Attacking Manual (Volume 1)

I have enjoyed reading Jacob Aagaard's previous books. In those books he has often stressed that to improve in chess one must be willing to do plenty of work and put in some real effort. I believe that he is right. As I have worked my way through his previous efforts, I have been rewarded. Consequently, I had looked forward to the release of his "Attacking Manual" for some time. But now that I have it in hand, I am disappointed. While the content of the book is excellent, vintage Aagaard, the production value of the book is so seriously flawed that it makes his work virtually inaccessible. The binding is good; the heaviness of the paper used is good; the clarity and size of the many diagrams is good; the sharpness of the print is good. The problem, and it is a surprisingly big problem, is the lack of margins. They virtually don't exist. The pages are laid out in a double column format. While the very small margins don't present a problem reading the lines of the lateral columns of the book, they do make the pages unattractive. Far more importantly, the lack of margins medially makes it very difficult to read the book as lines of print literally bend into the central crease of the opened book. While I had expected to be challenged by the book's content, I had not expected to have to fight the book itself. I feel bad ranking this book with only 2-stars. The Aagaard content deserves better. But a chess book is to be enjoyed. The layout of this book, with its lack of central margins, is simply so bad that it makes this work not only disagreeable, but essentially unapproachable. The content isn't worth the fight. Aagaard deserved better, but then again, so did I. I spent almost $30 for this book. I will never fully read it though. Poor production value trumped good content. It is not worth the fight. It is not worth the money. Aagaard needs to find himself a competent publisher. ADDENDUM: I wrote the above review in 2008. However, I recently (May 2011) read an excellent review of this book by Derek Grimmell at the Chess Cafe website. In that review Mr. Grimmell wrote the following: "The reader will note that this is the second, revised and expanded edition. The first edition was marred by several printing and editing errors, and was bound so that the text near the spine of the book was a bit hard to read. Aagaard convinced his editor John Shaw to let him release this corrected and improved edition, and he added three sample games in the process. Much of the rest is unchanged, except that typographical errors are corrected and the production values are even higher. The result is a very well-edited book that just feels good in your hands. And even though my copy is new, I can lay it flat in front of me while playing over the games, then close it with no creasing to the spine or tendency to fall open to the same spot again. It's a large floppy book that's easy to work with and feels like it will give years of use." After reading the Grimmell review, I was astonished. Perhaps I should not have been. After all, there was a reason why I had enjoyed and learned much from Jacob Aagaard's previous books. Mr. Aagaard's integrity and his willingness to improve the flaws in the original edition of this book are all too rare. I believe that Mr. Aagaard's devotion to honesty and quality form the basis for my admiration of his previous works. Consequently, I ordered this revised and expanded edition. I ordered Volume 2 as well. They are remarkable works. I have also raised my appraisal from 2-stars to a well deserved 5-star rating.

This book is the first volume of a 2 volume Attacking Manual. By attack, Aagaard refers to attacks against the King. He has analyzed a large number of attacking games and established 7 "global principles" and the chapters are arranged around these principles. Since Aagaard (and John Shaw) is the publisher and editor, it looks like Aagaard has not skimped in any explanatory prose. The games are described in complete and beautiful detail making the requisite connection to the "global principle" involved. In my experience, this is about as good as chess instruction gets. I will admit I have not read the entire book (that will take awhile). At the time I am submitting this there is only one other review and in that review the book is given only 2 stars. The author of the review complains about the tight spine which causes the pages to disappear into the centerfold. That was true with my book also, however the construction of the book is excellent and the spine is very strong. I found it an easy matter to merely bend the pages open. You don't have to bend each page. Several strategic bends will convert the book to normal. As Aagaard often points out, don't give up too easily. I wanted to submit this review quickly because I didn't want anyone to avoid buying this excellent book because of the page issue.

First, this my real name I am adult A player current Rating 1874 (USCF), so I am going to write about this book from a "class" player point of view. 1.The book may have some minor problems with the layout, but this is not that important, what really matters is its content. 2.The book is a "manual" the message is delivered in a concise fashion. The book is divided into 8 chapters, full of current Grand Master Games(you can use the games to play solitare chess and then compare your variations with the variations from the author). 3. Chapter 9 has 50 positions to sink your teeth into, which is a great way to reinforce your learning. I am glad Aagaard wrote this book aimed to players in my range (yes, Dvoretsky is good but over my head for now). I also got his DVD's Attacking Chess vol 1 and 2 for under [...] bucks each, here at amazon which I consider a good learning complement to the book. In Summary, get this book, WORK on it and you will not be dissapointed. I am waiting for MANUAL 2!

I noticed my attacking game improved almost immediately. This book is for more advanced players but it is readable and can be followed without a board which is also good practice.

Very well written, just what I expected from GM Aagaard. He has this unique way of explaining which looks simple but what is amazing is the way he breaks down complicated ideas into easy to understand concepts. Love it.

Excellent

Very serious book, in the style of Dvoretsky's books. Requires a lot of work from the reader, to really benefit.

The a new way to capture the king

I purchased is for my son after having seen the reviews. Glancing through the book, I felt it is a very good one. It deals with the different steps of building attacks as well as different strategies of attacks.There are sufficient examples and exercises for practice at the end. The language is very informal, making it interesting to read.

Fine

Superb material, but not an easy read, the author tends to leave cryptic loose ends. I assume these are designed to stimulate the reader into further thought, but they frustrate this reader more than encourage.

I was bought both volumes last year and can honestly say they're the worst chess books I own. Continuations are not clear in a lot of this book, you have to jump from chapter to chapter and back again to try and understand what he's talking about which gets very confusing but worst of all it's one of those.... "And black/White has good compensation" or... the (apparently obvious) weak squares in blacks camp etc.... (That are actually well protected with black easily having great resources to back them up or solve the issues with good play) are obvious targets for white but he's not going to attack them now he's going to attack his strong points (not that strong at all!) I think I'd have to have Jacob Aargard sit next to me and explain it all in plain English because truthfully it doesn't make sense. Plenty more attacking books out there, don't waste your money.