In response to 1.e4, White’s most common first move, it has long been recognized that when and if Black can play ...d5 safely, the result is approximate equality. Scandinavian devotees argue all that can happen on Move 1! But it’s hardly a “peaceful” equality.
But do we really need a book that is a blur of all sorts of black and white possibilities with countless tightly-nested game fragments? Hardly. Double Trouble is a straightforward volume of repertoire recommendations, easy to understand and easy to play.
The book is in three parts. Part One, besides introducing the book generally, covers the very first moves of the Scandinavian Defense and White’s early deviations. Anyone who plays the Scandinavian will find this section quite helpful. Then Part Two covers Qd6 + g6 systems, while Part Three covers the very different Nf6 system.
In this book, popular author and Correspondence Master Marek Soszynski gives you a defense to 1.e4 that can honestly be called “complete.” Your prep could not be better...This book cuts [the theory] down to size. Marek Soszynski gives you just what you need to know to show that the old “theoretical” equalizer, 1...d5, can indeed be played, and played with verve, on Move 1! – From the Foreword by Al Lawrence
Double Trouble Scandinavian Style: Equalize early and then play for a win!
A 21st-Century Edition of a Great Checkmate Collection!
Ask most chessplayers from the “baby boomer” generation how they acquired and sharpened their tactical skills, and chances are a Fred Reinfeld tactics collection will be part of their answer. And now, for the first time, 1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate is available in modern algebraic notation.
This may be the all-time great checkmate collection, with forced checkmate positions culled mainly from actual play. And Reinfeld's selection is simply marvelous, touching on all the important tactical themes.
In short, this is an outstanding book to hone your tactical abilities. It will help you recognize mating patterns, develop visualization skills, enhance imagination, and improve tactical sharpness. And now, with a modern 21st-century edition of this great checkmate collection finally available, there is no excuse for not only improving your tactical skills, but also enjoying yourself along the way.
Enhance Your Tactical Weapons!
1001 Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combination is the companion volume to Reinfeld's 1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate. Of course each book can be taken on its own, but together they make a wonderful collection, and cover the full range of tactical chess. And they are now both available in 21st-century editions, using modern algebraic notation.
Reinfeld has arranged his quiz positions so that they fall into orderly chapters, each with a common theme. Still, the degree of difficulty varies widely. Easiest are one move shots, suitable for players starting out. Most difficult are the examples that run seven moves and more; some of these may even stump an ordinary master.
Most of all, this a book of combinative ideas, all designed to enhance your arsenal of weapons. The first step toward mastery is to become familiar with the different types of tactical motifs. The second step is to study a great many examples of these tactical themes. So, the object of this book is to add to your knowledge, to make you a strong chess player, and (last but not least) to delight you with some of the most beautiful moves ever played on the chessboard.
Bird's Opening is currently in that 'Goldilocks' zone of the great arbitrages in life. The majority of chess players have dismissed it overlooking its inherent value and this allows for adopters of the Bird to take advantage of this asymmetry. As of this writing, it is played 0.9% of the time in online databases and this drops to 0.2% (!) in the master's database of OTB games. For reference in the OTB database 1.e4 is played 45% of the time. So for every 225 OTB games your opponent plays against 1.e4, he plays against the Bird once. While a case could be made that 1.e4 or 1.d4 are stronger, the objective difference between them and the Bird is infinitesimal. The way I see it, people will continue to ignore the Bird for the foreseeable future. Unless this book sells a million copies, the Bird will never be played remotely close to the frequency it deserves. Because of this it will never be worth your opponent's while to study it, so it will always carry great surprise value.
The book is structured around the Lichess database for players rated between 1200 and 2000 - so if you are in this category the repertoire will synchronize perfectly with the lines your opponents are choosing in your own games. Whenever possible I have sought out lines to surprise your opponent and give them the toughest time figuring things out.
In Coaching Kasparov, Year by Year and Move by Move Garry Kasparov's long-term coach, second and mentor Alexander Nikitin tells the story of how he trained Kasparov from a brilliant but raw junior into becoming and then remaining the world champion. Volume I, the present work, covers the period 1973-1981, until Kasparov reached the age of 18. The author goes to great lengths to describe his educational approach during the early period to raise Kasparov's theoretical knowledge and practical performance, covering both play and psychological training. The present volume contains 46 games fully annotated by Nikitin, including all 14 games of a blitz match played between the 15-year old Kasparov and ex-world champion Mikhail Tal on 26 December 1978 in Tbilisi that have never before been published and which are provided specially for the 2019 edition of this book. Most of the other games are well known, but Nikitin explains many of Kasparov's decisions in those games from the point of view of the future world champion's coach, providing the context of his young pupil's thought process and mistakes and tracing his progress. He also uses these games to illustrate and expand upon his coaching advice. This makes his commentary quite unique and instructive, of formidable practical use to budding players, coaches and parents.
Welcome to Volume 2 of Cheparinov's 1.d4!.
In the second part of the series, I am sharing my knowledge about the Slav Defense. I am confident that the book contains many new and interesting ideas and I have tried to provide you with the best practical options. Objectively speaking Black looks good in many lines but in practice things may look different. While I cannot promise you a big advantage in each line, I do believe you will have the best practical chances during the game.
Writing the second volume was very challenging for me. The Slav encompasses a wide but solid body of theory. Black has plenty of options and finding advantages and practical chances was not easy at all. In any case I believe that chess players from amateurs to very strong players will appreciate this book. While the Covid pandemic gave me a lot of free time to concentrate on the book, I am very happy to see that many tournaments are back. This means that my book can be useful, and you may actually be able to apply some of the ideas in your games.
