STARTING OUT: ATTACKING PLAY
Author: James Plaskett
144 pages
$18.95
Everyman Chess (2004)

Reviewed by John Donaldson

STARTING OUT: ATTACKING PLAY by Grandmaster James Plaskett is not an encyclopedic examination of the subject like Vukovic’s classic THE ART OF ATTACK, but rather a personal look at that most essential skill for a chess player. Plaskett arranges 46 of his own games around chapters entitled Rook’s Pawn Tin Openers, The King in the Center, Isolated Queen Pawn Attacks, Pawn Rollers, Attacking the Castled King, From a Clear Blue Sky and Fantasia.

What makes this book so enjoyable to my mind is Plaskett’s enthusiasm for attacking play and his desire to communicate with the reader. STARTING OUT: ATTACKING PLAY is filled with insights like the following, that stay with you.

“Kasparov told me of the view of his mentor, Botvinnik; that to be an authentic World Champion a man must bring something new to chess. As an illustration of a strategic idea he personally had developed, he instructed me that the establishment of a knight on d6 (or d3 for Black) when supported by a Bishop, may be strong enough to warrant a sacrifice of a pawn, and went on say that in one of the most classic instances, his immortal win in the 16th game of his 1985 match with Karpov, his Black Knight at d3 proved to be at least as strong as a White Rook.”

Karpov - Kasparov

World Championship, Moscow (16) 1985

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nb5 d6 6.c4 Nf6 7.N1c3 a6 8.Na3 d5 9.cxd5 exd5 10.exd5 Nb4 11.Be2 Bc5 12.0–0 0–0 13.Bf3 Bf5 14.Bg5 Re8 15.Qd2 b5 16.Rad1 Nd3 17.Nab1 h6 18.Bh4 b4 19.Na4 Bd6 20.Bg3 Rc8 21.b3 g5 22.Bxd6 Qxd6 23.g3 Nd7 24.Bg2 Qf6 25.a3 a5 26.axb4 axb4 27.Qa2 Bg6 28.d6 g4 29.Qd2 Kg7 30.f3 Qxd6 31.fxg4 Qd4+ 32.Kh1 Nf6 33.Rf4 Ne4 34.Qxd3 Nf2+ 35.Rxf2 Bxd3 36.Rfd2 Qe3 37.Rxd3 Rc1 38.Nb2 Qf2 39.Nd2 Rxd1+ 40.Nxd1 Re1+, 0–1.

STARTING OUT: ATTACKING PLAY is both a good guide to attacking play and a first rate game collection that should appeal to players of a wide range of playing strength from 1600-2400.

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