Grandmaster Chess Strategy

Grandmaster Chess Strategy

One of the most effective ways to improve is to adopt a great player as your model — to study their games until their judgement starts to rub off on you. Jürgen Kaufeld and Guido Kern have done exactly that with Ulf Andersson, the Swedish positional genius whose crystal-clear style carried him to number four in the world.

The authors selected 80 of Andersson’s finest games and grouped them into 15 thematic strategy lessons, each pinpointing the specific technique that decided the game — the slow accumulation of small advantages, the exchange of the right pieces, the domination of a key square or file, the conversion of a microscopic edge into a winning endgame. Andersson’s games are the ideal teaching material precisely because the wins look effortless: there is rarely a flashy tactic to distract from the underlying positional logic.

The verbal explanations are detailed and accessible, aimed squarely at the amateur who wants to acquire genuine positional technique rather than admire it from afar.

A rewarding course in strategy for club players and above who want to learn the quiet art of outplaying opponents — from one of its supreme practitioners, clearly explained.