“First the idea and then the move!” Miguel Najdorf used to say in his habitually enthusiastic fashion; that statement is the perfect summary of planning in chess. Planning is of crucial importance in chess and yet this is an area that has not been well discussed or explained to ambitious players who wish to improve. A very well known saying in chess is “Better a bad plan than no plan at all”. Playing without a plan – effectively staggering from one move to the next – is a recipe for disaster. It is essential to have some kind of idea of what you are trying to achieve and how to go about it. However, planning is not a straightforward matter. A good plan might be very short, lasting just two or three moves. Another plan might require almost an entire game to implement. A plan can be highly ambitious and complex or somewhat modest and simple. In chess, as in life, circumstances can change quickly and when they do, new plans are needed. How is a player expected to juggle all these different concepts while dealing with the immediate problems posed by the opponent’s most recent move? In this book, grandmaster and experienced author Zenón Franco explains planning in detail. He organises material in terms of: typical structures, advantage in space, manoeuvring play, simplification and, finally attack and defence. Using games played by elite players he explains how plans are formed and carried out in these different scenarios. If you want to take your game to the next level, then Planning Move by Move will enable you to do this.

Chess Strategy is a book by International Master Edward Lasker about the theory and strategy of chess, presenting the leading chess principles. After thorough and detailed discussion on fundamentals Lasker treats Openings in which, he considers, the leading principles are of more deciding influence than in any other stage of the game. Next he lays the principles governing the End-Game which are generally applicable, since the middle game is influenced by end-game considerations. The second part of the book treats the Middle Game. The author shows how the various plans initiated by the various openings should be developed further. To certify a systematic understanding of the middle game, a large number of games taken from master play, is given with many detailed notes.