This is the second half of Lars Schandorff’s acclaimed White repertoire with 1.d4, and it completes the picture. Where Volume 1 dealt with 1...d5 and the Queen’s Gambit, this book answers everything else — the whole family of Indian Defences and related systems Black uses to avoid an early ...d5.
The coverage is broad and ambitious. Schandorff gives clear recommendations against the Nimzo-Indian, the King’s Indian, the Grünfeld, the Modern Benoni, the Benko Gambit, the Old Indian, and the Dutch, plus a chapter mopping up the various minor lines, the Budapest Gambit, and Modern Defence set-ups.
As in Volume 1, the approach reflects Schandorff’s style throughout the series: choose principled, fighting lines that pose Black real problems rather than steering for a quiet technical edge, and explain the resulting middlegames clearly enough that the reader can play them with understanding.
Together the two volumes give White a complete, coherent, grandmaster-tested repertoire after 1.d4 — written by an author who plays these positions himself. This is a demanding book aimed at ambitious club players and above who want one dependable answer to everything Black can throw at 1.d4.
All the lines presented in this book are very old, some even dating back to medieval times! Lots of things were known about these systems before chess engines started to become very strong, but now we have completely new ideas from not only a tactical, but also positional, point of view on positions that have simply resurfaced in recent times. The rebirth of these lines has become so popular that during my work on this book I was amazed to see such a level of popularity. To make this book readable I broke some positions into smaller files wherever I could. In all my books I try to present at least the basics of many openings and lines: the problem is that basic knowledge about openings is growing even bigger, and it is not an easy job to comprehend and assimilate all that material. That’s why I have also tried in this book to be as concise as possible. After all, reading a book should not only be an aesthetic/interesting endeavour, but also a practical/useful thing at the same time.
This book completes a glowing tribute to the sparkling chess career and life story of Boris Spassky, by biographer extraordinaire Tibor Karolyi. We continue the story where Boris Spassky’s Best Games 1 left off, with Spassky poised to claim the title of World Champion in 1969.
Even after his famous defeat to Bobby Fischer in Reykjavik 1972, Boris Spassky remained among the strongest players in the world, and his masterpieces continued to delight chess lovers for decades to come. Boris Spassky’s Best Games 2 completes a fitting tribute to a brilliant chess player, who sadly passed away at the age of 88 while this book was being edited.
Forward Chess will be donating ALL its revenue from the sales of this book to charities supporting Ukraine
The Ukrainian chess community is helping Ukraine in the war against Russia. The chess genius Vasyl Ivanchuk is giving online simuls to raise funds. European champion and Olympic gold medal winner Natalia Zhukova is working as a politician in Odessa. And FIDE World Champion Ruslan Ponomariov coordinated this wonderful collection of chess games from Ukrainian players, published by New In Chess. All games were nominated and annotated by the players themselves. The proceeds of this book will support Ukrainian charities.
The book also covers the three legendary Olympic victories by Ukraine, in 2004 and 2010 for the men’s team and 2006 for the women’s team. Oleg Romanishin remembers his training match against Mikhail Tal. And Jan Timman has a look at his favourite Ukrainian study composers.
With contributions by Vasyl Ivanchuk, Ruslan Ponomariov, Anna and Mariya Muzychuk, Anton Korobov, Vladimir Tukmakov, Pavel Eljanov, Andrei Volokitin, and many, many others.
Bf4 in the Queen's Gambit and the Exchange Slav
Grandmaster Alexey Dreev is one of the leading experts on the quiet, pressing systems where White develops the dark-squared bishop to f4, and this book is his detailed guide to using them as a complete White weapon against two of Black’s most solid defences.
The first half covers the Exchange Slav (1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.cxd5 cxd5 4.Bf4) — an opening often dismissed as drawish, which Dreev shows to be a genuine tool for posing problems. The second half applies the same Bf4 idea to the Queen’s Gambit Declined, in both the Petrosian and Classical Variations, where the bishop’s early development sidesteps Black’s most comfortable set-ups.
Dreev’s treatment is thorough and concrete: he maps out the many move-order branches, explains the recurring plans for both sides, and supports the analysis with complete illustrative games. The recurring theme is how White can keep a small but lasting initiative in positions Black expected to be safe.
A specialist, theory-rich repertoire for ambitious players who want a sound, low-risk way to fight for the advantage with 1.d4 against the Slav and the QGD.
The Ruy Lopez is one of the most important chess openings, hugely popular with amateurs and masters alike. Black players allowing the Ruy Lopez main lines are usually condemned to passivity, defending a slightly worse (though solid) position for as long as White chooses this situation to continue. World Champion Magnus Carlsen doesn’t like passivity. He likes unconventional and active systems that allow him to take command and put pressure on his opponent from early on. That’s why Magnus Carlsen revolutionized the old Møller Attack, one of the sharpest and most uncompromising variations against the Ruy Lopez. As yet largely disregarded and unexplored by the majority of players, Carlsen’s new approach allows Black to break free early and start giving White a hard time. FIDE Master Ioannis Simeonidis is the first to investigate this system, cover it in detail, and make it easy to grasp for club players. He has called it the Neo-Møller. Simeonidis has made lots of exciting discoveries, presents many new ideas and shows that it is a reliable and playable system. Since the Neo-Møller is a very early deviation from the main lines, it’s easy for Black to actually get it on the board and take opponents out of their comfort zone. Simeonidis has created a compact, accessible and inspirational book. One thing looks certain: White players of the Ruy Lopez are going to thoroughly dislike the Neo-Møller!
