101 Winning Chess Strategies by Angus Dunnington

101 Winning Chess Strategies by Angus Dunnington

Published in 2003 by Everyman Chess, "101 Winning Chess Strategies" by International Master Angus Dunnington is an exceptional, highly structured guide designed to transition players from basic tactical awareness to deeper positional understanding.

While books like Jeremy Silman’s Complete Book of Chess Strategy serve as an alphabetical glossary, Dunnington's work functions as a curated catalog of concrete middlegame goals. He picks up right where tactical puzzle books leave off, answering the classic intermediate question: "What do I do when there are no immediate tactics or checkmating nets on the board?"

The Core Philosophy: Strategy as a Series of Practical Targets

Amateur players often think of "strategy" as a vague, impossibly deep plan conceived on move five that maps out the next thirty moves. Dunnington demystifies this misconception. His core philosophy is that grandmaster strategy is actually a collection of small, highly practical, and achievable short-term targets.

Instead of trying to find an ultimate winning plan, Dunnington teaches you to look at the board and identify a singular structural flaw in your opponent's camp—like an exposed pawn, an inactive minor piece, or a weak color complex—and then coordinate your forces to exploit that specific target.