Pawn Power In Chess by Hans Kmoch
In my opinion Hans Kmoch's Pawn Power In Chess is an immortal classic of the chess literature, and every serious chess player would do well to study it - particularly the first 6 or 7 chapters, which embody its essence.
The book is a detailed presentation of the fundamental elements of essentially everything one needs to know about how to effectively use the pawns - primarily within the context of middlegame play.
However, one often encounters complaints about the book's (i.e., the Dover Publications edition) use of the older "descriptive" chess notation and/or the idiosyncratic terminology invented and employed throughout the book. These complaints have the effect of putting off many who would otherwise benefit from reading this great book.
My response to those who have issues with Kmoch's terminology is this: As reasonably intelligent chess players (hopefully not an erroneous presumption), from the beginning of your journey in chess you have been able to learn many new terms and concepts in order to be able to read and communicate about the game. The point, and value of Kmoch's terminology is that of attempting to improve the efficiency of communicating structures, positional concepts and ideas. Just consider the “creative” terminology to be a part of the continuing process of growing your chess vocabulary.
In fact, I'm guessing that once one embraces the terminology and its concise efficiency of description, one's appreciate of it will grow. For example, when I come across the terms "ram', "lever", and "duo", etc., I know what they mean and what they imply. This simple terminology enables the writer/reader to precisely define/visualize a position, a structure or an action, which otherwise would take a lot of words and explanation to communicate. Brilliant!
Glossary of Terms - Pawn Power in Chess...
As one reads the book, and the terms become more embedded in your chess vocabulary, the book becomes easier to read, and the lessons and concepts are more readily absorbed.
As for the (now supersceded) "descriptive" notation. Yes, most would agree that (the now mainstream) “algebraic” notation is more efficient in terms of writing/reading chess literature. Nevertheless, any reasonably serious chess player should be capable of easily learning descriptive notation. Why would one care to do so? Because there are many gems of the chess literature still extant in the older notation - the current example being one of these - and from which one can take valuable instruction; but because of lack of familiarity with the notation one may be hesitant to do so. And, I submit, there is no better book than "Pawn Power..." as motivation for learning and practicing your descriptive notation reading skills.
If you’re not familiar with descriptive chess notation, the following attempt at an explanation may help. It's not necessarily the most rigorous presentation, but bear with it and you will get the idea....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu-c-HgYcWU
There was an algebraic edition of Kmoch's book published in 1990 by American Chess Promotions. One can quickly find it by searching (e.g., on Amazon) on the ISBN number - "ISBN 0939298791”. Except for the use of Algebraic notation, the contents of the book are identical to the Descriptive notation edition.
https://www.amazon.com/Pawn-power-chess-Hans-Kmoch/dp/0939298791/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1489662103&sr=1-1&keywords=0939298791
As I alluded to in the beginning of the article, the first 6 or 7 chapters are the most important and the essence of the book; the remainder important only insofar as you have an interest.
Certainly, "Pawn Power In Chess" is not a quick read, as it does take dedication and perseverance to get through it. Understanding what you've read rather than quickly getting through it is the key to learning. Absorbing its lessons will continue to pay huge dividends throughout your chess career.
Finally, it's good to occasionally remind ourselves that if chess required little intellect or effort, we wouldn't enjoy it nearly as much, nor take as much pride in our occasional successes in it!
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Discover other helpful and instructive chess resources, including more book recommendations, in my Chess.com blog.
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