A Fresh Look at Chess: 40 Instructive Games, Played and Annotated by Players Like You

by Lev Alburt

Overview

What everyone can learn from the best of Chess Life’s amateur games.

For the last ten years Grandmaster Lev Alburt has been writing a very special monthly column for the U. S. Chess Federation’s magazine, Chess Life. Nontitled readers are asked to contribute their most instructive games, with generous annotations. From dozens of entries, Lev chooses for his column one he considers to be of greatest value for CL’s readers, adding his own comments and advice.

For this book, Lev has selected forty of his best columns, arranged by theme, and has added some new material, all to make A Fresh Look at Chess truly instructional and also fun to read and learn from.

Most chess books have been written by grandmasters and use only the hard-to-understand games of grandmasters to help amateurs. This book uses a new, complementary—and very effective—approach: amateur games reveal the mistakes your opponents will make, and show you how to capitalize on them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781889323251
Publisher:	Chess Information & Research Institute
Publication date:	04/01/2012
Pages:	219
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

International Grandmaster Lev Alburt, three-time U.S. champion and former European champion, is one of the most sought-after chess teachers in the world. He lives in New York.

Table of Contents

Part I Focus on Openings

Game 1 Tal Is Smiling [1418-1588]* 12

Game 2 Setting Up An Attack [1244-1200] 17

Game 3 A True Gambiteer Attack [1692-1734] 24

Game 4 The Expanding Center (Right And Wrong Ways to Decline the Smith-Morra) [1788-1904] 28

Game 5 Lost On Move Four—And Then Winning[2280-1780] 34

Game 6 Queen To King's Rook Five, Check(mate)![1231-2123] 40

Game 7 Opening Deviations, Or Crime And Punishment 45

Part 2 Traps!

Game 8 Legal's Mate And Other Opening Traps 51

Game 9 Readers' Traps 53

Game 10 To Trap Or Not To Trap? [1915-1440] 54

Game 11 Saved By A Trap [2207-unrated] 60

Part 3 The Art of Sacrifice

Game 12 More Often Than Not, Initiative Trumps Material [1433-1540] 68

Game 13 An "Iffy Sacrifice" (And Some Advice To Defenders) [1435-1500] 74

Game 14 The Sacrifice (Bxh7+) [2000-1548] 79

Part 4 Attack & Defense

Games 15&16 Attacking Computers, Morphy-style [1554- ] 85

Game 17 Ignore Threats At Your Own Peril [1900-1276] 90

Game 18 Inspired By Fischer 95

Game 19 Older Players Can Be Deadly Tacticians, Too [1521-1499] 100

Game 20 A Student Applies Coach's Principles [1762-1752] 105

Game 21 The Perpetual Attack [1550-2100] 110

Game 22 Press On! [1443-1403] 114

Part 5 Tactics

Game 23 Shock and Awe Out Of The Blue Sky [1826-1630] 120

Game 24 When Fortune Smiles on You, Be Ready! [2375-1440] 126

Game 25 Turning The Tables (Pin Becomes Discovered Attack) [1412-1403] 132

Part 6 Strategy

Game 26 Capablanca's Formula [1293-1692] 138

Game 27 Isolani [1791-2394] 144

Game 28 What Is My Opponent Planning? [1764-1800] 148

Game 29 AC-Player's Worthy Ideas on Positional Play 153

Part 7 Kids Play and Comment

Game30 Outwitting The Professor (The Value of Development) [996-unrated] 161

Games 31&32 Two Upsets (Sudden Attack; Rook Ending) [1687-1229]; [1702-1229] 165

Game 33 Analyzing Together [1660-1742] 173

Part 8 The Endgame

Game 34 The King's Power [1658-2049] 178

Game 35 The Pawn Endgame Roller Coaster [1670-1173] 185

Game 3 6 Draw on Demand [1107-1764] 193

Part 9 Time Management and Other Useful Thinking Techniques

Game 37 Managing Time 200

Game 38 Blitz! 205

Game 39 The Psychic Powers Of The Queen [1767-1442] 210

Game 40 How To Beat A Grandmaster [1667-2650] 215

Index 219