Chess Defence Learn how to deland and countar-attack

Defence is traditionally a neglected area of chess study. but it is also one of the most important,
rewarding and intriguing. Good defensive abilities earn players a great many half points and full-
points. The climax of the defence is the launching of a devastating counter attack, a skill at which
all the great chess champions have been adept. Sometimes

we

need to defend against unsound attacks, and then the challenge is to pall)'

the attack while retaining winning chances. In equal positions, both sides must judge carefully
how much of their resources to devote to the attack and the counter-attack. The main subject,
though, is the case where the defender is fighting for his life, and must decide how to maximize
his chances of survival. Marin considers psychological issues and explains the main options
available to the defender, such as simplification, cold-blooded defence with the minimum of
forces, or a positional sacrifice. In each case he discusses in detail the key issues in the resulting
positions: how to defend difficult endings; how to assess threats realistically; and the prospects
for counterplay that typically arise from a variety of material imbalances. Throughout the book
there are exercises for the reader, together with full solutions.

Mihail Marin is a strong grandmaster from Romania. He achieved his first major success in
international chess by qualifying for the interzonals in 1987. He has won the Romanian
Championship on three occasions and has played in eight Olympiads. For several years he was
editor of the magazine Chess Extrapress.

Other litles from Gambit Publications include: The Road to Chess Improvement

Fundamental Chess Endings

Alex Yermolinsky
Karsten MOIler and Frank LamfXfH;ht

Secrets of Modem Chen Strate-gy

Vishy Anand: My Best Games of Chess

John Watson

VishyAnand

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John Nunn

John Nunn

The Seven Deadly Chen Sin.

How to BKorne II Deadly Chess Taeticilln

JofIalllan Rowson
David LeMOIr

Instructive Modern Chess Masterpieces

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Secrets of Chess Defence

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First published in the UK by Gambit Publications Ltd 2003

Contents

Copyright © Mihail Marin 2003 The right of Mihail Marin to be identified as the author of this
work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1 988, All
rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or
otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover
other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition
being im posed on the subsequent purchaser. A copy of the British Library Cataloguing in
Publication data is available from the British Library. ISBN 1 901 983 9 1 9 DISTRIBUTION:
Worldwide (except USA): Central Books Ltd, 99 Wallis Rd, London E9 5LN. Tel +44 (0)20 8986
4854 Fax +44 (0)20 8533 582 1 . E-mail: orders@Centralbooks.com USA: BRB International, Inc.,
302 West North 2nd Street, Seneca, SC 29678, USA. For all other enquiries (including a full list of
all Gambit Chess titles) please contact the publishers, Gambit Publications Ltd, P.O. Box 32640,
London W14 OJN. E-mail: info@gambitbooks.com Or visit the GAMBIT web site at
http://www.gambitbooks.com Edited by Graham Burgess Typeset by John Nunn Printed in Great
Britain by The Cromwell Press, Trowbridge, Wilts.