The Yusupov Method: Fundamentals 2

Description

♟️ What is this book?

Build Up Your Chess 2 is the direct continuation of the first volume of the Yusupov Method. It picks up exactly where the first book left off and assumes the reader has completed volume 1. The structure is identical: 24 chapters alternating tactics, strategy, and endgames, each with a lesson, worked examples, and self-test exercises with a scoring system.

The complexity steps up noticeably from volume 1. Tactical exercises are longer and less obvious; strategic concepts are subtler; endgames require more precise calculation. That increased difficulty is the whole point: the system is designed so that each volume is only accessible once you’ve truly absorbed the previous one.

🎯 Who is this book for?

• Intermediate players who have completed Build Up Your Chess 1 and want to continue with the same method
• Students following the Yusupov series with a coach who assigns chapters as weekly homework
• Self-improvers who want a structured path beyond the basics, with a clear way to measure their progress

📖 What’s inside

Like the first volume, the book covers tactics, strategy, and endgames in alternating structure, with themes of greater depth:

• Tactics: longer combinations, less obvious intermediate moves, more complex defensive resources
• Strategy: piece imbalances, the two bishops, exploiting weak squares, pawn majorities
• Endgames: rook endgames with more complexity, bishop and knight endgames, the outside passed pawn
• Calculation: longer forced lines, avoiding premature decisions under time pressure

Each of the 24 chapters ends with a set of self-test exercises. The scoring system is consistent with volume 1, so you can directly compare your results and track improvement over time.

📚 Why alternating themes works

The counterintuitive design of the Yusupov Method — mixing tactics, strategy, and endgames instead of going deep on one topic at a time — produces more durable learning. In a real game, you don’t get to choose which type of position appears; you need all three skills available simultaneously. Studying them interleaved forces you to switch mental modes, which is precisely what happens at the board.

♟️ Why we recommend it at Chesscul

At Chesscul we use Build Up Your Chess 2 as the second step in the improvement path for intermediate students who have completed volume 1. Students who work through it consistently will find their game is more reliable across all phases.

🔗 Recommended to pair with

• Build Up Your Chess 1: complete this before starting volume 2.
• Build Up Your Chess 3: the third volume, closing out the Build Up Your Chess level.
• Thinking Inside the Box: Aagaard’s decision-making framework complements the Yusupov method for players who want a more explicit process for complex positions.