Choosing the subject wasn't easy at all, since the topic of defense requires a  comprehensive analysis from different angles in order to give the chess player  under pressure useful guidelines during a game. Of course, the technical part is a  matter of finding challenging, new and interesting positions. I was struggling with  describing the emotions that we have during the game, how they influence our  decision-making process and what we can do about that. Hence, I tried the best I  could to define the issues the defender encounters during a stressful game. Finally  I am confidently sharing with you the lessons that I learned from sport psychologists  and literature, and my experience as a player over 30 years. 

I realize that this book will not cover all open wounds, nevertheless my aim to write  a manual about defense which can help us defenders enduring the hardest  difficulties in practice, seems to be achieved. Personally speaking this book helped  me as a defender to approach a worse position in a much more objective way,  optimally use all of my defensive resources available, both psychologically and  technically, to set – even under the most dire circumstances – pitfalls, while keeping  my nerves under control. 

Hopefully this first Volume of 'Unbeatable!' will be enjoyable for you dear reader,  and simultaneously, serves you well in practice how to stand firm in using your  defensive resources as a last resort. But at the same time this is a book with a smile and a tear.  

Jan Werle, Woerden – the Netherlands, November 2021