Modern Chess Strategy

by Luděk Pachman, Allen S. Russell (Translator)

Every chess player hopes to set off brilliant combinations and win games in a blaze of glory. Such combinations do not come into being by themselves, however; they appear only as the result of proper chess strategy. It is therefore surprising that so few books deal with this highly important subject, and understandable that Pachman's modern classic has been so enthusiastically received by chessplayers at all levels.
Ludĕk Pachman, a Czech grandmaster, has long had an international reputation as a chess theorist, but until now his work has not been available in English. This present volume, which condenses his great Modern Schachstrategie , presents his ideas and theories in a form that the English-speaking world can assimilate easily. Beginning with basic concepts and the rules of the minor and major pieces, it covers the use of the Queen, the active King, exchanges, various kinds of Pawns, the center and its use, superiority on the wings, minority attack, strategical points and weak squares, methods of attack and defense, and similar topics. Pachman elaborates the various kinds of strategy that can be employed, and shows how each leads to tactical opportunities. It has been said that his section on the Rook alone make his book indispensable to the serious chess player, since the Rook is so important in both middle and endgames.
Pachman presents his method in the form of a thorough, systematic, analytical text, which draws upon scores of great games for exemplification. Both classical and very recent masters are included, although stress is on the Capablanca, Alekhine, Dr. Lasker, Rubinstein, Nimzovich, Botvinnik, Reshevsky, Bronstein, Smyslov, and Spasski.

Genres: Chess, Nonfiction, Games, Reference

336 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1971

About the author

Luděk Pachman (German: Ludek Pachmann) was a Czechoslovak-German chess grandmaster, chess writer, and political activist. In 1972, after being imprisoned and tortured almost to death by the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia, he was allowed to emigrate to West Germany. He lived the remainder of his life there, and resumed his chess career with considerable success, including playing in the Interzonal in 1976 and winning the West German Championship in 1978.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pachman is never less than clear in his teaching and the games he's selected to illustrate the points he's making are all well chosen. The book is well produced (at least in this edition) which isn't sadly always the case with modern chess books. Why not a higher rating? Simply that isn't an essential or ground-breaking read for the chess student which isn't to denigrate the clarity or usefulness of Pachman's achievement.

[John Farebrother · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me three years to get through this book - not because it's tough going, but because it is a practical manual, that must be read with a chessboard at hand. As such, it is a very satisfying experience for anyone fascinated by this ingenious game. The author is a renowned international grandmaster, and he methodically and exhaustively analyses every aspect of the beautiful game. Needless to say, his expertise extends beyond how to best use individual figures, and the classic openings and middle-game positions. He considers such concepts as dynamic and static advantage, and the personalities of individual opponents. Although the book was written before the advent of the computer chess age, he is able to look forward to some of the challenges that this age has thrown up. As such it is perhaps the ideal summary of the accumulated wisdom of human chess.
But as I stated above, it takes the reader on a practical journey, with dozens of top-level games played and analysed in detail for the reader's edification. There is apparently a larger, three-volume version of the book, enriched by anecdotes from the chess world; unfortunately I bought the more compact, single-volume version, but it has no less merit for that.
Finally I would like to congratulate the translator for his seamless rendering of the original text. As with all quality translations, he is invisible, and the reader quickly forgets the book was actually written in Czech.

[Dave Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Serious instruction for the intermediate player (or beyond). Mr. Pachman covers the basis of (mostly) mid-game strategy. Don't bother if you're looking how to immediately pounce on your opponent through some short-term attack combination. This is a treatise on how to entrench yourself for the long term. For serious players only!

[Serge Pierro · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book about the middle game in chess. Pachman lays out the different strategic approaches that are relevant to the middle game, and instructs the reader through the use of annotated games that are related to the approach being discussed.

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always felt that this book was a hideously butchered version of the original.

It's one of these books that you may not fully appreciate for a very long time, till you just gave up and appreciate the book on Ludek Pachman's terms!

You just have to really really study the positions hard, and even get out your computer chess analysis tools.

Once you know all the tactical dangers and opportunities of a position then the strategic ideas will make more sense.

[Ernest Cadorin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Understandable, but although the sections were organized based on fundamental elements of chess strategy, they focused mostly on subtle details and nuances of those strategies. For example, the chapter on The Minority Attack (which is already a subtle topic for someone at my level) has a whole section dedicated to “The Struggle for Control of c4 (without the advance b5 by Black)”.

[Butch Mosier · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the first books on chess I've ever owned. Yellowed and dog-eared from having been purchased in 1972(?) and studied hundreds of times since, its still one I keep coming back to when I want to understand some chess concept a little better.

[Fernando Fernandes · Rating 2 out of 5]

The descriptive notation killed it for me.

[Allen Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this book for a long time but never actually read it. Yeah, I poked around here and there, but never really STUDIED it. I pulled this off of the shelf and have spent roughly a month reading it.

Did I absorb everything in this book? Of course not. Did I absorb anything? Of course I did. I'm keeping this and at some point will reread it. I think it will be necessary to keep a notebook handy and write down key learnings or key games to review in the future. For example, I learned I really like Steinitz style (don't ask me why) and I'm wondering if I can find a game collection of his.

What's next on my chess reading journey? Not sure.

[L · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pachman’s analysis is sometimes inaccurate when comparing with Stockfish, but his explanation of concepts does hold up. Descriptive notation is a little annoying but forced me to slow down in my reading. Pachman’s writing style is a bit dry but overall a pretty good book.

[Leonardo Ribeiro Machado · Rating 3 out of 5]

A must for every serious chess player.
Also a classic.

[Jason Copenhaver]

The descriptive notation is killing me.. I'll have to find something else.