The Abysmal Depths of Chess

  "The role played by space in the endgame is in fact much more straight-forward than in the middlegame … He who commands more space has more squares for his king, it’s as simple as that. More space means a potentially stronger king." Michael Stean

  "The difficult part of a spatial strategy lies not in the execution which is relatively simple, but in the recognition of the fact that you actually do have an advantage in space." Michael Stean

  "Simple chess always requires flexibility of thought. The opponent can always avert one form of weakness or disadvantage by accepting another somewhere else." Michael Stean

  "Undoubtedly the most difficult game in the book to understand." Michael Stean

  "Black’s position has sufficient 'capacity' for three minor pieces, but not clearly enough for all four of them. This explains why White is willing to invest so much time early in the game (Bb4-a4-b3-c2, h3) purely to avoid exchanges." Michael Stean

  "The real test of our insight into the mechanics of an advantage in space comes when confronted by a completely sound (structurally), solid but cramped position." Michael Stean