Do you know of a good strategic book?

Hi,

I feel my strategic/ positional understanding of the game lags behind the tactical.

Often I find myself in balanced positions with no obvious threats or opportunities and believe I should be able to assess things like: ah this looks like a good Queen side attack option or now that I have a strong centre blah blah...... (these terms don't mean much/nothing to me BTW). And generally things go wrong thereafter.

So can anyone recommend a book (or anything else) that focuses on getting a good strategic/ positional understanding?

Cheers, Dave

Here's one good book:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1890085022/104-7594403-4084759?v=glance

Originally posted by The Swine Down Hope
Hi,

I feel my strategic/ positional understanding of the game lags behind the tactical.

Often I find myself in balanced positions with no obvious threats or opportunities and believe I should be able to assess things like: ah this looks like a good Queen side attack option or now that I have a strong centre blah blah...... (these terms don ...[text shortened]... ything else) that focuses on getting a good strategic/ positional understanding?

Cheers, Dave

One of the most famous books on chess strategy is 'My System' by Nimzowitsch. (Hope the spelling's right)

Originally posted by LordOfTheChessboard
i know a very cheap and effective way to improve your possitional chess.
just start playing possitional openings and you will quickly improve your possitional chess. it worked fine for me i did this for a couple of months.
you schoud consider openings like the queens gambit, the nimzo indian, and the french defence.

the Jeremy Silman books, especially Reassess Your Chess, are excellent and deal with the "imbalances" concept which is quite useful when there are no tactical threats involved in a position. The Nimzovitch My System is good, but he gets carried away with his own nomenclature and the games are dated.

Yasser Seirawan's book "Winning Chess Strategies" is a good one to read.

SM

Originally posted by The Swine Down Hope
Hi,

I feel my strategic/ positional understanding of the game lags behind the tactical.

Often I find myself in balanced positions with no obvious threats or opportunities and believe I should be able to assess things like: ah this looks like a good Queen side attack option or now that I have a strong centre blah blah...... (these terms don ...[text shortened]... ything else) that focuses on getting a good strategic/ positional understanding?

Cheers, Dave

Well, if you mastered the tactical, then mastering the practical should be easy. I recommend taking out every positional book you can find, and maybe take out one of Pandolfini's question books of "why is it good to do this and that" positionally as well as get some knowledge and appreciation of the game. Give yourself about 2 months studying position, but do 15 tactical problems each night to still get that strong facet of your game warmed up, and you will be 2000 rated in no time. When a player comes to me with a 1600 rating and doesn't know a thing about openings or position, I stare in jealously, because they obviously have the natural talent to one day become a great chess player, perhabs even a IM or GM, and if what you say is true, then you have the stuff if you really work at it.

I second My System.

Thanks for encouragement mateulose but slightly optimistic I think; I've yet to beat anyone over 1550 without them blundering, have a uchess rating of ~1300 and rely heavily on openings guides.

Yes the main goal here is to enjoy the game more by having a few more ideas in situations where no tactical options present themselves and get an insight into how players like ThePO and APB are able to slice my position up effortlessly.

Thanks to all for the information.

Have gone for The Amateur's Mind (Jeremy Silman), it certainly has ideas I haven't considered before and am enjoying the read.

Cheers, Dave

I also have this and it has helped improve my thinking no end. Unfortunately I still have the attention span of a goldfish so it makes no difference in real life....