My System

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Nimzowitsch’s ideas have had a profound influence on modern chess thinking and My System is at the top of a very short list of chess classics.

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The Bottom Line

One of the great masterpieces of chess literature written by one of the world’s strongest competitors that’s been compulsory reading for generations of players.

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I. Introduction

My System is unquestionably a classic of chess literature. When it first came out as a series of brochures between 1925 and 1927, it introduced a modernized theory of chess strategy that forever changed the way the game is seen and played. My System is now considered so integral to understanding chess that it’s theorized that every player at the master level and above has read the book at some point in their chess development.

The book’s author, Aron Nimzowitsch, was among the top players in the world in 1920s and 1930s, competing alongside third and fourth World Champions Jose Capablanca and Alexander Alekhine. Today Nimzowitsch is known as “the father of hypermodern chess.”

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II. Using Open Files Effectively

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III. Pawns as Defenders

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IV. The Strength of Passed Pawns

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V. Blockading a Passed Pawn

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VI. Reasons to Exchange Pieces

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VII. Activating Your Pieces in the Endgame

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