Defending Tough Positions

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  • Defending Tough Positions

    Does anyone know a book that focuses on this, at the recent University Chess Championships I found I had a strikingly high number of computer first moves but that was due to having easy positions in every game, I figure that when the position is tough for one side it is much more difficult to play the best move/defensive resource.
    University and Chess, a difficult mix.

  • #2
    Re: Defending Tough Positions

    See:

    http://chessimprover.com/defending-difficult-positions/

    There Nigel Davies says:

    I’ve had a lot of experience defending difficult positions, perhaps through playing the Modern Defence for so long! And my recommendation is to read the chapter by Paul Keres on this in The Art of the Middle Game.

    Essentially Keres states that one must avoid playing for swindles as your opponent then only needs to negotiate a single obstacle before being able to claim victory. Instead it makes it much harder for them if you dig in and simply refuse to lose, searching all the time for the move that keeps you in the game. When faced with such stubborn resistance, many people will be unable to continue the perfect series of moves needed for victory. And when they falter you pounce.

    Sounds like the way Nakamura has been playing lately!

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    • #3
      Re: Defending Tough Positions

      There are a number of books dedicated to defence in chess that I've seen or bought over the years. I sold a lot of my books in 2005 when I moved, but the one such book I kept was 'The Art of Defense in Chess' (McKay 1975) by GM Andrew Soltis, one of his better efforts that I've seen, IMO (some other books I also have do mention defence, as one topic of many). No chapter or theme is dedicated entirely to 'grim defence' (as Nunn calls it in 'Secrets of Practical Chess') as far as I can tell, looking at the book again quickly, but no doubt such a scenario (defending difficult positions) is discussed at least implicitly by Soltis in one or more places.
      Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
      Murphy's law, by Edward A. Murphy Jr., USAF, Aerospace Engineer

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