Chess Structures: A Grandmaster Guide

Typical Plans and Patterns

By Brian Almeida

Chess Structures: A Grandmaster Guide, by Mauricio Flores Rios, Quality Chess 2015, 462pp, Hardcover, $45.95 (ChessCafe Price $39.47); Paperback, $34.95 (ChessCafe Price $29.87)

Mauricio Flores Rios, a grandmaster from Chile, earned the title at eighteen years of age, and is a regular member of Chile’s Olympiad team. He is also pursuing a PhD in Mathematics at the University of Minnesota. In Chess Structures: A Grandmaster Guide he presents 140 examples, including full games and fragments, classified by pawn structure in an attempt to guide the reader to learning how these specific positions should be conducted. There are also fifty exercises with annotated solutions, though it is unclear whether these are included in the 140 game count.

The main content of the book is divided into twenty-four chapters, with the eight subsections of the Miscellaneous section being counted as one chapter:

• Family One – d4 and …d5
• The Isolani
• Hanging Pawns
• Caro-Kann Formation
• Slav Formation
• The Carlsbad Formation
• Stonewall
• Grünfeld Centre
• Family Two – Open Sicilian
• Najdorf Type I
• Najdorf Type II
• The Hedgehog
• The Maroczy
• Family Three – Benoni
• Asymmetric Benoni
• Symmetric Benoni
• Family Four – King’s Indian
• KID Type I
• KID Type II
• KID Type III
• Open KID
• KID Complex
• Family Five – French
• French Type I
• French Type II
• French Type III
• Miscellaneous
• Various Structures
• The 3–3 vs. 4–2 Structure
• The Panov Structure
• The Dragon Formation
• The Scheveningen Structure
• The Benko Structure
• The Closed Ruy Lopez
• The Lopez Formation
• Training
• Exercises
• Solutions

Whenever an author states that he wanted to write the type of book that he wished was available to him when he was improving, it is often an indication that it is going to be a good instructional book. Here Rios writes in the introduction,

“The idea for this book was in the back of my mind for several years before coming to fruition. The book was born out of my desire to guide players who, like me, struggle to apply their strategic knowledge to a practical game. My aim is to provide something new to chess literature; to write the book I should have studied myself earlier in my career.”

While the model games are classified by pawn structure, the positions stem from a wide variety of openings and middlegames. The intention is to represent those found in the vast majority of all chess games to allow the reader to easily acquire the strategic knowledge behind such positions. As the author points out many openings can reach the same structure; however, the openings are not specified in the game headings, and it would have been helpful to orient the reader by identifying the opening.

In studying this book, the reader will become acquainted with the typical plans, patterns, and strategic ideas related to the various pawn structures, with each game designed to be a building block toward the understanding of the structure as a whole. Each chapter begins with an exposition on the plans for both sides within that structure, while each game begins with an outline of the learning objectives and ends with final remarks summarizing the strategic themes. The fifty exercises at the end of the book are organized by level of difficulty, complete with lucid explanations in the answers.

Rio’s detailed annotations allow the reader to identify the key elements from each example. Nevertheless, recognizing the strategic themes and ideas can be easy, while implementing them is far more difficult. Let’s look at just two diagrams. Evaluate the position in each with regard to which side stands better:

It may surprise you to learn that White stands better in the first diagram and Black in the second. Consult the book as to why.

The author’s aim is to provide an easy-to-understand strategic guide to the most frequently-occurring classes of positions in chess. The games are well cross referenced with Rios referring to similar positions and where they can be found. The inter-connectivity of the position types is simply astounding; for instance, the King’s Indian complex can transpose to no less than seven of the structures discussed in the book, while the Lopez formation can transform in six separate directions.

Occasionally there will be a game where the notes will say that a position of interest has been reached, only to not be accompanied by a diagram. This occurs in a small minority of cases, but can be an irritation if you do not have a board in front of you. Another item that stood out is that when presenting examples from his own practice Rios sometimes changes the game continuation, with the actual games moves being relegated to the notes and the winning continuation represented in bold lettering. This rather makes it look like the game result was something other than it was, and he certainly doesn’t do this when the opponent was on the losing or drawing side.

Going through Chess Structures: A Grandmaster Guide in a diligent fashion will help to orientate you to the typical plans in certain position types. The caveat in all this is that the evaluation depends on the specifics of the position and the players ability to calculate. When it comes time to make a decision with regard to an evaluation of the position or a specific continuation you are still going to make the choice that is commensurate with your rating level. And if you are a 1600 player, you are probably going to play the position like a 1600 player. Now if your opponent is also a 1600 player, then this might gain you an advantage. Still, no matter what your rating, the reader will learn much more about chess to a far deeper extent by studying this book than by looking for the latest move-thirty novelty in any opening treatise.

My assessment of this product:

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by Mauricio Flores Rios

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