Attacking Manual 2 by J. Aagaard (English)

English Chess Federation Book of the Year, 2010.

The old masters dealt only with the static features of positional rules. But, these are insufficient to explain the basics of chess. The problem is that chess, like other sciences, has undergone a dynamic revolution, but chess literature does not yet reflect this. In this major work Aagaard explains the rules of attack (the exploitation of a dynamic advantage), balanced between understandable examples, and deep analysis. Five years in the making, this book deals with weak kings, sacrifices, various minor attacking themes, intuitive sacrifices, opposite castling, modern king hunts, and enduring initiative. Chapters: Chapter 1 – Understanding Mating Attacks 9 Typical Mates & Focal Points 11 Three Piece Attacks 25 Insurance Policies 30 Transformations 31 Exercises 40 Solutions 43 Chapter 2 – Typical Piece Play 53 The Assault Ratio 57 Deflection 67 Overloading 76 Tempo-gainers 81 Piece Sacrifices for time 84 Transition squares 89 Lines of Communication 101 Vacating Squares 118 Outposts 127 Launching 135 The pin 148 Improving the Circumstances 165 Prophylaxis 170 The f5/f4-squares 178 Chapter 3 – Typical Pawn Play 181 Pawn breaks 183 Pawns as valuable as pieces 193 Pawn storms 208 Pawn sacrifices 237 Provoking weaknesses 243 Chapter 4 – King