The Art of Attacking Chess

For the player who has grasped positional, strategic and sacrificial nuances of chess, we face the conundrum: how do we get there to use this? (to paraphrase Spielmann on Alekhine)This is my first book I have encountered that goes in depth from opening to preparation for attack in the middlegame down to the prosecution of attack. Basic themes are concentrated upon (eg K in middle, same side castling, opposite side castling) alongside positional features: (the evaluation of hanging pawns in Polgar vs Karpov is masterly) and the strategic (eg Horwitz bishops, knight on f5). There is much thought when he groups certain positions into the tabiyas and explore the attacking plans from there. I learnt more about QID in the afternoon spent with that particular chapter than playing though QID positions from Kasparov's "My Great Predecessors" Certainly I can remember some of those games now and realise some features I didn't appreciate.I believe that is the beauty of this. Kotov's Art of Attack in Chess is similarly titled but in my humble opinion is not describing an artistic venture at all but a technical manual. This similarly titled book is more aptly named with a much clearer approach and writing. There is thoughtfulness to the supplementary positions to illustrate major points raised in sidelines of the major games.There are positions at the end of each chapter to allow you to test your understanding of the themes presented. This allows quite a bit of "replay" value.On a personal note while I shy away from classic positions due to poor understanding, this has rekindled a strong desire to go back to them.

Thank you.

This book is misleading. The author Zenon Fraanco doesn't tell you how to attack in any of this book. He has put 33 games together with 2 masters playing tournament games together. Ther'e's a lot of good names. Spassky, Tal, Carlsen, Polger, Anand, just to name a few. This book doesn't tell you anything about showing or teaching you how to attack. A better book is: " The Art of attack in chess" by Vladimir Vukovic. I bought the book the art of attacking hoping it would broaden some ideas I could expan d on. I give it 1 star. The author should show chess players how to attack and not rely on chess games from other players. If you want a good attacking book.Get the copy by Vladimir Vukovic.