Winning starts with planning before the game, teaches legendary chess coach Vladimir Tukmakov. In this ground-breaking book he shows how chess preparation has become a systematic process and how today’s top players make their game plans.

The most important aim of modern preparation, both for professionals and for ambitious amateurs, is to get a playable position that you understand better than your opponent.

The role of the computer in preparation has grown tremendously and Tukmakov explains how top grandmasters use their ‘Metal Friend’. He warns that professionals should not put too much trust in chess engines and should analyse more deeply themselves.

Club players, on the other hand, should reduce their time in front of the machine to a minimum. Tukmakov explains what amateurs should do in order to arrive at the board well-armed: study the classics, analyse your own games without a computer, and know yourself.

A special chapter is devoted to must-win situations: when the outcome of a tournament, a match or even a whole life depends on a single game. With lots of brilliant examples, inside information and amusing anecdotes, Modern Chess Preparation is not only highly instructive, but also a joy to read.