50 Essential Chess Lessons

A modern look at 50 immensely instructive chess battles“This one is one of those books I wish I'd had 30-40 years ago. I would’ve become a master (if I had taken the time to study it).” – Bob Long, ChessCoSteve Giddins has chosen 50 supremely instructive games – some old, some new, and including many that few readers will have seen before. He has annotated these games in detail from a modern perspective, explaining the useful lessons that can be learned from them, while avoiding the harmful dogma or unrealistic depictions of ‘grand plans’ that characterized many older works of this type. Throughout, the emphasis is on identifying helpful ‘mini-rules’ – nuggets of understanding that are of genuine use when facing a resourceful opponent across the board.Topics include:Attacking the KingDefencePiece PowerEndgame ThemesEach game is followed by a recap of the main lessons to be learned. As with his previous and highly successful book How to Build Your Chess Opening Repertoire, Giddins writes in an accessible, down-to-earth style that appeals to club players seeking to improve their understanding of practical chess. His knowledge of Russian-language chess literature has enabled him to find many excellent examples that have not appeared in previous western literature.Steve Giddins is a FIDE Master from England who plays regularly in international events and has frequently contributed to the British Chess Magazine. He has gained a reputation as a writer who provides useful, no-nonsense advice on topics of genuine practical importance. This is his third book for Gambit.“Steve Giddins is gaining a reputation as a chess author mainly because of the clear manner in which he presents his thoughts and this book is another landmark in his oeuvre.” – Bill Frost, ChessDevon“an instructional gem of a book that can probably help almost any player improve but will be especially useful to novices and intermediate because of the detailed annotation and the depth of the explanation. ... Highly recommended!” – Bill Whited, ChessCountry“Highly recommended for 1200-2000 players seeking for a game collection, especially those who would like to improve their understanding in middlegame pawn-structures. Giddins tried to update Chernev’s Most Instructive Chess Games but he outdid his teacher.” – ChessBug“Giddins has written another excellent book ... It is a teaching text that uses 50 very well-selected complete games – not the usual suspects – to illustrate various kinds of positions from opening to endgame. Giddins gives descriptions of key ideas of the games, tips for how to play them, and what to look out for. Again, the book’s effectiveness is based upon its very clear and easy-to-digest presentation. I reviewed this book at length on one of my radio shows and can highly recommend it for average-strength players.” – IM John Watson, The Week in Chess“Really good books are truly worth more than their weight in gold! That’s my feeling about masterpieces such as Steve Giddins’s 2006 Gambit gem, 50 Essential Chess Lessons. All the ideas in the superb collection of games selected and annotated by Giddins were explained so lucidly that, even now, more than a year after I first read the book, the highly instructive concepts are still playing a very active role in my own chess thinking. For instance, I was especially impressed by White’s skilful handling of the long-range bishop-pair in the clash Gulko-Kremenietsky (Moscow, 1983), which was the penultimate battle in Steve Giddins’s chosen duels. Indeed, that particular encounter made such a deep impact on me that all the main points quickly came back to my aid when I needed their assistance in an endgame situation that arose very recently in Motwani-D.Floor, Dutch League 2007.” – GM Paul Motwani, The Scotsman Read more