7
published by Penguin Books
Many chess-players know a large variety of open-
ings and understand well the pattern of end
games-but what happens in the middle? The
difficulty of understanding the principles of middle-
game play is perhaps best illustrated by the dearth
of good books on the middle game. They can be
counted on the fingers of one hand.
Yet the middle game is a real challenge to the
player. Here in the full orchestration of the game
the player has the chance to use all his pieces to
carry out his ideas. All players will be grateful to
the grandmasters, Keres and Kotov, for their
masterly analysis of attack and defence in the
middle game, and to Mr Golombek for his transla-
tion and fully authoritative introduction,
Of particular importance and interest are Kotov's
complete chapter on the attack on the king, Keres's
very personal analysis of defence, and Kotov's
demonstration of the importance of pawn struc-
ture: the good player must know which pawn
positions favour which types of attack and defence.
Here is an essential addition to the chess-player's
library.
Cover design by Ann Usborne, based on a game
Rejfir-Keres, Moscow, 1956PENGUIN HANDBOOKS
PH102
THE ART OF THE MIDDLE GAME
PAUL KERES AND ALEXANDER KOTOV
TRANSLATED BY H. GOLOMBEK
Paul Keres, the great Estonian chess-master, was
born at Narva in 1916. He first made his mark in the
international field by representing his country very
successfully on first board at the Warsaw Chess
Olympiad of 1935. Since then his career has been rich
in victories, ranging from first prizes at Semmering-
Baden in 1937 and Avro in 1938 to numerous suc-
cesses in post-war years — three first places in Soviet
Championships and first prize at Budapest in 1952
are the most notable. His career as a writer on chess
has been equally important and he has become cele-
brated for his originality and capacity for thorough-
ness,
Alexander Kotov, one of the finest attacking
players of the century, has achieved major tourna-
ment successes. He was equal first with Bronstein in
the 1948 Soviet Championship, won first prize at
Venice in 1950, and gained first place in the great
Interzonal Tournament at Stockholm in 1952. He is
also noted for his books on chess, in particular a
study of Alekhine.
Harry Golombek, one of Britain’s foremost inter-
national masters, is Chess Correspondent of The
Times and the Observer.