The Semi-Tarrasch Defence volume 1

Endelig en bok om Semi-Tarrasch, eller forbedret Tarrasch som forfatteren også kaller stillingen etter 1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Sf3 Sf6 4 Sc3 c5 5 cxd5 Sxd5, i stedet for vanlig Tarrasch dronninggambit hvis svart slår tilbake med exd5.

Semi-Tarrasch som denne boka handler om, kan faktisk også oppstå med trekkomkastninger fra helt andre åpninger som Caro-Kann, Engelsk og Nimzoindisk. Etter 5... Sxd5 handler denne boka om hvits to viktige fortsettelser 6 e4 og 6 g3.

Boka er bygget opp rundt 34 partier med kjente stormestere i aksjon og er tydelig et grundig arbeid med mange av forfatterens egne analyser og partireferanser, derunder også temmelig mange med spill mellom ulike dataprogrammer. Det er nettopp en bok for den som vil ha mye kompakt stoff om åpningen med mange varianter.

Her er det mye glimrende sjakk, men boka blir litt for tettpakket av sjakk-trekk - og sparsommelig med ord - til å egne seg godt som generell innføring i en viktig åpning og sentrale stillingstyper som altså kan oppstå fra flere ulike åpninger. Boka passer best for spillere med ratingstyrke fra omlag 1500 og langt oppover.

Stormester József Pintér er en av Ungarns fremste sjakkspillere, trenere og sjakkforfattere. Han deltok i tre intersoneturneringer og var ungarsk mester i 1978 og 79.

Pinters forord

This book attempts to give a survey of the Improved Tarrasch De­fence, not restricting the analysis to the initial stage of the game, but allowing insight into the mysteries of the middle and endgame, too.

The Improved Tarrasch Defence has been, and still is, one of my favourite openings. In the 70s, under the influence of Robert Fi­scher, we had closely studied the then very fashionable defence. Our joint analyses with grandmasters Ivan Farago and Peter Lukacs hold good even nowadays, though some of them have become out­dated by now. In the book I used all literature I could find, as well as works published on the internet, naturally supplementing them with my own analyses.

Within the framework of 64 games I survey the whole opening, examining some deviations very profoundly, spicing them with not only variations but also with textual explanations. As for the less important ones, I deal with them only briefly, with few annotations. I sketch out the middle and end games arising after the opening in full games.

With the subject of 'isolated pawn', which is one of the most dif­ficult problems of the strategy and tactics of chess, I am dealing at great length.

Dr Siegbert Tarrasch once said: "Whoever is afraid of playing with an isolated queen pawn should give up chess." Savielly Tartakower was of the opinion: "An isolated pawn spreads gloom across the whole board." Which of the two was correct?

Both, in my opinion! In many positions the IQP contributes to its possessor's launching a furious attack, in others it is the main cause of defeat. The fact is that in almost all World Championship matches, positions with isolated pawns have played an important role. Studying positions with isolated pawns intensively is not only great fun, but it also improves one's strategical understanding as well as one's ability to spot tactics. In short, it raises one's playing strength!

I examine the opening I'm dealing with from the point of view of both White and Black. This book therefore does not offer a pa­nacea, a wonder variation, it does not promise a forced getting from the opening move to checkmate; no, instead it wishes to illustrate subtly and in a complex manner the plans, efforts and typical motifs of both White and Black.

Examining the transitions is also important, since the Improved Tarrasch Defence can also arise by transpositions from many other openings, such as Caro-Kann Defence, Nimzo-Indian Defence, Queen's Gambit Accepted, English Opening, Sicilian Defence, and some deviations of the Queen's Indian Defence. From this it follows that you can, at the same time, gain a better survey of various sys­tems.

Jozsef Pinter