Books on Pawn Structuring, Development, etc.

Pawn Structure Chess
by Andrew Soltis

How "P.S.C." helped me
Reviewer: A.J. Goldsby I from Pensacola, FL

   I am currently a USCF Life-Master. I have won more than 100 rated tournaments. My personal chess library is over 1,200 books.

When I was studying to become a Master, it was a tremendous eye-opener to me to discover that there are not more than around 15 basic pawn structures.

   GrandMaster Andy Soltis (who has played me and beaten me twice in over-the-board encounters) lays out logically, all the basic different pawn structures. He shows that there might be dozens of different move orders to reach a certain structure, but once you get there-- there are only a limited number of plans that work within the given pawn structure.

   He logically and sensibly lays out these different plans. He shows many practical examples of how each plan may have worked in real, OTB play; usually in the games of a well-known GM. The examples are very poignant. His advice is easy, sensible, logical, and readily assimilated. It does not matter if you are a Master, or just a Novice who wishes to improve ... this is a book for you.

   Credit this one book for turning a humble expert into a Master who has tied for first in four different State Championships. Easily belongs in my list of, "The Ten Best Instructional Books Ever Written! "

Winning Pawn Structures
by Alexander Baburin

The Best Ever Written on the Subject!
Reviewer: Franklin C.

   Though I would enthusiastically recommend this book to all chess players, I think this book is a must for those who play openings like the Queen's Gambit and French Defense---openings in which isolated queen pawns and hanging pawns often arise. It is, quite simply, the best book ever written on the subject of such pawn formations. Unlike many Chess books these days, this book discusses themes and ideas: occasionally even philosophizing about the nature of Chess itself and, thus, putting these ideas in context. In an era of database dumps and beginners manuals that rarely---if ever---have anything to add to older and greater books, we need more books like this.

Dynamic Pawn Play in Chess
by Drazen Marovic

Marovic's crowning achievement
Reviewer: chessgeek1 from Illinois

   Darzen Marovic is my favorite chess author. It has been said that his style is "laconic" and "pedagogic," and although I agree with these descriptions, I disagree with any negative connotations with those words. Marovic excels at imparting maximum important practical knowledge with the minimum of verbiage. I know of no one who can explain a critical moment of a chess game with such succinct clarity. For instance, here is the note accompanying Ljuobojevic's move 12... d5 in his game against Anand (p. 168): "a move before white is ready to play g5, Black strikes back in the centre. His king is still in the centre and the prospects of castling quite unclear, but for the time being the king is well protected where it is and, besides, the threat of g5 must be met radically." Any of you who are reading "The Method in Chess" by Dorfman will recognize the emphasis on the center coupled with position of the kings which goes into the dynamic evaluation of a position.
   Marovic adds important variations, often with an insight into why a player did or did not choose a move. There is a heavy emphasis on the Sicilian Defense in this book. I have admired Marovic's work for years, particularly "Play the Queen's Gambit" and "Play the King's Indian Defense," both of which are excellent instructive opening manuals. We are truly lucky that Marovic has now written more general treatises on pawn play, in beautiful GAMBIT publications works. Another reviewer points out the "overall quality" of this work. To me, it has an eye-popping quality. When I study Marovic, I feel that I have hope, after all, to understand the center, dynamics, and the game of chess. This book is very special, and it is quite meaty at 256 pages.

Understanding Pawn Play in Chess
by Drazen Marovic

The final word on pawn structures
Reviewer: A reader from Bronx, New York, New York

   This book is better than both Pawn Structure Chess by Soltis and Kmoch's Pawn Power. It shows the strengths and weaknesses of various pawn structures that arise out of the most common openings, with 120 complete grandmaster games used to illustrate the author's ideas. Its basically a superior games collection organized into chapters based upon the prevalent pawn structure. This is one of the best and most useful (and interesting!!) books on positional/strategic chess I've ever come across, and I own 200 chess books.