their own chapter and the last two are both found in the chapter on the QGD and its descendants). After studying the general strategic ideas for both black and white arrising from each of these pawn formations, I went back and looked at the variations again. All of a sudden the ideas behind the opening made sense and the moves of the variations seemed logical because I knew what the purpose behind the move was (As Silman says, the real purpose behind the opening is to create an imbalance and then develop around that imbalance).The effects of this book have helped me in the first game I played as black in the Caro. My opponent (rated over 100 pts higher than me) played a variation of the Caro that I wasn't familiar with. We both went "out of book" fairly early. However, I kept in mind what the middle game pawn structure was that I was aiming for and where my pieces needed to be to accomplish that goal. Well my first outing as black in the Caro was a success. The allegedly "dull" or "boring" Caro notched a 20-move win for me -- not bad.This book has also helped me see the similarities between various openings and how one opening can transpose into another. This is critical information to have at your disposal. The book does not exhaustively treat any particular pawn structure, however that is not its intent. The idea is to familiarize the reader with the structures themselves, the openings that they are most likely to arise from and the strategic ideas for both sides.

How "P.S.C." helped me

I am currently a USCF Life-Master. I have won more than 100 rated tournaments. My personal chess library is over 1,200 books.When I was studying to become a Master, it was a tremendous eye-opener to me to discover that there are not more than around 15 basic pawn structures. GrandMaster Andy Soltis (who has played me and beaten me twice in over-the-board encounters) lays out logically, all the basic different pawn structures. He shows that there might be dozens of different move orders to reach a certain structure, but once you get there-- there are only a limited number of plans that work within the given pawn structure. He logically and sensibly lays out these different plans. He shows many practical examples of how each plan may have worked in real, OTB play; usually in the games of a well-known GM. The examples are very poignant. His advice is easy, sensible, logical, and readily assimilated. It does not matter if you are a Master, or just a Novice who wishes to improve ... this is a book for you. Credit this one book for turning a humble expert into a Master who has tied for first in four different State Championships. Easily belongs in my list of, "The Ten Best Instructional Books Ever Written! "

Absolutely the best book available on pawn structures!

The study of chess openings can be both frustrating and time consuming. Frankly, we tend to waste time memorizing the latest theoretical novelty on move 18 of a variation we won't see in tournament play for at least several years. Soltis' book makes the study of chess openings both fun and practical. Soltis has distilled the vast number of chess openings down into a very manageable number of related "pawn structures". These include: the Caro formation, the Slav formation, the Open Sicilian, the e5 Pawn Chain, the d5 Pawn Chain, the King's Indian Complex, the Queen's Gambit family (Isolated Queen Pawn, Hanging Pawns, etc.), the Panov Formation, Stonewall, and the Closed Sicilian. Soltis clearly explains the typical plans (why certain plans work and others don't) and tactics of each structure, and when its beneficial to change from one structure to another. Every chess player should read this book at least once a year to refresh his or her mind with the concepts. Improvement in one's game is virtually guaranteed with study of this material. Soltis has shown once again why he is one of the very best chess authors on the scene today.