Winning Chess Middlegames

WINNING CHESS MIDDLEGAMES: AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO PAWN STRUCTURES
Author: Ivan Sokolov
New In Chess (2008)
286 pages
$28.95

Reviewed by John Donaldson

WINNING CHESS MIDDLEGAMES: AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO PAWN STRUCTURES by GM Ivan Sokolov is the rare book that aims to systematically examine all types of queenside pawn structures. Unlike earlier works on the same subject by GMs Baburin and Mikhalchisin, which focused primarily on either isolated queen pawn positions or those with hanging pawns, WINNING CHESS MIDDLEGAMES: AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO PAWN STRUCTURES covers more varied ground. Both IQP and hanging pawn formations are covered extensively (92 and 32 pages respectively) but there are two other important chapters on double pawn complexes and central pawn majorities.

Using 45 model games, which include a nice balance of analysis and prose, Sokolov explains the pros and cons of each structure. Showing the virtues of doubled c-pawns, which so often arise from both the Saemisch and Rubinstein variations of the Nimzo, he gives as one idea for White a plan first realized in Bronstein-Simagin, Moscow (ch) 1961: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.a3 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 c5 6.f3 Nc6 7.e4 0-0 8.e5 Ne8 9.f4 cxd4 10.cxd4 b6 1.Nf3 Ba6 12.Bd3 f5 13.d5! Na5 14.d6 cutting Black’s army in two. Compare that with a more modern example between Vadim Milov and Judit Polgar played in Moscow in 2001: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.a3 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 c5 6.e3 Nc6 7.Bd3 0-0 8.Ne2 b6 9.e4 Ne8 10.0-0 Ba6 11.f4 f5 12.d5 Na5 13.e5! Bxc4 14.Bxc4 Nxc4 15.d6 and once again Black’s kingside is paralyzed. This is just one example of the gold that is to be gleaned from Sokolov’s work.

I give this book my highest recommendation but with one caveat. Remember this is a book primarily about queenside pawn structures – Sokolov has been a 1.d4 player throughout his career. IQP positions can arise from the Panov-Botvinnik Attack in the Caro-Kann or the Alapin (2.c3) variation against the Sicilian and d4 and e4 versus ...e6 crops up certain lines of the French, but at least 90 percent of this book is devoted to positions arising from 1.d4. If you play 1.e4 as White and answer it with 1...e5 and play the King’s Indian you would not find many of the pawn structures you routinely encounter in Sokolov’s book. This exception noted, WINNING CHESS MIDDLEGAMES: AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO PAWN STRUCTURES is a great book that can be read with profit by players from 2000 to Grandmaster.

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