What Would You Play? (Paperback)

This What Would You Play? Test Your Chess and Improve Your Decision-Making is an English-language paperback chess book by Thomas Willemze that puts practical decision-making at the centre of your study. Rather than focusing only on grandmaster games, it uses real club-game positions, so the examples feel close to the situations most players actually face.

What this book covers

The idea behind the book is straightforward: the best training prepares you for the positions you are most likely to meet over the board. Here, you are asked to assess the position, choose a plan and find the right move, with the emphasis on practical thinking rather than memorising long variations.

Willemze selects 30 games, each one built around an important strategic theme or a practical decision point. The positions touch on topics such as irreversible moves, regrouping rooks, coordinating bishops and pawns, converting a long-term advantage and playing against the London System.

Why club games are so useful

Studying top-level games is valuable, but club games often present decisions that are easier to relate to and more directly useful in everyday play. That makes this book a strong fit for ambitious amateurs and club players who want to improve their positional judgement and the quality of their choices during a game.

The author chooses the critical moments carefully, so the book reads as a structured training tool rather than a random collection of examples. Each position is there to build a clearer understanding of chess and a more deliberate approach to decision-making at the board.

Author and edition

Thomas Willemze is an experienced chess coach and an International Master from the Netherlands. The thirty games used in the book were previously published in New In Chess, and Willemze has also written five books for New In Chess, all of which are available as Chessable courses.

Key details

• Product type: paperback chess book
• Author: Thomas Willemze
• Language: English
• Format: paperback
• Page count: 230 pages
• Game examples: 30 games
• Source of examples: real club games