Bridie Jackson and The Arbour: New Deal Announced.

Bridie Jackson and The Arbour have just announced that they have joined the Debt Records label.

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Initial details are available here and further details will doubtless follow.

Amateur to IM: Interview With IM Hawkins

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To conclude the week's coverage of Amateur to IM, we present a short interview with the author, International Master Jonathan Hawkins.

How long ago did you get the idea to write a book?

I knew maybe two years ago that I had the material to write an interesting book. I didn’t seriously consider actually doing it until last September (2011).

Was the process easier or harder than you expected?

Harder in the sense that I grossly underestimated the length of time it would take me. Also I found myself using all my chess time doing it instead of working on my own chess.

How long did it take?

I’m not sure about hours. From start to finish it was about eight months, of which the last two and half was spent chopping and changing and editing.

Are you planning a sequel (especially if/when you become a GM)?

I would like to, I’ve thought about it a lot, but nothing on paper yet.

Are you happy with the reaction to the book so far?

Yes. My worry was that people wouldn’t understand what I was trying to say but this hasn’t been the case. I am yet to read anything negative.

Were any players inspirational or particularly helpful on your road to becoming an IM?

Yourself in the early years, when we used to talk about chess a lot. My best friend Bret who I’ve done probably thousands of hours of chess with. In more recent times on the tournament trail Keith Arkell has been very supportive. Quite a lot of stuff in the second half of the book is the type of things we would discuss.

What are your chess plans for the next couple of years?

More writing and coaching. Playing tournaments and trying to make my final GM norm. After that I’m not sure, I will have to make a decision at some point how seriously I want to take my chess.

Amateur to IM is available from all of the usual chess suppliers, including:

Mongoose Press

The London Chess Centre

Chess Direct

Amateur to IM: Author!

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Our extended look at Amateur to IM will conclude over the weekend, with an exclusive interview with the book's author.

It will be by no means the first time Jonathan Hawkins has been featured here at Marsh Towers. We covered some of his early successes back in 2006, when he was first making a habit of winning Open tournaments on the UK weekend circuit.

Two years later he bravely agreed to take part in a correspondence game against the Rest of the World, the moves of which were relayed both here and on the Chess Links Project website.

More recently, Jonathan supported the 2nd Mike Closs Memorial Tournament and gave a talk on one of his games against Stuart Conquest.

Demonstrating a crushing victory

He didn't win the quiz though!

Stay tuned for the forthcoming interview.

Amatuer to IM: Initial Reviews

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Amateur to IM hasn't been out for very long but it has already attracted a number of very positive reviews.

Our week-long look at the book continues today with some excerpts from these reviews.

From The Chess Mind review, written by Dennis Monokroussos

''Mongoose Press often publishes chess books that are slightly unusual, but in a good way, and this is no exception. In fact, this is one of the best chess books I've seen in some time.''

''Good information, excellent exercises and lucid explanations. What more could you want? Very highly recommended for players 1900 and up, though players below that could benefit greatly as well.''

From the Steve Giddins Chess Blog:

''Hawkins' book is a fascinating story of how an 18-year old 2000-strength player (and by definition, therefore, not a player blessed with exceptional natural talent, if he will forgive me for saying so) turned himself into a Grandmaster (he isn't one just yet, but it is clearly only a matter of time and opportunity) by a process of well-planned, assiduous work. As such, it is an inspiring story, and an example which any similarly ambitious amateur can follow, if he has the strength of character. "Amateur to IM" is a book which all those interested in chess improvement, be they players or trainers, should read, and I hope it sells as well as it deserves to.''

More will doubtless follow...

Amatuer to IM: Why the Endgame?

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This week's preview of Amateur to IM continues with Jonathan's explanation of why the endgame enjoys special coverage in his book.
 

Why the Endgame? 
  
Why did I choose the endgame for the subject of this book? Why will it improve the reader’s chess?

The simple answer is that I am convinced a careful study of the endgame sparked the biggest leap forward in my own game. Can it really be that the endgame is more important than other phases of the game?

I would say that it is more a question of balance than of one phase being more worthy of our study time than another. Let us sketch the portrait of a modern player to illustrate the typical imbalance:
 

• With the wealth of opening literature, and the ease of access to the latest Grandmaster games on computer databases, it is no great task to build up a high-level opening repertoire. Time consuming perhaps, but the path to take is not a difficult one.

• Indeed, I have listened to Grandmasters lament the unfairness of this. Gone are the days when the ‘weaker’ player can be routinely dispatched in the opening.

• Combined with the knowledge of standard schemes in the middlegame - linked to their opening repertoire (which is relatively easy to attain, by playing through master games in the relevant openings) - we have painted the picture of quite a formidable foe.

