Good planning is central to good chess. A plan gives meaning to manoeuvres and tactical devices, forming a coherent whole that brings us closer to our goals. The modern understanding of chess planning has evolved considerably since the days of the “grand plan”, whereby a player might even try to map out the whole course of the game. Nowadays, top-class players appreciate that the opponent’s ideas also deserve respect, and our own plans must take them into account too. Modern grandmasters plan with great purpose but also flexibly, ready to adjust or even change direction completely when the situation demands it.
Grivas provides 75 superb practical examples where it is important to make the right plan. Once the critical position is reached, he guides you through the options and challenges you to find the right path. Detailed solutions are provided, with a full discussion of the pros and cons of the various options.
About the Author
Grandmaster Efstratios Grivas lives in Athens and is also an International Arbiter and Organizer. He has represented his country on a great many occasions, winning an individual gold medal at the 1989 European Team Championship and an individual silver medal at the 1998 Olympiad. He is a FIDE Senior Trainer and an experienced writer.
Reviews
“An excellent training course in planning. Highly recommended.” — Paul Dunn, Australian Chess magazine
“Some books just work; they do exactly what they set out to do. Efstratios Grivas’s Modern Chess Planning is one of them. While there are many competent instructional books on the market, few are so good they make you say ‘wow’ or earn an unqualified endorsement. But I must admit I am quite enthusiastic about Modern Chess Planning … This book is not only ‘a practical training course in logical chess,’ it’s a training course in confident chess. Anyone in the intended audience (1500-2200) has experienced the frustration of looking at a position and not knowing what to do. Obviously, one can look for tactics, but what limits one’s understanding, if not success, is not seeing what plans are available – or, if they’re seen, knowing which one to choose. The more one gets it right, though, the more confident one becomes. The best tests not only test what you know, they challenge you to prove you know more than you thought you did. Modern Chess Planning does that. It’s not an easy book; I doubt many players can skim the choices and do well. But if you put in the time, it will deepen your understanding of the planning process, and strengthen your ability to make plans yourself. … This is a book I intend to recommend highly, to use with my students and to refer to again. For anyone serious about recognizing and developing good plans, Modern Chess Planning ought to be on their ‘must buy’ list.”—David Kaufman, www.chesscafe.com
“The experience gained from working on the wide range of positions included will be sure to develop a more professional approach towards planning in chess as well as significantly help the reader find the best plans faster in his or her own games. Highly recommended.”—Andy May, nsgchess.com