Rubinstein French
The Rubinstein Variation — reached after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 and an early ...dxe4 — is the French Defence at its most solid. Black gives up the centre but gets a rock-hard, low-risk structure with no weaknesses for White to target, which is exactly what makes it such a dependable answer to 1.e4. This book builds a complete Black repertoire around it, with a foreword by French authority John Watson.
The treatment is thorough and reassuring. Hannes Langrock covers every way White can try to punish the Rubinstein — the natural main lines, Kasparov’s 7.c3, the various ways of handling or relinquishing the pin on f6, Khalifman’s 6.Bd3 set-up, and the plans with queenside castling — and then deals with everything Black must know besides: the Advance, the Exchange, the King’s Indian Attack, and the sidelines.
The recommendation suits a particular kind of player perfectly: someone who wants a sound, durable defence that doesn’t require constant theoretical maintenance and steers the game toward clear, understandable middlegames and endgames.
Ideal for club players who want a "set it and forget it" French repertoire — solid, respectable, and hard to break down.
Are you ready to shock your opponent on move 3?
The Reti Opening is a dynamic opening invented by Richard Reti more than a century ago. It has since been featured in the repertoires of countless grandmasters and world champions, including Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Garry Kasparov, Tigran Petrosian, Vassily Smyslov, and many others.
The Navara Gambit takes dynamic chess into a bizarro world on move 3: 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 d4 3.b4 g5!
It looks ridiculous, but that doesn't make it so. It is the brainchild of Czech grandmaster David Navara and was first introduced in 2011. Since then, it has been played in the games of many grandmasters and international masters, in regular tournament games, and in many of the most important online events over the last decade.
The book presents a full repertoire for Black against the Reti Opening proper (1.Nf3 d5 2.c4), thus including not only the lines where White plays 3.b4 but also 3.g3, 3.e3, and 3.d3, but also much less frequently seen lines such as 3.e4, 3.a3, and even 3.c5.
It is time to have fun against the Reti and 1.Nf3!
CHESS INFORMANT’S 156th ADVENTURE
MESMERIZED
CONTENTS:
• Gormally – World Chess Championship – Nepo – Ding (Review)
• Shyam Sundar – World Chess Championship – The Most Instructive Moments and Positions
• Miodrag & Milos Perunovic – European Chess Championship (Tournament Report)
• Leitao – The English Opening (WCH Edition – Theoretical Survey)
• Foisor – Woman’s Candidates Final (Instructive Review)
• Prusikin – The Power of Knight Pair(Instructive Lesson)
• Davies – The Maroczy Bind (Theoretical Survey)
• Kotronias – The King’s Indian Saemisch (Theoretical Survey)
• Perelshteyn – The Alekhine Defence (Theoretical Survey)
• Rogers – Telechess Olympiads (Roger’s Reminiscences)
• Griffin – Vaganian – Gulko, Baku 1977 (From Informant Archives)
• Barak Gonen – Correspondence Chess (Review)
Traditional sections: games, combinations, endings, Tournament reviews, the best game from the preceding volume and the most important theoretical novelty from the preceding volume.
The periodical that pros use with pleasure is at the same time a must have publication for all serious chess students!
In writing the Manual of the Endgame, the author has dealt with the subject mainly from a practical point of view. It is intended for the beginner who, though having acquired a certain degree of playing strength in the opening and in the middlegame, is weak when it comes to the endgame, owing to insufficient study.
The opening and the endgame – though not the middlegame – are open to analytical treatment, and, therefore, in both of them, theoretical knowledge is indispensable. The player who lacks it in either will be severely handicapped in his practical play. Of what use is it to the amateur who, after avoiding all the pitfalls of the opening and after a well-played middlegame, has obtained a good or even winning position if he does not know how to take advantage of it in the face of his opponent’s superior handling of the endgame? He is caught again by subtleties and tricks which should be familiar to him. It is certainly annoying to be deprived at the end of a well-deserved victory, as so often happens, and for the beginner, the realization that he is helpless in the endgame is very depressing. He soon recognizes that he must study the theory of the endgame, it is true, but in trying to do so, he comes up against some unexpected difficulties.
has been played a few times since and remains a popular opening at all levels of play. Some of the lines are incredibly theoretical, but rather than burden you with a ton of theory in lines you will have limited chance of using in your own games, the emphasis is on the lines that are more likely to occur in your games. Those lines will be in chapters 3 and 4, the two longest chapters of the book. This book is by no means an all-encompassing theory work, which means that there is a lot of theory that is not discussed in the notes. This is of course intentional. The book is written to entertain and inspire. If you find some lines that you like, you are encouraged to dive deeper into those lines before using them in your own games. As for the games, they are typically between players with a rating of at least 2350 and often well more than that; you will find games between players rated above 2700 in this book. However, I have made some exceptions when a lower rated player beats a player rated above the magical 2350 number. To show the relative strength of the players, I have included the ELO rating of the players involved in the miniatures. A few games are of older date, but are otherwise as recent as 2015.