All of this is perfectly reasonable, and I encourage the reader to spend time doing exactly these things.

We have, however, a clear motivation here for focusing (at least some) of our chess energy on the endgame:
 

• Our opponents will typically have a clear weakness in this area.

• We want to fortify our game with a strong endgame foundation; otherwise we will be throwing away many good positions (and points!).

Of course, we must expect a certain amount of crossover between the phases of the game. Knowledge of endgames is useful when studying the openings; often modern opening theory is so deep that it transposes directly into endgames.

All of this not new advice; in fact, most players know this already. Why then is the endgame such a neglected phase of the game?

There is no question it is more difficult to study than, say, the opening. Most endgame works, typically featuring general rules and many theoretical positions, are rather too dull to study. By the time we get the theoretical position we memorized, many years may have passed and we have forgotten the details. Computers often offer little help. I found this very evident when analyzing the opposite-colored bishop endgame Aronian-Bacrot in ‘Endgame Exploration 2’.

We are all guilty of mimicking the world’s strongest players to some degree, and it is true that they work considerably on openings. The reason is that they are already proficient in theoretical and technical endgames. Occasionally this is not the case and, as we do a few times throughout this book, we can enjoy the feeling that we know something an elite player did not!

Jonathan deep in thought, waiting for his opponent's first move

For ordering details, please contact your regular chess supplier or head for the Mongoose Press website.

Amateur to IM: Aims of the Book

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Continuing our preview of Amateur to IM, we now take a look at the aims of the book, as taken from Jonathan's introduction.

Aims of the Book

I did not intend in any way for this to be an exhaustive theoretical manual.

My aim was always just to start the ball rolling and help the reader to think about chess in a different and more coherent way. Everything we learn we will try to understand to the level where it can be used in a practical game.
 

• I wanted to show that chess is an interesting game which is definitely not played out; there are often countless possibilities in even the most innocent looking position (take the Aronian – Bacrot game I discuss later, for example).

• I wanted to teach good principles in the endgame and (although it was not my primary goal) to show some important theoretical endgames. Some of the theoretical endgames in the book are not essential knowledge, but I saw no reason to dumb anything down if they were relevant to the analysis.

• I also wanted to spark the reader’s interest in analysis and investigation of chess positions. Always search for the truth, and never pass something by without understanding it.

The astute reader will notice that some of the examples in the book are quite recent. It is true that I updated some of the games from my original notebooks. Be assured I only did this when I felt the new example was stronger than the old.

I should say a few words about the structure of the book and how best to use it:
 

• It is split into two main parts. The first half is quite lightweight, and focuses on some thinking techniques, principles and some essential theoretical endgames. The second half is quite deep and involves analysis and discussion of some very specific types of endgame. There is also a short section of exercises.

• Most chapters have a ‘Theoretical Notes’ section at the end. Any theoretical endgames or particularly interesting variations which cropped up in the main lessons and required further coverage are discussed there.

When we encounter a specific theoretical position (or type of position) I would recommend playing it out several times, against a playing partner or an engine. My favorite way to do this is to play without studying the position at all. Only afterwards do I study the analysis of the position and repeat the process. In this way you will see the problems in the position really clearly, since you are already committed to thinking rather than just memorizing.

When playing over the annotated games (or game fragments) the primary goal is to retain the patterns and ideas, and the secondary goal is to use the arising positions to hone your analytical skills. Memorizing the game, move by move, is not something you need to consciously try to do. Once you understand the moves and ideas this will happen automatically. To this end I would recommend playing over the games quite rapidly in order to digest the main points. Later, upon completion of the chapter in question, you can look at the games and side variations in more detail.

Jonathan playing Peter Wells at the 2011 British Championship

For ordering details, please contact your regular chess supplier or head for the Mongoose Press website.

Amateur to IM: Contents

Throughout this week, I'll be looking at Amateur to IM - the debut book by International Master Jonathan Hawkins.

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Recently published by Mongoose Press, the book sports a particularly eye-catching cover that will hopefully stand out from the crowded bookstalls.

I must declare an interest in the book. I am the editor and I worked very closely with Jonathan throughout the project. Believe me, Jonathan put a lot of effort into this volume; it was definitely not a proverbial case of writing a book over a weekend.

Instead of a review, this week's articles should be considered as a set of previews.

So, what is the book about? How exactly did Jonathan rise through the ranks and what are the ''proven ideas and training methods'' on offer? As the cover blurb explains:


''The secret was knowing what to study and how to learn as efficiently as possible. Focusing his attention firmly on the endgame, Jonathan devised a number of building blocks and identified a number of very important areas of study. The result of his hard work was a meteoric rise through the ranks, as he became firmly established as a prominent GM killer on the English tournament circuit.

