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Dvoretsky bibliography

This page provides the annotated list of all the chess books in English by IM Mark Dvoretsky. The latest book of which he was sole author, Chess Tests (2019), was an English translation of the last manuscript found after his death. Since then a new edition of his Endgame Manual has been published (see below).

For background information on the publishing history, read our introductory page about the books. In general, if you are a practical player or chess student rather than a collector, you should try to obtain the latest normal editions of each work, not the early editions or de luxe editions.

In the following lists, MD=Mark Dvoretsky and AY = Artur Yusupov, who was his pupil and co-author of several of the books. The translators of the various editions have not always been named.

First series, published in London by Batsford.

List of titles with years of publication and ISBN numbers:

Second series, published in Zurich by Olms (all edited and translated by Ken Neat).

School of Chess Excellence series (by Dvoretsky):

  1. Endgame Analysis (new version of Secrets of Chess Training), 2001 (I have 3rd edition of 2006) , ISBN 3-283-00416-1
  2. Tactical Play (new version of Secrets of Chess Tactics), 2002, ISBN 3-283-00417-X
  3. Strategic Play, 2002, ISBN 3-283-00418-8
  4. Opening Developments, 2003, ISBN 3-283-00419-6

School of Future Champions series (Dvoretsky & Yusupov):

  1. Secrets of Chess Training (new edition of Training for the Tournament Player), 2006, ISBN-13: 978-3-283-00515-3
  2. Secrets of Opening Preparation (new edition of Opening Preparation), 2007, ISBN-13: 978-3-283-00516-0
  3. Secrets of Endgame Technique (I don’t have), 2008, ISBN-13: 978-3-283-00517-7. Information from Jean-Marc Comon clarifies that this was a new edition of Technique for the Tournament Player, translated by Ken Neat. There woukd be no need to own both books.
  4. Secrets of Positional Play (I don’t have), 2008, ISBN-13: 978-3-283-00518-4, translated by Ken Neat. Information from Jean-Marc Comon shows that although some chapters are the same as in the earlier Positional Play, there are several differences so that this is substantially a new work. These include a chapter by GM Maxim Dlugy about the Caro-Kann Defence which is not in the earlier book.
  5. Secrets of Creative Thinking (new ed of Attack and Defence), 2009, ISBN-13: 978-3-283-00519-1

Third series, published in the USA by Russell Enterprises.

We eventually received a copy of Chess Tests and some sample pages have been posted online at the New In Chess website. It looks like a book that will benefit coaches and advanced players who are willing to put in a lot of work. It is not a book for lazy readers or players below 1800 rating unless they are improving fast.

The fifth edition of the famous Endgame Manual reached us this month. It incorporates some revisions Dvoretsky had sent to the publisher before he died and others proposed by GM Karsten Müller, while additional work was done by GM Alex Fishbein who has done some reorganisation of material. The most important examples and lines are now printed with grey shading rather than in blue as was the case with the previous edition.

Apparently there may be one more Dvoretsky book, co-authored with Oleg Pervakov, yet to come but that will probably be mostly Pervakov's work.

Of the third series, I would recommend getting the latest available edition of the Endgame Manual as it incorporates some important corrections, especially in rook endgames, from 7-man tablebases.

I also recommend Recognizing Your Opponent’s Resources, especially in conjunction with the chess24 series by Dvoretsky on calculation and by Yusupov on prophylactic thinking (both series recorded with GM Jan Gustafsson).

Corrections regarding edition variations and the titles I don't have would be welcome.