Games/Chess Questions of Modern Chess Theory A SOVIET CLASSIC Questions of Modem Chess Theory is the lost masterpiece of Soviet chess literature. It was written by a double Ukrainian Champion, and published in the Soviet Union in 1956. Russian experts say it is one of the most influential chess books of the 20th century, yet it has never been published in English. Questions of Modern Chess Theory has been edited to make it useful for the 2ist century and is now accessible for the first time to an English-speaking audience. Isaac Lipnitsky was a major player on the Soviet chess scene just after World War Two, strong cnough to take the scalps of Keres, Smyslov and Petrosian. He would no doubt have been a household name had he not tragically passed away ata young age in 1959. © The lost masterpiece of Soviet chess literature @ The missing link between Nimzowitsch’s My System and chess today @ Updated for the 21st century £15.99 €23.99 $29.95 ISBN 978-1-906552-03-9 52995 & QUALITY CHESS iil | | www.q sl781906"552039 jualitychessbooks.cPreface Foreword, Foreword, Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Appendix: Isaac Lipnitsky and his Super-Book, by Efim Lazarev by Anatoly Karpov by the UK Publisher On the Opening ‘The Centre ‘The Centre and the Flanks Conquering the Cenure fiom the Flanks Mobilizing the Pieces Evaluating the Position ‘The Concrete Approach From Critical Positions to Settled Positions Positional Flair Plans in the Opening, The Initiative Modern Gambits Opening and Middlegame Reevaluation of Values How Long Does a “Novelty” Last? How Is an Innovation Born? Index of Games and Fragments Selected Games of Isaac Lipnitsky Index of Opponents 12 14 37 52 58 73 81 88 Bi 109 122 131 153 167 178 182 186 188 229Pretace Isaac Lipnitsky and his Super-book Two hanks in my chess liheary are inserihed with authore dedications which to me are highly memorable. One of these books, written in my native Ukrainian, is entitled Selected Games of Chesplayers from the Ukntine. It was published in Kiev in 1952. Its authors were Isaac Lipnitsky and Boris Ratner. The second book (in Russian this time) is Questions of Modern Chess Theory. Ic appeared in 1956, again in Kiev. It is by Lipnitsky on his own, For me, both dhese books are associated with memories of their illustrious author. Returning to Kiev after the Great Fatherland War, in which he had been an outstanding officer (he finished the war with the rank of major ~ two stripes and one big star on each shoulder strap) and had earned many distinctions and medals, Isaac Oskarovich Lipnitsky immediately made an impact in the chess life of the Ukrainian capital. At that time his rank as a player ~ Candidate Master — was a very modest one by today’s standards. In those days, this “tirle” — unlike Master of Sport, or Grandmaster ~ was not awarded for life, but was a rank like the First or Second Cat- ‘egory: it was subject to confirmation every three years, and the player would revert to the First Category in case of failure. But the point is that in those days the toral number of Grandmasters and Masters plus Candidate ‘Masters in the whole of the Soviet Union was far less than the present-day number of Internation- al Grandmasters in the Ukraine alone! In 1947, for instance, there was not a single Grandmaster Kiev (up until 1967 there still wasn't!), while just four players held the Master ttle ~ Iosif Pogrebyssky, Abram Khavin, Boris Ratner and Boris Goldenov. Together with these, therefore, the Candidate Masters constituted the Ukrainian Capital’s basic chess strength. It was with this title that Lipnitsky was to become Ukrainian Champion as early as 1949. Then in the following year, offically sill a Candidate Master, he performed brilliantly in the USSR Championship final: conceding first prize to the legendary Grandmaster Paul Keres, he shared 2nd-4th places with Aronin and Tolush, both noted masters of the time, while coming ahead of such giants as Smyslov, Boleslavsky, Geller, Flohs, Bondarevsky, Petrosian, Averbakh... For this success, a fantastic one in the circumstances, the 26-year-old from Kiev was granted the tile of Master of Sport as wel as his first norm towards the Soviet Grandmaster title (with the