Daniel Naroditsky is one of the top young talents in American chess, and won the World Youth Chess Championship for players 12 and under in 2007. Now, Naroditsky has written Mastering Positional Chess: Practical Loessons of a Junior World Champion, making him quite possibly the youngest ever author of a published chess book.
The subtitle of this book is quite accurate; much of the advice given throughout its six chapters is practical in nature, exactly the kind of help I find most useful. I suspect this is the case for most club players; playing a more theoretically perfect game is great, but practical answers that will help us win more games certainly show a more immediate payoff in our results.
Throughout the book, Naroditsky utilizes a variety of games and game fragments to make his points clear. Some of these games are played by world famous grandmasters, but the author also uses his own games when they're relevant. This makes sense; when talking about practical lessons, he's in the best position to explain his own thoughts in his own games. Again, it's a case where the games of the very best players are great, but the insights that can come from a somewhat weaker (but still very strong) game are often more relevant to a club player.
Each of the six chapters covers a different topic related to positional chess. Chapter one deals with prophylaxis, the prevention of plans or threats before they surface. As games are presented, the author makes it clear what idea he intends each game to show: exchange sacrifices, retreats, eliminating counterplay, and so on. As in each chapter, he ends with exercises for the reader to attempt to use the concepts they learned in the reading.
The other chapters are similarly laid out, with key points of emphasis in bold to stand out. These are often the practical tips themselves, such as "always ask yourself what the opponent would do it if were his move." Summaries are given at the end of each chapter as a reminder of the material covered.
Chapter two deals with defending bad positions, a skill that can save many points by holding difficult draws or frustrating anxious opponents. Chapter three handles what to do when you find yourself either holding or invading a fortress. Chapter four talks about positional sacrifices, including the usual goals that warrant such a sacrifice. The fifth chapter covers paralysis (the situation in which your pieces simply have no good moves, or no moves at all), and the final chapter is on maneuvering the pieces.
I don't feel like a strong enough player to evaluate whether the positional advice given by Naroditsky is better, worse, or similar to the advice given by more experienced authors. What I do know is that his book is easily digestible, and the tips always make sense. They seem to be written at a level that any club player could understand -- a lot of it aimed at much lower rated players, but plenty of which can help those of us rated closer to 2000 as well. Maybe it's because the author himself was a class player not too long ago.
I'm sure many will look at Mastering Positional Chess dismissively, or at best, as a gimmick from a young writer. But this book and its author deserve respect. If you're a class player who has found picking up positional concepts difficult or mysterious, I'd recommend giving Daniel Naroditsky's first book a chance.
