Description of Grandmaster Secrets: Counter-Attack!
Superb defensive technique is a hallmark of all great chess-players. With a few deft counterstrokes, they not only deflect what looked like an overwhelming offensive, but also expose the darker side of their opponent's build-up. Is this sheer black magic, or are these skills that ordinary players can develop?
Grandmaster Secrets: Counter-Attack! answers this compelling question. While some of the key defensive skills follow well-established principles, modern players ally this with an appreciation of chess dynamics that is a good deal more subtle. Zenon Franco provides a wide-ranging course in how to handle difficult positions, seeking not only to hold them together but to go on the counteroffensive, exploiting to the full the commitments and concessions the opponent has made to launch his attack. The methods he advocates are varied: often a counter-sacrifice is the key, while simplification can also employed as a subtler, but equally deadly weapon.
Chapters include:
- Lasker, the Master of Defense and Counter-Attack
- Refuting Premature Attacks
- Fighting Blow by Blow
- Regrouping
- Prophylactic Thinking
- Simplification
Zenon Franco is a grandmaster from Paraguay who now lives in Spain. He is an experienced chess trainer, his most notable pupil being Paco Vallejo, now one of the world's top grandmasters, whom he taught from 1995 to 1999. He has written several top-selling chess books.
Customer Reviews of Grandmaster Secrets: Counter-Attack!
Greg from Menasha Grandmaster Secrets: Counter-Attack! ReviewThis book came highly recommended and it didn't disappoint me. The author presents a good number of defensive concepts through well-annotated illustrative games. I don't have another book on defense to compare it to, but this work seems to serve the purpose very well.
Carl from Denver Grandmaster Secrets: Counter-Attack! ReviewAn excellent book. It is much better used with an analysis set nearby, if not in constant use. The examples (exceelntly annotated games played by the world's best) can be difficult, but always thought provoking. I enjoyed GM Franco's use of both modern and classical games played by the likes of Petrosian, Korchnoi, Fischer and Larsen. There are many tests to solve as follow ups to the games. Enjoy!
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