So far, I am really enjoying Kmoch’s book and his unique terminology (on p.56), though I have to keep backtracking to refresh my memory of some of his terms when he uses them in later pages. I understand that this book is a more difficult read and that other books are friendlier and easier to digest in terms of language, however I, as an eager novice, have grown tired of reading books that “talk friendly” but seem less impactful in terms of instructional content and density. I need to play through multiple good examples of themes related to pawn play, not just read and re-read linguistically oversimplified descriptions and examples of these concepts.
I don’t doubt that Sadler’s book might be a better read, but in general, I find myself more enthused to learn about concepts that are more GENERALLY applicable to chess (pawn play and strategy) rather than more specifically applicable (such as those that apply to a particular opening or even group of openings).
Pawn play and strategy most certainly apply to all of chess and ought to help with understanding the plans and themes of specific openings when I get to them. So even though Pawn Power is “more difficult” than Sadler, the concepts in Pawn Power seem more fundamental to chessic understanding than would even a fantastic book on the QGD. I could be wrong, but of course I will end up reading both sooner rather than later.
... The concepts of duo, liver and …
Now there is one that does not seem to have caught on.
Lever!