®| ® |
|
|
|---|
Last update: Friday June 3, 2005 9:44
by Drazen Marovic
Gambit, 208 pages, £14.99
This is a solid and considered
effort by Marovic. The book is highly readable and the explanatory text is instructive.
The chapter division into Isolated Pawns, Isolated Pawn Couples and Hanging
Pawns, Passed Pawns, Doubled Pawns, Backward Pawns, Pawn- Chains, Pawn Islands
is reasonable and well proportioned. These are preceded by an historical overview
of pawn structures in the introduction that puts the book nicely into perspective.
Marovic's examples do highlight the key themes of certain structures very well, but on the other hand most of his chosen games are extremely well known. Personally, I think this is a serious shortcoming to an otherwise excellent book. It's true that the author provides personal and original insights into these examples, but by my estimation around 3/4 of the given games will have been seen by many readers before and this saps my enthusiasm to look at these games again. Some repetition with old material is unavoidable, and I'm sure there is something to be said for further scrutiny on some of the most instructive games ever played. However, I think Marovic has gone too far in this respect, and whether it was through laziness or over-fondness of the classics, this feature lets the author down. That said, for those who feel they won't find this a problem, it is my pleasure to recommend a very good book.
Organisation 8/10
Explanation 9/10
Accuracy
8/10
Originality 5/10
Reviewed by Jon Rowson