{"id":4640,"date":"2026-07-30T11:16:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T11:16:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/?p=4640"},"modified":"2026-07-30T11:30:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T11:30:34","slug":"book-review-ulf-the-attacker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/book-review-ulf-the-attacker\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Ulf – the Attacker"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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What is Ulf – the Attacker!<\/em> about?<\/h2>\n

\n Ulf – the Attacker!<\/em> by International Master Thomas Engqvist (New in Chess) is a game collection built around an overlooked side of Swedish grandmaster Ulf Andersson: his attacking play. Andersson reached fourth in the world in 1983 and is remembered for positional control and endgame technique, but this book gathers 56 annotated games and 16 game fragments in which he went after the king instead. The games run chronologically across four parts, from his junior years through his peak and beyond, and the annotations are computer-checked throughout. It is written for intermediate players and above who want to study attacking chess through a complete career rather than a themed manual.\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Book Review:<\/strong> Ulf – the Attacker! by IM Thomas Engqvist<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n \u201cKavalek once mentioned, with a mixture of astonishment and admiration, how remarkable it is that Andersson and Ljubojevi\u0107 can walk to the tournament hall together laughing and joking and then, across the chess board, face each other in a life-and-death struggle.\u201d <\/em>
\n\u2013 GM Jan Timman in his book The Art of Chess Analysis.<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The association of Ulf Andersson with an attack does not usually spring to mind when thinking about the elite Swedish grandmaster. The former world number four is usually known for playing in a very solid style, particularly in his later career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The late GM Jan Timman wrote in his Forward as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n \u201cIn general, this Swedish grandmaster is known as a purely positional chess player with superb endgame technique; therefore, the title of this book is surprising. However, Thomas Engqvist does a highly convincing job highlighting this other side of Ulf. Especially in his younger years, Ulf liked to use sharp opening systems in order to play for the attack…\n

\n\nAfter the Reykjavik tournament [1972], Ulf gradually started playing more cautiously, with a wary eye for danger. He played tennis in the same way, always from the baseline.\u201d<\/em><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
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\n \n \"Ulf\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n
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Ulf – the Attacker!<\/div>\n
56 Thrilling Games from Sweden’s Chess Legend<\/div>\n\n
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Author:<\/strong> IM Thomas Engqvist<\/div>\n
Publisher:<\/strong> New in Chess<\/div>\n
Pages:<\/strong> 278<\/div>\n
Level:<\/strong> Intermediate<\/div>\n
Category:<\/strong> Game Collection · Biographies and History<\/div>\n
Format:<\/strong> Interactive E-book (Forward Chess)<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n Read sample<\/a>\n Buy<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n
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What’s Inside – Forward Chess Ebook<\/h3>\n

Four chronological parts covering 1967 to 2018 · 56 games and 16 game fragments · 278 pages<\/p>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n
Foreword by Jan Timman<\/td>\n p. 7<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Preface<\/td>\n p. 9<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Introduction<\/td>\n p. 18<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Part I — From beginner to Swedish Champion (1964–1969)<\/td>\n p. 23<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Part II — From professional to International Grandmaster (1970–1972)<\/td>\n p. 77<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Part III — Raising the bar towards becoming one of the best players in the world (1973–1983)<\/td>\n p. 125<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Part IV — Transition from peak rankings post-1983<\/td>\n p. 175<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Index of openings<\/td>\n p. 275<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Index of names<\/td>\n p. 276<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n <\/tbody>\n <\/table>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
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What you actually get.<\/b> 56 fully annotated games plus 16 shorter game fragments, spanning 1967 to 2018, with every annotation computer-checked. Losses are included alongside the wins, which Engqvist frames as necessary to show the risk that attacking chess carries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

As the Table of Contents above shows, the book discusses Andersson\u2019s career in chronological order based on 56 games plus 16 game fragments, including some of his losses, and a selection of photos. The author of the book is another Swedish International Master, Thomas Engqvist, who has been able to access a lot of commentary and background material on the games that is not easily accessible to non-Swedish speakers. This material includes many of Andersson\u2019s comments on his games and the background to them.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A note on the selection.<\/b> Engqvist deliberately leaves out the games Andersson is best known for, the deep opening preparation, the positional squeezes and the endgame technique. Readers coming to this expecting the standard Andersson canon will not find it here. That omission is the whole point of the book, but it is worth knowing before you buy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Engqvist comments on his choice of games as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n \u201cThe deliberate choice of your author to avoid the typical games Ulf is known for \u2013 those which demonstrate his prowess for deep opening concepts, exceptional positional play and high-level endgame techniques \u2013 highlights the versatility of his play and the way he adapted to different situations and opponents.
\nUlf in an attacking mood, where his main focus was attacking the king, is an often overlooked and underestimated dimension of his play. It is clear that someone who ascended to the world chess elite with attacking games and maintained his position for so many years, and needing just two tournaments to become the highest rated player ever in correspondence chess, is skilled in both the strategic and tactical aspects of the game.\u201d<\/em><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The author also highlights perhaps Andersson\u2019s most famous game against then World Champion Anatoly Karpov in Milan, 1975, and he writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n \u201cThis game, in my view, epitomizes his playing style with elements like the Hedgehog System, sacrificial strategies to dominate specific board areas, pragmatism, patience, strong psychological resilience, controlled aggression and an unwavering determination to win.\u201d<\/em><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Andersson has himself written:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n \u201cI like playing against Karpov. He always behaves correctly at the board. But he\u2019s difficult to play against, especially when you\u2019re playing with the black pieces. He\u2019s like a python; he tries to squeeze the life out of you.\u201d<\/em><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The author has used a good balance of verbal commentary and variations when analysing the games, and this helps readers to absorb the material. While it\u2019s clear that the author respects and admires Andersson, he is still objective when it comes to the analysis of his games.  He readily notes cases where Andersson missed chances or played poorly. This is an admirable approach and provides a much more realistic picture of Andersson\u2019s games. Engqvist also updates and corrects previous analysis of the games. Of course, as would be expected from a modern book, all the analysis has been computer-checked to ensure that the analysis is fundamentally sound and doesn\u2019t contain errors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book also gives a great insight into Andersson\u2019s warm personality and love of chess. Andersson has written: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n \u201cI just play… chess is so much fun. I try to make the best out of each game, find a kind of feeling… then it almost happens by itself \u2013 finding a good position, I mean.\u201d<\/em><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Where to begin.<\/b> Engqvist singles out Karpov-Andersson, Milan 1975 (Game 25) as the game that best captures Andersson’s style, and offers Andersson-Portisch, Skopje 1972 (Game 24) as a teaser for the rest, a Morphy-flavored game where the bishop lands on a3 with decisive effect.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Two examples from the book are given below, with annotations from the book. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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