Have you ever wondered why it takes grandmasters just seconds to see what's happening in a
chess position? It's all about pawn structures as Ivan Sokolov explained in his groundbreaking
book Winning Chess Middlegames. In his 2010 bestseller Grandmaster Sokolov focused on
structures arising from 1.d4 openings in this new companion guide 1.e4 players get their
turn. This new volume covers a dozen topical structures including various pawn formations in
the flexible Ruy Lopez Italian and Petroff openings. But also Black's doubled f-pawn in the
Rauzer Sicilian the notorious Maroczy Bind the mysterious Hedgehog the versatile Sveshnikov
and the paradoxical French Winawer. Deeply analysed top-level games illustrate the motifs in
all these structures. Club players who study Winning Chess Middlegames 1.e4 or 1.d4 will:
significantly improve their middlegame skills develop an accurate sense of which positions suit
their style gain new strategic and practical knowledge of openings Ivan Sokolov's analysis is
profound but accessible and he doesn't take anything for granted. As reviewer Sean Marsh wrote
of the first volume: The lucid and informative explanations convey a large amount of genuine
Grandmasterly wisdom. This is easily one of the best middlegame books of recent times.