The best way to use this book is to first examine the lines on an actual board and then check them with an engine. I hope this method of study increases your understanding of the positions that arise from the Slav. This book can be a very important starting point for building your 1.d4 repertoire.
There is no doubt that the Nimzovich Defense is one of Black’s most inspiring openings after 1.e4. Black strives to unbalance the position by creating new problems for White from move two, giving himself every opportunity to fight for the initiative from the outset. It is no surprise that 1…Nc6 appeals ambitious players who relish a complicated battle. In this book, GM Christian Bauer explains how to use this powerful weapon drawing from his own successful experiences. He is not shy to show you the fundamental ideas, the traps, the pitfalls and naturally the move order subtleties which play such an important role in our modern game of chess. We are convinced this book will give you plenty of confidence and make your opponent think more than twice.
This volume covers the Ragozin, the Chebanenko, the Vienna, the Hennig-Schara Gambit, theTarrasch, 1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 a6 and 3...Bb4.
Many decently strong players aspire to become an international master. They see very clearly that the grandmaster title is most likely beyond them but the IM title is one they feel they could achieve, if only...
It's this "if only" bit that gets in the way. If only... what? Do they need to study the openings more? Should they focus on improving tactical skill? Do they need to study the classics? Should they concentrate on endgames? Would it help to play blindfold?
There are innumerable books on the openings, a decent number on strategy and plenty on the endgame. However, if you want a book that explains at length the steps needed to improve your skills from those of a very good player to one of IM strength, you will look long and hard and probably in vain. Until now.
In this book, highly prolific author Cyrus Lakdawala maps out a route to take you along this journey. He is well qualified to do so as this is a journey he made himself (he did not shine as a junior) and so knows exactly what to do. He is brutally honest about his failures along the way and this will help readers to avoid natural pitfalls.
Lakdawala identifies the key mental, physical and psychological processes that need to be mastered to achieve IM standard making this book the ultimate chess self-improvement tool.
Cyrus Lakdawala is an International Master, a former National Open and American Open Champion, and six-time State Champion. He has been teaching chess for over 40 years, and coaches top US juniors.
The Dutch Defense is an old opening. A seriously old opening. So old, in fact, that in large part it currently has the reputation of not really causing a well-prepared White player to fear losing. That is especially the case with the variant of it I am analysing in this book: the Stonewall (in which Black continues with ...e6 and ...d5). I intend to show that that impression is mistaken. First things first: it’s a very positional opening. In contrast to the King’s Indian (which shares the feature of having few early piece or pawn exchanges) play moves slowly and despite there obviously being some sharp lines, the absolute prerequisite for playing the Stonewall Dutch is that you understand positional chess. The first person to really understand the strategic themes at play here, and develop decent plans for Black was sixth world champion, Mikhail Botvinnik. From which it should be clear that positional doesn’t necessarily mean easy. There have been many revolutions in how chess players view tactical play or opening strategy. However, for me it is fitting that the resurgence of the Stonewall is coming at the exact time that strategic chess is being redefined by Carlsen. It is an echo of when the opening was first introduced: Botvinnik, the ‘Patriarch’ of the Soviet chess school, with its discipline and its principles, produced a similarly seismic shift in how people viewed positional play at the time. The positional themes in this opening are incredibly complex. We’ll get into it more later but let me just explain some of the confounding factors. From Black’s perspective, playing with a hole on e5 is very much an ‘acquired taste’, in spite of the ideas that have already been found to counterbalance it, such as a queen (or bishop) transfer to h5, or launching the f-pawn against the enemy king.
(WEBSTORE SPECIAL - You can purchase the book on our webstore and access it from all your Forward Chess apps. Pull down to refresh the "Books" tab in your mobile apps).
Revision & Exam 1 – The Fundamentals is the essential companion to Artur Yusupov’s award-winning Fundamentals series. Containing 432 exercises, Revision & Exam 1 offers the perfect way to test your understanding of the material covered in the series.
Whether as a refresher course on the topics in the series, or simply as a brand-new collection of instructive test positions, this book is indispensable for any ambitious and improving chess player.
Artur Yusupov was ranked third in the world from 1986 to 1992, just behind the legendary World Champions Karpov and Kasparov. He has won everything there is to win in chess except for the World Championship. In recent years he has mainly worked as a chess trainer with players ranging from World Champion Anand to local amateurs in Germany, where he resides.
The variation of the French that starts 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 (or 3 Nd2) 3 ... dxe4 is often called the Rubinstein Variation. It is a great way to simplify the position and ensure that the middlegame battle rewards strategic understanding rather than rote memorisation of opening moves. It is also a very useful weapon to defuse the attacking intentions of aggressive White players who plan an all-out assault in the main lines of the French Defence.
An important feature of the lines after 3...dxe4 4 Nxe4 is that Black has various different ways to continue. 4 ... Nd7 is the most common but 4 ... Bd7 (planning ... Bc6 – the Fort Knox Variation), 4 ... Be7 and 4 ... Nf6 are all possible. All these lines are covered in the book.
Finally, White can, of course, avoid the 3 ... dxe4 variation with (amongst others) the Advance Variation, 3 e5. Martin provides antidotes to all these possible sidelines and so the variations in the book provide a complete repertoire to meet 1 e4.
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