Former US Open Champion Timothy Taylor takes a contemporary look at one of Black's most ambitious counters to 1 e4, the Alekhine Defence. This is a sharp opening in which Black attacks from the very beginning, luring White's central pawns forward in the expectation of destroying them later on. The Alekhine is a favourite among creative players such as Nigel Short, Vassily Ivanchuk and Hikaru Nakamura.
By studying the most important games and also drawing upon his own experience in the opening, Taylor constructs a practical repertoire for Black, ideal for the modern-day player. All the key tactical and positional ideas for both players are covered, and crucial move-order nuances are highlighted. This book provides everything you need to know to play the Alekhine with confidence.
– A dynamic repertoire for Black
– Provides answers to all of White's possibilities
– Ideal for improvers, club players and tournament players.
Beginning students of the game as well as veterans of the board will find this chess guide offers a wealth of inspiration, enjoyment, and practical chess advice. In providing valuable instruction for players at all levels, noted chess writer and teacher Peter Tamburro initially presents elementary ideas that can be used immediately by beginners.
The attack section features the tactics of such great masters of the assault as Fischer, Keres, Alekhine, Larsen, and Rubinstein — all demonstrating how to win the middle game. A survey of endgame concepts follows, along with a selection of challenging chess problems and 60 complete games by Blackburne, Marshall, Tartakower, Polgar, and other champion players. An accessible, enjoyable guide, Learn Chess from the Greats allows readers to learn the fundamentals and improve their game in an informal, user-friendly way.
DragonMasters volume 1 charts the history of the most exciting and dangerous opening known to chess - the Dragon Variation of the Sicilian Defense.
Unlike almost all other books on the Dragon, the focus is not purely on theoretical development. Instead, the author has combined the most historically important games, the famous players who chose to fight either side (sometimes both sides!) of the opening, and the most unexpected and interesting stories featuring the Dragon. World Champions, contenders of the crown, code-breakers, revolutionaries in every sense of the world - all feature in this remarkable and entirely unique look into the history of an opening variation. as the ancient may say: Here be Dragons!
Your performance at the board does not only depend on your pure chess skills. Being a winner also requires a mindset that is able to cope with lots of stress and setbacks during hours of uninterrupted concentration.
Just like technical chess skills, mental toughness can be trained. There are simple steps you can take that will help you to better realize your potential. Professional mental coach and chess player Werner Schweitzer has been working with chess teams and individual players for many years.
In this book Schweitzer presents practical tips and tools that will help you to improve your mental power during a game. You will learn how to:
– increase your concentration and stamina
– recognize your own strengths and weaknesses
– cope with losses as well as victories
– increase your self-discipline when studying
– handle disturbing thoughts and feelings during a game
– boost your self-confidence
– avoid underestimating (and overestimating!) your opponent
– make better decisions while under pressure
and other mental skills.
These lessons and simple mental workouts will help players of all levels to unlock the full power of their brain and win more games.
Werner Schweitzer graduated as a mental coach at the University of Salzburg, Austria. He knows from experience which mental factors have impact on a chess player’s performance. Schweitzer has been coaching players and teams for many years.
“The focus is on offering simple advice and encouragement in a variety of practical situations. It rang true in reminding me of some typical scenarios and problems that I had encountered in my games. I felt it was a useful refresher ahead of my next competitive outing.” – Grandmaster Matthew Sadler, co-author of ‘Game Changer’
“The Austrian coach has studied mental strength and in this work, which will surely prove popular, addresses such issues as how to increase your concentration, how to handle disturbing thoughts and feelings during a game and how to increase your self-confidence.” – CHESS Magazine
“Mental Toughness in Chess lays out a ‘how to’ guide to improve your performance at chess. The main premise of this chess guide is that chess toughness can be trained. The author delivers the content in a direct and concise way. The book is small in size, flows well, and its contents are actionable. Mental Toughness in Chess is a one of a kind chess book!” – Miguel Ararat, Florida Chess News
“I don’t think it’s a problem to read several tips in relatively quick succession, because the material is nicely coherent. The book seems written for the average chess player who wishes to put a stop to typical mistakes he or she often makes. The author underlines that mental power is something you can train, just like other chess skills, and to be patient while doing that.” – Bram Klapwijk, Schaaksite
“A useful mental toolbox. Chess players are exceptionally nervous, before and during a game. A certain tension is good, it increases our attention and helps us to focus, but too much tension blocks the cooperation of the two halves of our brain. This and much more in covered in this well written mindfulness tool box! Highly recommended! Also for trainings sessions.” – Elburg Chess Reviews
“This little volume covers an important but rather neglected part of the game. We find topics such as knowing yourself, fear, decision making, tension, concentration, luck, fighting spirit and confidence, in other words pretty much everything that might go through a player’s mind – for good or ill – before, during and after a game. The author doesn’t do the work for you, but provides plenty of tips and advice. It is well produced with key paragraphs, clear text and illustrations. The book is a quick read (no moves or diagrams), but not a quick fix. You could easily get through it in one sitting, but the issues raised demand much more time, thought and dedication. You will truly get out of it what you put into it.” – Ian Marks, Chess Scotland
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