Chess-players understand that it is vital to play logically, but often lack the methods needed to do so. In this book, renowned trainer Erik Kislik presents a wide range of specific concepts that will help them succeed. These include positional techniques, thinking methods, and modes of play to adopt when either better or worse.

Just the list of chapter titles shows how original Kislik’s presentation is. They include:

• Painfully Slow Moves
• Focal Points
• Reciprocal Logic
• Fighting against Centralized Pieces
• When Playing a Bad Move Wins a Good Game
• A Chronically Weak King

Throughout, the discussion is illustrated by a mass of examples from both recent elite chess and the play of Kislik and his students, showing how his themes cut across all levels of chess. After the book’s two main sections – Thinking Concepts and Positional Concepts – comes a section of exercises, again with a strikingly original theme: our task is simply to assess each position.