Hansen, How Chess Games are won and lost

Traditionally, chess games have been divided into three stages - opening, middlegame and endgame - and general principles presented for how to handle each stage. All chess-players will be well aware that these principles all too frequently fail to help in their selection of the best move.

In this important work, Lars Bo Hansen, grandmaster and professional educator, presents chess as a game of five phases, and explains the do's and don'ts in each: * the opening * the transition to the early middlegame * the middlegame * strategic endgames * technical endgames *

With a wealth of examples from both his own practice and that of his colleagues, Hansen discusses the typical mistakes and pitfalls, and shows how to handle the subtleties unique to each stage. He also advises on how to work on your chess in each aspect of the game. Of special value is his explanation of how to study typical middlegames, and that middlegame preparation - a neglected area for most players - is both possible and necessary.

Lars Bo Hansen is a well-known grandmaster from Denmark. He has won the Danish Championship on two occasions, and represented his country in four olympiads, winning a bronze medal for his individual performance in 1990. His many tournament victories include first prize in the strong Copenhagen Open in both 1997 and 2000. Away from the board, he teaches and lectures on business studies, with a particular focus on marketing, organization and strategy. This is his third book for Gambit: see also Foundations of Chess Strategy and Secrets of Endgame Strategy.

Contents

Symbols 6

Bibliography 7

Introduction What is this Book About 9

How to Improve in Chess 10
The Structure of this Book: the Five Phases of a Chess Game 11
How to Distribute Your Time in Chess Training 13

1 The Opening 14

The Principles of Opening Play 15
The Fight for the Centre 15
Development 21
King Safety 22
Preventing or Obstructing the Opponent s Plans 23
The Modern Trend: Breaking the Principles 27
Pawn Sacrifice for Initiative 27
Knights on the Rim 30
The King in the Centre 35
Acceptance of Doubled Pawns 39
The g4 Revolution 44
Opening Play in Practice 51
Where does the Opening End 54
How to Build an Opening Repertoire 57
The Soundness of an Opening Repertoire 57
Fitting the Opening Repertoire to Your Style 58
Fitting the Opening Repertoire to Your Playing Strength 61
The Importance of Move-Order 63
Broad or Narrow Opening Repertoire 65
How My Opening Repertoire Evolved 67
The Early Years 73
Rebuilding an Opening Repertoire 75

2 Transition from Opening to Middlegame 84

The Pawn-Structure in the Centre 87
Playing the Exchange Queen s Gambit 92
Playing the Exchange Queen s Gambit as White 93
Playing the Exchange Queen s Gambit as Black 100
Personal Style in the Transition from Opening to Middlegame 119

3 The Middlegame 122

The Battle for an Advantage 122
The Concept of Advantage 122
The Transformation of Advantages 124
The Noble Art of Defence 127
Steinitz s Principle of Defence 127
Defending Against an Attack 128
Positional Defence 134
Looking for a Swindle 136
Attacking Mechanisms 139
Steinitz s Principle of Attack: Target the Main Weakness! 139
Tal s Attacking Ratio 139
Attacking in Practice 140
Tactics 144
Diversion and Overload 146
The Magnet 147
Double Threat 148
The Pin 149
Blocking 151
Gain of Tempo, Desperado, and Zwischenzug 152
Clearance and Opening of Lines 153
The Quiet Move 154
Manoeuvring 156

4 Transition from Middlegame to Endgame 160

The Importance of the Pawn-Structure 164
The Principle of Two Weaknesses 172
The Space Advantage 175
Control of Squares and Files 176
Grip and Suppressing Counterplay 178
Domination 180
Time: Hurry or Not 182
Making the Right Exchange 184
The Transformation of Advantages 185
The Two Bishops 187
Bishops or Knights 189
When the Knight is Superior to the Bishop 189
When the Bishop is Superior to the Knight 191
Same-Coloured Bishop Endings 192
Opposite-Coloured Bishop Endings 193
Knight Endings 194
King Activity 196
Rook Activity 198
Initiative and Attack in the Endgame 200
Mate and Stalemate in the Endgame 202

5 Technical Endgames 204

Pawn Endgames 204
Minor-Piece Endgames 206
Rook Endgames 209
From the Side or from the Rear 213
The Advanced Lucena 215
Queen Endgames 218
Unbalanced Material Distributions 220

6 Practical Tips 227

How to Work with Computers in Analysis 227
The Horizon Problem 227
The Understanding Problem 230
Preparing for Tournaments and Opponents 234
Preparing for Specific Opponents 234
Step 1: Repertoire Overview 234
Step 2: Narrowing Down the Choice 236
Step 3: Preparing the Specific Line 238
Time Management 241
Time Allocation During the Game 242
Playing in Time-Pressure DAUT, NUPM and KAPP 247
Index of Players 252
Index of Openings 255