Drazen Marovic: Secrets of Chess transformations

Gambit Verlag, paperback, Englisch, ISBN: 1-904600-14-X, 208 Seiten, 2004.

Explain how to transform one advantage into another.


One of the most important skills in chess is the ability to transform one type of advantage into another. The great champions effortlessly convert an initiative into an attack, an attack into a material gain, and move into an endgame where this advantage can be exploited smoothly. Readers know from their own games that this is not as simple as it looks. It is all too easy to miss the right moment to make the transformation, and suddenly encounter unnecessary difficulties. In this wide-ranging text, experienced trainer Drazen Marovic discusses all aspects of chess transformations, enabling readers to sense when they are necessary, and to decide how to bring them about. This understanding will also help them to frustrate their opponents plans, and put up a resilient defence in difficult positions. Topics include: pseudo-sacrifices, sacrificial risks, real sacrifices, counter-sacrifices, development advantage, overextension, and simplification.

Drazen Marovic is a grandmaster from Croatia, who has won medals as both player and trainer for various national teams. Marovic has a wealth of experience as a writer, editor and television commentator on chess. He was the trainer of the Croatian national team during a period in the 1990s when it achieved a number of successes in top-level contests. This is Marovic's fourth book for Gambit: see also Understanding Pawn Play in Chess, Dynamic Pawn Play in Chess, and Secrets of Positional Chess.