Muchos años han pasado desde que en 1914 Nimzowitch desarrollara e introdujera a nivel magistral la Defensa Nimzoindia.
Como uno de los padres de la corriente Hipermoderna de pensamiento ajedrecístico, Nimzowitch se dio cuenta del enorme potencial que tenía la idea del control del centro con piezas en lugar de la forma tradicional con peones. De esa manera se podía dejar la estructura flexible para posteriormente situarla como más conveniese. A pesar de las críticas de algunos de sus coetáneos como Tarrasch, Nimzowitch siguió su propio camino desarrollando ideas que hoy forman parte del arsenal habitual de los jugadores de Nimzo, nombre coloquial que le damos a la Nimzoindia, como la creación del complejo de peones doblados en c y posterior ataque a c4 o el juego de bloqueo de la estructura enemiga con d6-e5.
Hoy se puede decir que el tiempo le ha dado la razón en la corrección de sus ideas y su defensa es una de las que mejores estadísticas consigue, siendo un arma habitual de los jugadores de élite.
"We talk a lot about defence in chess but rarely try to break this major notion down into elements that constitute it and, importantly, that we can systematically learn. This book does exactly that. It is suitable for players of all levels aiming to improve their game. It may be especially appropriate for coaches because of its systematized character." - GM Adrian Mikhalchishin
This book is definitely not a book full of theoretical lines. Of course, I will give some advice if possible and necessary. But the main purpose is to explain the structures that can result from double fianchettoed positions. The reader will find five chapters with structures from the white side and six chapters with structures from the black side. The last chapter is a mixed one, with games from both sides. The main — and longest — part will be the first chapter, with games and analyses of my own main weapon starting with Nf3, g3 and b3 against the King’s Indian and Grünfeld. I will show the reader a few games of my own and also games from Kramnik and Andersson, two of my favourite players. I have learned a lot from their games myself. I have played those structures for nearly 25 years and one of my sons also now starts with 1.Nf3. During my years of playing chess I tried many possible openings with White and Black, but I was only successful with fianchettoing one, or even better both, bishops. Maybe this was a sign and those structures are really a lifestyle for me? I hope you will enjoy reading this book and maybe these structures will also become part of your lifestyle. ~ Daniel Hausrath
But let me now explain the idea of this second book. I will show you some 18 games with the more or less current trends in the double fianchetto. These games include some openings like the Tarrasch and the King’s Indian, just to name a few. The main part of the book is divided into exercises and solutions, with 110 positions taken from double fianchetto games. I have divided the exercises into chapters, with each chapter featuring games by players who have deployed the double fianchetto quite often. You will find a lot of typical motifs used by these players. The difficulty level ranges from very easy through to very tough, but I won’t give points for the solutions. The ideas vary from tactics to important strategic subtleties. The reader decides how honestly he or she tries to solve these exercises. It is also not necessary to solve all of them, but it is definitely important to think about these positions and take your time. The reader should gain an impression of the many ideas and structures which are possible in the double fianchetto positions.
It is very important for the practical player to train his or her ability, understand when to rely on intuition, rules of thumb and more general positional considerations, when to try to solve problems by calculating variations to the end and how to manage time to avoid time pressure.
The Fifth Edition of a Modern Masterpiece! When it appeared in 2003, the first edition of Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual was immediately recognized by novice and master alike as one of the best books ever published on the endgame. The enlarged and revised fifth edition is better than ever! Here is what Vladimir Kramnik, the 14th World Champion, had to say in his foreword to the fifth edition: “I consider Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual an absolute must for every chess professional, and no less important even for a club player... I always recommend this book... I consider it to be one of the very best chess books published in recent times and I am very pleased with the new enhanced edition...” German grandmaster Karsten Müller, widely recognized as one of the best endgame theoreticians in the world today, has carefully updated the fifth edition with the help of American grandmaster Alex Fishbein. The incredible instructional value of the exercises has been preserved, and the blue text used in the first four editions has been replaced with text with a light grey background.
The FastTrack to Endgame Expertise! Since it first appeared in 2003, Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual has been acclaimed as the best single volume ever written on the endgame. With staggering depth and accuracy, it clearly reveals the secrets of this most important stage of the game. One of the unique characteristics of the Endgame Manual has been the highlighting of text considered to be essential to the understanding of endgame theory. The late, great trainer Mark Dvoretsky carefully selected the text to be highlighted so that players at all levels could benefit from this monumental work. Now in its fifth edition, the 440-page manual may seem somewhat intimidating to some readers. With that in mind, German grandmaster Karsten Müller and American grandmaster Alex Fishbein – both recognized endgame experts in their own right – have collected the highlighted text from the fifth edition and presented it so that the core concepts might be more readily available. The result is Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual: FastTrack Edition. As noted by Australian grandmaster Ian Rogers in his foreword: “I am very pleased that Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual: FastTrack Edition has come along. It is eminently suitable to sit in an amateur player’s library as their only endgame book, and equally good at preparing a serious student for many other fine endgame books – not forgetting of course the storied father of this volume, Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual." If you are serious about studying endgames, have a limited amount of time, or are simply looking for a convenient way to improve your play in endgames, the FastTrack Edition may just be the book you have been looking for.