Whip the Winawer with The Ram!
The French Defense is one of the most popular responses by Black to 1.e4. And the Winawer is the most popular variation of the French. In this book, the authors advocate an early advance of the h-pawn – The Ram – and plans related to it. This move was first used in the game Pilnik-Ståhlberg, Mar del Plata 1946. Argentine grandmaster Hermann Pilnik would go on to win many games with the Ram.
The major tabiya of this line arises after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7. While 7.Qg4 – leading to a direct attack against the black king – has been played many times in this position, it leads to well-known forced lines.
But this book is devoted to 7.h2-h4, a more positional method of attacking. More strategic considerations become pivotal – getting the “feel” for the position, becoming familiar with general plans, the best squares for the pieces, etc.
Mastering the typical motifs and ideas will in fact give you the opportunity to continue positionally or to pursue an attack directed against the black king. The authors heartily recommend The Ram for all chessplayers who strive for an energetic struggle, rich in possibilities in their quest to get an advantage as White in the French Winawer.
Greek Grandmaster Vassilios Kotronias, has won the championship of Greece ten times and has represented his country many times in team competitions. He is one of the most respected opening analysts in the world today.
Russian-Serbian Grandmaster Mikhail Ivanov has been successful in many European tournaments, including the 2002 Neckar Open. He is a respected chess coach and trainer. He has co-authored several books with GM Kotronias for Russell Enterprises.
Russian international master Andrei Obodchuk is an eleven-time Russian champion, eight-time world champion, participant of six World Chess Olympiads, and one of the most experienced and titled participants of the 4th FIDE World Chess Championship for People with Disabilities. This is his first book for Russell Enterprises.
I have chosen 1.e4 for various reasons. First and foremost, it is the move I have played for the entirety of my chess-playing life. In the database, I have recorded approximately 400 white games, of which 350 began with 1.e4! I have also heavily researched the openings covered in this volume, through my column ‘1.e4’ for ChessPublishing. Secondly, I believe that Black has a wider margin of error in the closed games than in the open games. Even if they do not know all the details of a certain line in the former case, they will end up with only a slight disadvantage in the majority of cases. The same cannot be said about the defenses to 1.e4. In this book you will find that Black must tread carefully if they play an offbeat system, as I have discovered several refutations to the most popular and widely accepted lines within them. For every opening, I have adopted the same method of research. Firstly I undertake a detailed examination of human games, alongside correspondence/email games, with particular regard to the highest percentage of White wins and the number of games played. The human games allowed me to gain a natural feelings for the practical elements of the opening in question, while the correspondence games (essentially human-assisted engine games) covered the necessary element of objectivity. The next stage consisted of my own engine analysis, using the Chessbase Engine Cloud to examine critical but unexplored positions. Finally, I engage as critically as possible with the existing literature, as I hope others will do with my work in the future. At the beginning of every chapter is an overview of the opening, which serves to give the reader some basic foundations and highlights the general concepts, extracted from the analysis section. If the reader is in need of a brief summary of a particular opening, I suggest you focus on the overviews. The analysis section contains the main body of work. The reader is not expected to memorize everything by heart; in fact, that is probably not a productive exercise. When going through a variation, it is best to stop at a point you think is appropriate, and that should always be the point at which you find that you have fully understood the position. Each subchapter ends with a model game, which gives the reader a simplified picture of the variation at hand. Similar to the overview chapter, this section is largely illustrative.
The Petrov's Defense (also known as the Russian Defense) is an underrated gem in classical chess, offering solid play and excellent counterattacking opportunities. While it might not enjoy the same spotlight as the Ruy Lopez or Sicilian Defense, it's a highly respected opening for players who seek consistency, strategic depth, and resilience.
The hallmark of Petrov's Defense is its symmetrical pawn structure after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6. It emphasizes equalizing early without the chaos of sharper lines, making it an ideal choice for those who prefer calm and strategic maneuvering over immediate tactical fireworks. Black's goal is not just to survive the opening but to gradually turn equality into an advantage through careful piece placement and timely counterplay.
What stands out most about this opening is its reliability at all levels of play--from club players to elite grandmasters. Former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik has used it successfully in high-stakes games, demonstrating that it's not just a drawing weapon but also a fighting choice for ambitious players.
The Petrov's Defense can lead to rich middlegame positions, especially in less explored lines, offering plenty of scope for creativity and independent thought.
In summary, the Petrov's Defense is a rock-solid choice for players who value structure, deep understanding, and long-term plans. Whether you're aiming for a quiet positional struggle or waiting to unleash a tactical shot at the right moment, this opening has something for everyone. Give it a try--you might just fall in love with its subtle charm!
The author’s aim in this volume is to improve the tournament chess player and professional alike in their ability to evaluate and execute crucial and hard-fought practical endgames – either in converting a winning position or holding a draw. This book will also sharpen the player’s overall cognitive competences in practical situations, where the normal laws of endgame theory have little or no value. Dreev accomplishes this by providing categorized and detailed examples with clear commentary from his own tournament games, as well as from other Grandmasters’ at the elite level.
Dan Heisman's Books Bundle
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