During the past two years, I’ve been working on improving my strategic/positional play. In this process, I have read a number of books, and two books that have long been on my reading list are the strategy books by Johan Hellsten. So when the Swedish chess federation requested reviewers for two of these books, I didn’t hesitate. I am happy that I was given the opportunity to review these books, and hope this review can be of help to you as a reader.
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What can you expect from these books?
Johan Hellsten
has created a name for himself as one of the leading experts of chess strategy
in modern times. His series of strategy books (Mastering Opening Strategy,
Mastering Chess Strategy and Mastering Endgame Strategy) have received
glowing reviews from many parts of the chess world. So it feels good to finally
dig into these nuggets. His endgame book is still in my bookshelf waiting to be
read, but during the past two months, I’ve worked through the first two of his
books. And I am happy with that decision.
Johan Hellsten is a grandmaster and former Swedish champion (2006) and has been active as a chess coach for many years. In interview on the perpetual chess pod (ep. 273), Hellsten tells the story of how these books were originally one and the same (published in Spanish), and that the editor of Everyman Chess wanted to publish it in English. And during that process, the book was split in three parts. In the interview, we can also hear stories from his career as a chess professional. Highly recommended.
Mastering
Chess Strategy (MCS)
consists of six chapters. The first chapter gives us a general introduction to
chess strategy. In chapter 2, Hellsten goes through all the pieces, one by one,
and explains how they are best put to use during a game (e.g. open lines for
rooks, diagonals for bishops, posts for knights and so on). This is followed by
a chapter on trades, for example how to trade down to convert an advantage or
to ease the defense. When all these pieces are in place, he discusses pawn play
(ch. 4), prophylaxis (ch. 5) and other strategic concepts.
At the end
of the book, there is a large section with almost 400 exercises and solutions.
The solutions are quite extensive, and Hellsten does not only give the correct
moves or lines, but also explains why the solution is correct and
comments every move of the correct variation.
Hellstens
second book, Mastering Opening Strategy (MOS) is based around four main
themes: Development (ch. 1), punishing opening mistakes (ch. 2), central control
(ch. 3) and restriction (ch. 4). Finally, he has a chapter on opening
preparation (which in my opinion is not very interesting for amateur players).
These books
do not contain very much general “chess theory”. Instead, Hellsten seems to
assume that the basic principles are well known for the reader. There are
several examples, where he refers to “typical” plans and positions without
explaining them. It is of course not entirely necessary to know exactly what he
is referring to, but it is definitely one of the factors that determines how
much you will get out of his books.
The examples
in both books are from master games. There are several well known games from prominent
players, and quite a few from lesser known players. Many of the examples are
from Hellstens games, both wins and losses, so he doesn’t seem to be afraid to
show his mistakes. In MOS, we mostly get complete games, while MCS
usually dives into the middle of a game to discuss an interesting position.
Hellsten is a good writer, and he has managed to find illustrative examples of the principles he has chosen to focus on. However, the comments can sometimes be a bit brief. One example is the position below (Short – Ljubojevic, 1990). White has the move and plays Na5. The move is given an exclamation mark (good move!) and a short comment: “Prevents Bb7”. That’s it.
 |
| Na5! Prevents Bb7 |
It should
be obvious to most readers that Na5 in fact does prevent Bb7, but it is not
necessarily obvious why this is relevant. This can make it difficult for
the average patzer to keep up, and suggests that the book is written for a
fairly advanced audience.
For me,
this is the first time I’ve read a chess book (two actually) on Chessable. And
I’ve enjoyed the experience. Since the books emphasize the games, they work
very well as interactive books, via providers such as Chessable, Forward Chess
or the publisher’s e-reader.
For some
reason, I was surprised that the Chessable course contains the same text as the
physical books. This made me aware of how sparse the text actually is. There is
a short introduction to each section and chapter – usually just a short
paragraph – and then we go to the examples. In this way, the videos are a great
complement to the books. They contribute with more detailed information about
the various concepts and principles that are presented, and also a more
detailed analysis of selected games.
As we all
know, a chess game consists of an opening, middlegame and endgame – in that
order. So one would think that the books should be read in the same order. Or
you could follow Capablancas recommendation and start with the endgame. In this
case, however, it is most logical to start with the middlegame. MCS presents
the general building blocks for strategy and positional play. Once these are in
place, it is easier to understand the plans in the opening and endgame. And
moreover, it is easier to understand how Hellsten thinks about the positions.
As mentioned above, Hellsten’s books have received praise from several chess profiles. One of them is popular coach Andras Toth. He has reviewed both books on youtube, and gives the following comments:
This book [MOS] is worth its weight in gold. This is an absolute masterpiece!
This [MCS] is a must-have book for anyone who wants to get better at chess in general and understand strategy and positional chess in general.
I agree
completely with both statements, but we have different opinions regarding
target audience. Concerning the opening book (MOS), he recommends it to
everyone (except total beginners). But he is more restrictive about the
middlegame book (MCS) and even advices against reading it if you have an
Elo-rating below 2000. I don’t really agree on this.
The example
presented above gives some support to coach Andras’ assessment. But with the
help of a coach and/or buying the Chessable course with video access, the
material becomes accessible for players on a much lower level. My own rating is
around 1500, and I think I’ve learned a ton from both books.
Although
MCS is a book on positional play, it is full of tactics. Sometimes, the
tactical possibilities are not even mentioned – they are just there. So with
that in mind, you should have a solid tactical foundation before working with this
book.
The same
applies to MOS, and I think you should have a somewhat higher level than what
coach Andras suggests. In the book, Hellsten mentions a number of principles
concerning pawn structures, tactics and general strategy. So although most
players can read the book, you should have some basic knowledge before taking
it on.
These books (especially MCS) are rather large, which means that you will have your hands full (literally and figuratively) for quite some time. These are not books that you’d read simply for the pleasure of it. In order to benefit from them, you should be prepared to invest considerable time and energy. For although Hellsten presents the material very well, you won’t get much for free as a reader. But if you put down the time, you will get a lot back in the form of increased chess knowledge.
Who should read these books?
This series is definitely not for beginners. Some say they can be useful for players from 1200 and up, but I don’t entirely agree. You should have a solid foundation before taking on these books. Above all, you need to be familiar with basic tactics, opening principles and some strategic principles before reading. This means that your rating is probably 1500 or higher. If this sounds like you, I strongly recommend you taking a closer look at these books.
About this book
| Author: | Johan Hellsten |
| Title: | Mastering Chess Strategy / Mastering Opening Strategy |
| Type of book: | Middlegame |
| Level: | Intermediate, Advanced |
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