Today's generation of chess players no longer know what an adjourned game is, writes Oleg Pervakov in his introduction, and as a consequence no longer have the opportunity of thoroughly analyzing the endgame they have reached.
Pervakov's course written with the world-renowned Soviet school trainer Mark Dvoretsky aims to address just that - modern players' lack of knowledge in the endgame.
Develop the right endgame habits
Dvoretsky and Pervakov's course, adapted for Chessable with MoveTrainer®, is all about developing the correct habits of endgame play.
It is also, the authors note, perhaps the first course in which a famous practical player, a trainer with a world-renowned name, and a study composer with an International Grandmaster of Compositions title share their views in one and the same book.
Mark Dvoretsky has employed studies in his trainer's career for more than 30 years. Many grandmasters have achieved considerable success in their careers thanks to his methods.
Oleg Pervakov came to the field of composition through practical play, whose principles he has always striven to follow in his creative work.
The impulse for writing this book was given by the article, Studies From My Notebook, and the international composing tournament, Studies For Practical Players, dedicated to Mark Dvoretsky's 60th birthday. The tournament was a success: 25 notable compositions were annotated by the arbiters, among whose ranks were the authors of this book.
The course itself consists of several chapters, united by the title, Studies For Practical Players.
Examples that most closely resemble battlefield conditions, where both sides must resolve interesting tasks, are provided to serve as exercises for your own solving, or for playing out.
Separate chapters are devoted to the creative work of the famous Austrian study-composer Alois Wotawa and to that of practical players, including the World Champions. What the critics said
Dennis Monokroussos at ChessMind.com:
"[Dvoretsky and Pervakov] have written a book valuable for those who want to train and for those who love beauty in chess...The book is just what it purports to be...You will find text aplenty, offering explanations, a discussion of themes, aesthetics, applications to and analogies with over the board play, and more besides. A further interesting feature is the final, 47-page chapter, which presents studies not by the professionals of composition but by practical players (most of the world champions, and a number of top-class grandmasters from Tarrasch to Morozevich). This book too I can highly recommend, and have already been working with the original, Russian-language edition for some time."
John Donaldson at JeremySilman.com
"Most Western players have until recently been in the dark about the value of game like positions with few pieces on the board that combine beauty and piece efficiency to create art while educating. As the well-known trainer and writer Dvoretskyand the famous composer Pervakov show time and again good studies not only hone one's calculating ability but also teach fundamental endgame knowledge in a "hands on" way.
"Studies for Practical Players: Improving Calculation and Resourcefulness in the Endgame doesn't just offer many studies to solve - it features plenty of text with full explanations of the solutions. The final 47-page chapter presents studies not by professional composers but by practical players including most of the world champions."
Sean at MarshTowers.com
"As usual with Dvoretsky books, this is not for the lazy. Timman [who wrote the Introduction] recommends that readers take their time with the material, and of course he is right. This is a fine book and it should provide many hours of entertainment and instruction."
Lubomir Kavalek, The Washington Post
"Endgame studies are wonderful tools for improving your chess game. They are used by professional players and should be helpful to amateurs as well. The Russian coach Mark Dvoretsky teamed up with Oleg Pervakov, one of the world's finest composers, to write a remarkable book, Studies for Practical Player: Improving Calculation and Resourcefulness in the Endgame, recently published by Russell Enterprises. It will make a perfect holiday gift for any tournament player."
