The Caro-Kann Advance Book

(review in process...)
I will be reading this as well as Attacking Manual Volume 2 over the next year. Book 1 is on Dynamics ( the global principles of short term characteristics ) while book 2 is about tactics. His attempt to write a modern day Vukovic type Art of Attack Book with clearer thinking/writing and modern ideas and games . This is a working book and includes diagrams to study Stoyko style.

An amazing book ! It is a book to be worked with not just read. I have skimmed this and played through some games earlier. I am reading & deep studying this (doing all the exercises this year).

Aagaard talks of his goal as being to teach everything about attacking chess; a goal which he saw as destined to failure He talked about how in chess writing, the books need to be instructive and worked with but also need to be clear and enjoyable. His Stoyko exercises are interesting and hard to be worked with for up to ten minutes. (target audience 1700 to 2400 elo rating although I am far below this range and am still enjoying this ) .There is a sizable work through section in the book.

The discussion of his principles are through instructive entertaining games and he is an enjoyable and funny annotator.(see sample in PDF) I feel that in reading this, I am getting a sense of him as a person, his chess and life view and the challenges of being a GM, lecturer, book publisher and chess coach of the Danish team. It reminds me of ex Red Sox Manager Tony Francona who was constantly talking about having respect for the game and playing the game the right way.


A welcome change from many of today's chess books that read like a data dump from Fritz.

Volume 1 : His Concepts by Chapters

1) Bring All Your Toys to the Nursery- include all your pieces in your attack
2) Don't Lose your Breath- Momentum
3) Add Some Color to your Play -Color Schemes
4) Size Matters- Numbers over Size (material worth)
5) Hit 'em where it hurts - attack the weakness point in your opponents position
6) Chewing on Granite - attack the strongest point in your opponents position
7) Evolution and Revolution - ( build-fight-build-fight)

Each chapter has a theme and some light discussion with 4-5 games where you see the principle in play or sometimes should of been in play.


The introduction and part of the first chapter can be read here. Includes a fun Orangutan Game .


Here is a game collection of many of the games that occur in the book.


a link to a review