★ This work is by Mikhail Sereshchensky, an internationally renowned chess grandmaster, coach and author. Sereshchensky is one of the most respected chess coaches in the world.

This book, written by Mikhail Sereshchevsky, is about a very important but rarely discussed topic: associative thinking. How can modern chess students avoid being overwhelmed by the flood of information? The answer is to stop mechanically memorizing moves and instead open your curiosity. Try to build a vivid image of the technique you are learning and remember it as an association!

In chess games, we always have various associations. We are not talking about specific pawn structures, but more abstract things. For example, what is the best interaction between a knight and a pawn? Where should the rook be placed - behind or beside the passed pawn? When you have a bishop against a knight, on which squares should your pawns be placed? Previous generations of chess players have already answered these and similar questions. Sereshchevsky clearly shows that studying the games of great chess players will help you improve your associative thinking, especially when these annotations come from the players themselves. The author pays particular attention to outstanding grandmasters like Ulf Andersson, Anatoly Karpov, Vladimir Kramnik and Magnus Carlsen.

Like all of Sereshchevsky's books, this manual provides an excellent example of outstanding chess training. Studying this book will greatly enhance your understanding of chess and help you progress on the path to becoming a chess master.

Mikhail Shereshevsky

Born in Minsk, Belarus in 1950, at the age of 16, he represented Belarus in the Soviet adult championship. Later, under the guidance of the renowned grandmaster and theorist Isaac Boleslavsky, he reached the master level. In the 1971 Sokolsky Memorial, in the decisive match against Sergei Yurov, he achieved a decisive victory by implementing a plan that exploited the potential power of the two bishops, which was formulated with the help of Boleslavsky, thus earning a promotion in his rating. He also won several team awards in Belarus, the Soviet Armed Forces, and the Spartakiad. In the 1980s, Shereshevsky focused on training the Belarusian youth team and produced many young chess players. In 1988, he was awarded the title of recognized coach in Belarus. His students include grandmasters Alexei Alexandrov, Elena Zaitseva, and Irina Khodemova.