SECRETS OF CHESS DEFENCE (Mihail Marin)
176 pages (248
mm by 172 mm).
£15.99/$24.95/€24,95
Good defensive abilities earn players a great many
half-points and full-points. The climax of the defence is the launching of a
devastating counter-attack, a skill at which all the great chess champions have
been adept. Of particular interest to club players is Marin's discussion of how
to defend against unsound attacks, and the problem of how to parry the attack
while retaining winning chances. Other topics include attack and defence in
equal positions, where both sides must judge carefully how much of their
resources to devote to the attack and the counter-attack. The main subject,
though, is the case where the defender is fighting for his life, and must
decide how to maximise his chances of survival. Marin considers psychological
issues and explains the main options available to the defender: simplification,
cold-blooded defence, a positional sacrifice, 'blackmailing' the attacker, or a
counter-attack.
Mihail Marin is a strong grandmaster from Romania. He
achieved his first major success in international chess by qualifying for the
interzonals in 1987. He has won the Romanian Championship on two occasions and
has played in seven Olympiads. For several years he was editor of the magazine
Chess Extrapress. See also Secrets of
Attacking Chess.
Download a pdf file with a
sample from the book.
"Maximize your chances of survival with this guide to
defense and counter-attack." - Mark Donlan, Chess Horizons
"The author of Secrets of Chess Defence may not be
that familiar to the general chess public, but he will be once this book
receives well-deserved acclaim. Romanian GM Mihai Marin has written a wonderful
book that is not only educational but also funny. Amazingly no translator is
credited. Either Marin is completely at home writing in English or editor
Burgess has done an outstanding job preserving the author's voice as he relates
anecdotes from his days playing on the Romanian national team. Secrets of
Chess Defence covers many subjects that have been poorly dealt with in the
chess literature including Two Minor Pieces for a Rook and the Economy of
Resources in Defense. Reading this book one cannot help but appreciate that
Marin possesses a high level of chess culture. My advice is buy Watson and
Marin's books and call in sick to work for a couple weeks!" - John
Donaldson
" Verdict: an important contribution to the small amount of
literature on the subject of defence in chess." - Phil Adams, 3Cs
website
"Chess defence is invariably the part of the game that a lot
of players don't like to study because they find it too boring or they'd rather
attack like Tal. In this his first publication, Mihail has written a book that
will change your mind about defence as an important element to the game." -
Michael Stevenson, New Zealand Chess
"...the part I found most interesting were the chapters
covering defence by means of sacrifices." - John Pugh, Chess Post
"This is Marin's first book and it is value for money. He
starts from the premise that defence is a very broad concept indeed and is not
restricted to bad positions, but can also include good or equal positions. For
example, how many times do we encounter strategically good positions requiring
the parrying of a temporary initiative?" - Mark Robertson, Weekend
Chess
"...one of the most fascinating books on a wrongly neglected
subject and material for many long training sessions" - Harald Fietz, Schach
Magazin 64
"All chesslovers who want to improve their ability to defend
can unconditionally and emphatically benefit from intensive study of Marin's
book." - Dr. W. Schweizer, Rochade |