These pages reveal the secrets of his notebooks for the first time. IM Hawkins presents special material aimed to help you become a much better practical player, one armed with a deeper understanding of key aspects of chess.

A careful study of the lessons presented in this book should enable the chess student to gain a significant improvement in both performance and rating.''

Here's the list of contents:

Introduction

Part 1

Thinking Techniques

Lesson 1

Reaching the Horizon – Reference Points in Calculation

Calculating with a goal in mind

Key squares in king and pawn endgames.

Opposition and outflanking

An arsenal of positions

Summary of Ideas

Theoretical Notes: opposition, distant opposition, outflanking

Lesson 2

A Short Introduction to Planning in the Endgame

Basic winning methods

Identifying long-term goals

Promoting our pawns

Attacking the enemy structure

Lesson 3

Capablanca’s Pawn Endgame

Combining planning with calculation

Mastering key positions

Building blocks

Reserve tempi

Critical squares

Three training games

Summary of Ideas

Theoretical Notes

Lesson 4

Step by Step – A Guide to Little Plans

Optimizing the pieces

Understanding the concept of ‘little plans’

Summary of Ideas

Part 2

Principles and Essential Theory

Lesson 5

Essential Rook Endgames

Lucena position

Philidor’s sixth rank defense

Passive bank rank defense

The geometry of checking distance

Short-side defense

Cutting the King

Building a bridge

Summary of Ideas: Simple Defensive Procedures; pawn on the fifth rank; pawn on the fourth rank

Theoretical Notes: Lucena position with a rook’s pawn; Philidor denied; knight’s pawn on the fourth rank

Lesson 6

Bishop and Pawn Connections – Dynamic Defense

R+P vs. B+P with blocked pawns

Fortresses

Positional ideas

Simplification into a known drawn endgame

Illustrative game: Sasikiran – Carlsen

Summary of Ideas: ‘solid’ and ‘passive’; fortress

Lesson 7

Pawn Walls Against Bishops

Restraining a bishop with a pawn chain

B+2P vs. B, with opposite-colored bishops and connected pawns

Summary of Ideas

Illustrative game: Akobian – Howell

Theoretical Notes: defensive set ups

Lesson 8

Dropping Down the Anchor

Opposite-colored bishop endgames

The anchor

Zugzwang and sacrifice

Breakthrough

The psychology of defense and attack

Illustrative game: Kramnik – Adams

Summary of Ideas

Theoretical Notes

Lesson 9

Back To Reality – Other Minor Piece Endgames

Bishops of the same color

The theory of bishop and vs. bishop with same-colored bishops

Bishops dominating

Illustrative game: Karpov – Susan Polgar

Summary of Ideas

Theoretical Notes: bishop and pawn vs. bishop

Lesson 10

Exercises!

Part 3

Endgame Explorations

Practical games

Endgame tabiyas

Endgame Exploration 1:

My Favorite Endgame

Rook and bishop vs. rook

Summary of Ideas

Theoretical Notes: Lolli’s two positions

Endgame Exploration 2:

A Long Discussion of a Short Endgame

Opposite-colored bishops

Summary of Ideas

Theoretical Notes: important discoveries

Endgame Exploration 3:

Skeleton of the Minority Attack - Endgames in the Karlsbad Structure

QGD: Exchange Variation

Important structures

Illustrative game: Arkell – Kiriakov

Summary of Ideas

Theoretical Notes: minority attack; transformations

Endgame Exploration 4:

Extra Pawn on the Queenside

Part 1 - Positional Advantage

Rook behind passed pawns

Zugzwang

Infiltration

Summary of Ideas

Theoretical Notes: Kopaev Line; Alekhine Line

Endgame Exploration 5:

Extra Pawn on the Queenside

Part 2 - Walking the Borderline

Steckner position

Dautov position

Unzicker position

Dvoretsky position

Zugzwang position

Skewed Dautov position

Summary of Ideas

Theoretical Notes: more on the Steckner position

Endgame Exploration 6:

Ulf on the Warpath!

Development in the Endgame

Illustrative games:

Andersson – Marovic

Andersson – Hort

Andersson – Robatsch

Andersson – Nyback

Summary of Ideas

Theoretical Notes: knights against passed pawns; L-barrier; pawns on the seventh rank

Endgame Exploration 7:

Positions for Analysis

Solutions to Exercises

Follow-up Solutions

Final Thoughts

Bibliography

Jonathan demonstrating a crushing victory over GM Conquest

Appetite whetted? Stay tuned for more on Amateur to IM...