Lessons on Uncompromising Play - Navara

Lessons on Uncompromising Play – Mastering Strategies for Winning Concepts – David Navara. Hard Cover Book

If you want to win a game, you should be ready to progress in small steps. In most games, you first need to gain the initiative, then transform it into a positional advantage or into an attack and eventually win the game. Reality is usually more complex and even grandmaster games mostly contain mistakes on both sides and often even unexpected twists and turns. (True, there are many grandmaster games in which the balance has never been disrupted, but they do not really belong into this book.) To gain the initiative, you need to sacrifice some material or play somewhat better than the opponent. I often try to create imbalances, e.g. exchange my bishop for an opponent’s knight, doubling my opponent’s pawns or getting a lead in development in return. Once you possess the initiative, you should usually act resolutely to transform it into something real (more can be found in the chapter on dynamics).

Chess has changed a bit in the past few years. Talented teenagers play better than ever before, top players know even more theory and make even fewer mistakes than before, preparation takes more time and energy, and winning against strong opposition has become even more difficult. When walking through a nearby cemetery during the 2023 Prague Masters, I sadly contracted a drawish virus which is expected to cause the draw death of chess sooner or later, as the great Capablanca predicted. In that year, I started to play more solidly, scoring many quick draws with Black in classical chess and even my White games were often not overly interesting. (On the contrary, in rapid and blitz chess I still have very few draws.) My mental hygiene was not great and I was close to burn-out on several occasions – not the best situation for someone who writes on ‘uncompromising play’. That said, it has taught me that players should care about their energy level as well. And that most of the advice shared in this book hold true even if you are tired, although then it usually better to act more solidly if you are primarily interested in a good result. That said, results are not everything. Interesting games also matter and I am glad to share some of them with you in this book.

    I am a fighting player who likes to play and therefore only rarely agrees to a draw in unclear/undetermined positions.
    I have my own chess philosophy which helps me to play daring, uncompromising chess while being a rather friendly and timid person.
    In most games, you first need to gain the initiative, then transform it into a positional advantage or into an attack and eventually win the game.
    Or you might find yourself in a bad position in an important game and need to do the best to save it.
    I believe that reading this book might help you handle such situations better.
    This book is primarily aimed at strong club players who want to improve further.
    If you happen to be a stronger player and/or a very independent one, please forgive me for including so many bits of advice. When getting older, people often acquire a habit of giving advice to others.
    I like the concept of justified optimism: when you prepare well and believe in your strength, but still pay attention to your opponents’ intentions and do not underestimate them.
    Once you possess the initiative, you should usually act resolutely to transform it into something real
    This publication is luckily not limited to ambitious club players. It contains many dramatic games or their fragments, which might appeal to a significantly broader audience.