Mating the Castled King by Danny Gormally

PDF excerpt

Every chess player loves to win with a devastating attack. But even beginners know the importance of early castling, so the most significant attacking strategies are those against a castled king. Danny Gormally sheds light on this vital area of the game, arguing that pattern recognition is key to improvement. This book strips away the mystique surrounding successful attacking play, and identifies several recurring motifs which can be applied to specific pawn structures and scenarios. Well-chosen model examples and test positions are complemented by the author’s lively writing style.

Danny Gormally is an English grandmaster with a peak rating of 2573, who is famous for his attacking style.

ISBN 978-1-907982-71-2 - 336 pages - Published 30 April 2014

Reviews

"The exercises are not too difficult and the explanations are pitched at a very good level - just enough variations to make sense of the position, but not too many to make your eyes glaze over. Gormally writes in a very entertaining and picturesque manner: I will never again be able to look at a white pawn on g6 without thinking of the 'Tower of Terror'!"

GM Matthew Sadler, New in Chess

"I've been waiting a long time for a book like this. A beautiful and neatly structured collection of motifs and ideas on attacking play.

I give it an unlimited recommendation for players of any strength."

Lukas Wedrychowski (full review in German)

"I think Gormally hit a sweet spot when trying to balance how many variations to introduce in the text. Maybe in some examples it had less than I wanted them to be, but overall it has everything you need without drowning you in variations.

My conclusion about the book is very positive. I think that Gormally has made a great job with this book and players below 2300 fide will find it very interesting. I do not want to spoil other reviews for you, but if I were to buy one book on attacking chess, at the moment this would be it."

Gollum (full review)