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The Moment of Zuke:
Critical Positions and
Pivotal Decisions for
Colle System Players

by David Rudel
author of Zuke 'Em

7 modules written just for Colle System Players. Over 150 practice problems accompany lessons written in Rudel's crystal-clear, inimitable style

Thematic Lessons
on game-changing
decisions Colle Players
frequently face

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Reviews

Secrets of Chess Intuition

Reviewed by Kelly Atkins

8/11/02

Secrets of Chess Intuition, by Alexander Beliavsky and Adrian Mikhalchishin (Gambit, 2002). 176 pp.

It was only after receiving this book and reading through it that it dawned on me just how little the subject of intuition has been addressed in chess literature. Intuition plays a major role in a strong chess player’s thinking, but the subject has been little discussed compared to tactics, strategy, calculation, and the like. With this in mind, it is easy to see that Beliavsky's and Miklalchishin's new book is an excellent contribution to chess literature.

The authors spend quite a bit of time discussing just what chess intuition is and its role in the decision-making process, as well as how it can be applied in situations that don’t lend themselves to concrete calculation. The first chapter, unsurprisingly, is devoted to Mikhail Tal, probably the most intuitive player in chess history, but there’s much more to the book than Tal-like intuitive sacrifices and attacks. Positional themes are also covered quite nicely, such as the intuitive exchange sacrifice, which rook to move, and the sacrifice of a piece for two pawns.

Each phase of the game is covered and the role that intuition plays in the opening, middlegame, and endgame. All in all, there are 19 chapters, and in addition to the subjects previously mentioned, Beliavsky & Mikhalchishin do a nice job of discussing the role of intuition in analysis and judgment, as well as mistakes in those areas, psychological factors, piece placement, and pawn sacrifices, among other things. The book also includes an excellent chapter on the late GM Suetin’s views on intuition in chess.

Secrets of Chess Intuition is extremely well written and nicely indexed. The authors are well-qualified and did an excellent job covering the subject. The only shortcomings I found were that there was little discussion on how to develop or improve your intuition, and some of the chapters left me wishing there had been more coverage of particular ideas or more discussion of their application. However, given that this is such a wide-ranging subject that is applicable in every aspect of the game, expecting a single book to cover everything in depth is likely asking way too much. It’s an excellent start though, and hopefully we’ll see more books on this very important subject.

In conclusion, I found this book to be one of the best I’ve seen in recent years, though it’s probably of limited use to lower level players, who would do better to concentrate more on fundamental knowledge and improving their calculating skills, though even they will still find much of the book entertaining and helpful. For the stronger player however, this book is a goldmine and will be particularly useful in increasing their understanding and application of intuition in their own play.

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