Simple attacking plans

“I had a fantastic position, but I couldn’t figure out what to do next!” Sound familiar? If so, then Fred Wilson’s Simple Attacking Plans was written for you. That is what is written on the back cover of this book, and that is basically what got me sold on it in the first place. After having the book on my reading list for several years, I finally decided to read it.

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What can you expect from this book?

When I first heard about this book (probably on The Perpetual Chess Podcast), I was excited. I thought it would be exactly what I needed - a book that gives me a few simple recipes that I can follow in attacking. That was not the case. The book does provide a few general tips, but they are not very detailed. Here is a (very brief) summary:

Attack f2 or f7
Attack h2 or h7
With a king in the center, open and dominate the central files
Point all of your pieces at your opponent's king

If you've played any chess at all, you will probably recognize these "plans". They are neither concrete nor complex. It's far from enough to build a strategy. But the book does have more to offer.

Simple Attacking Plans is basically a games collection. The theme is (as the title indicates) attacking chess. It has six chapters, but two of them are named "selected games" and "more selected games". Apart from these, there are chapters on "the greek gift", "attacking a fianchetto castled position" and a discussion of the proper names of tactical themes (deflection, undemining, removing the guard). My impression is that author Fred Wilson could have done a bit more with the overall structure and the chapter names - to help the reader extract all the goodness from the selected games. There are important lessons to be learned here, but if you want them, you have to work for it!

Each chapter contains a number of annotated games. All of them are (of course) attacking games, and most of them end in a wonderful combination. The position on the front cover (Browne vs Bellon 1977) is an example that is featured in the introduction chapter. It is a fantastic attacking game. And the book has 36 other such games.

Each game is well annotated. Usually, there's only some general comment about the opening (the name, and a general assessment). However, the focus is on mistakes that are made from one of the players, and how the other player exploits those mistakes.

One thing that I like about the book is that it doesn't give away everything directly. Wilson does encourage the reader to engage in the material and try to find the critical moves in key positions. For instance, when we arrive at the position on the front cover, Wilson asks: "Now how did Browne conclude his attacking gem?". The move is given on the front cover, but why does it work? I won't give it away here. If you can't find it, you'll have to get the book (or DM me).

One thing that I don't like about the book is (as indicated above) the overall structure. It is basically a collection of attacking games, albeit with good annotations. But with such a title, I had expected more clearly outlined attacking plans. Don't get be wrong. The book does provide many examples (37 games) of various ways to attack. It illustrates how the win is executed in all the sample games. But it does not help the reader to extract the basic principles that underpin these attacks. So if you're looking for something along those lines, I would say that The Art of Attack in Chess by Vukovic is a much better choice.

I think Simple Attacking Plans is a nice little book with interesting attacking games. There is something to be learned from each game, but it is not my favorite book on the topic. If you are looking for spectacular attacking games, I think Instructive Chess Miniatures is an excellent choice. The games are equally (or more) exciting, the annotation are equally good, and there are more games. If you are looking for some kind of manual for how to conduct an attack, I think The Art of Attack in Chess is a good place to start.

Who should read this book?

Simple Attacking Plans is a nice little book with a good collection of attacking games. I think this is a good introduction for players who are looking to dip their toes into the waters of attacking chess. The book is probably best suited for players with a strength between 1200 and 1600.

About this book

Author:	Fred Wilson
Title:	Simple Attacking Plans
Type of book:	Book review, Game collection, Middlegame, Tactics
Level:	Beginner/Intermediate

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