We are all familiar with the story. You are getting older, perhaps you forget more, and your chess suffers. Your playing strength diminishes. Players to whom you could give pawn and move a few years ago now defeat or draw you. What can be done?
In this unique book by American Grandmaster Alex Fishbein – the first book dedicated to this topic – he examines the games of elite players such Korchnoi, Smyslov and others. The author takes a hard look at what they did as they aged, how their approach to the game changed, and how this could benefit you.
As noted by legendary Grandmaster Artur Yusupov in his foreword:
Alex Fishbein begins by asking difficult but necessary questions. Do the methods that shaped us as players continue to serve us as we grow older? If certain skills have not fully developed after decades of play, can they still be improved? And how do we recognize, with honesty and precision, the changes in our own thinking? …
Among the techniques explored here is the “post-postmortem” – a disciplined way of revisiting and critically examining existing analysis, not to absorb it passively, but to challenge it, refine it, and deepen one’s own understanding. In doing so, we train the very faculties – visualization, memory, and concentration – that time seeks to erode.
When you are ready to roll up your sleeves and confront Father Time, you will find the author’s recommendations invaluable. And, by the way, you don’t have to wait until you are collecting Social Security to take advantage of the methodology advocated by the 2025 U.S. Senior Champion. Fighting Father Time? Yes, time to put on the gloves!
About the Author
Grandmaster Alex Fishbein was born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1968. He learned chess from his father, a master-level player, at the age of 4. Alex later studied with the iconic Soviet coach Vladimir Zak, who had previously trained the young Boris Spassky and Viktor Korchnoi. From Zak, Alex came away with the feeling that chess is the most worthwhile endeavor life has to offer, an emotion that guides him to this day.
Fighting Father Time is Fishbein’s most personal work yet, and the theme of dissecting mistakes and rising from their ashes is central to the narrative. That journey culminates in this book with his victory in the 2025 US Senior Championship. Alex's earlier work for Russell Enterprises includes a revision of My System, two opening books, and several endgame projects jointly with German endgame theoretician GM Karsten Müller.
Classic amateur mistakes is an essential read for the aspiring tournament chess player.
Experienced Author and coach Grandmaster Daniel Gormally argues that amateur players have a different outlook on chess compared to more experienced and professional players.
Due to a lack of confidence in their chess calculation, they often struggle to deal with concrete positions and will succumb to paralysis by analysis. If you ask an amateur player about a typical chess position, they will often waffle on in such a way about the general features of the position to the extent that your eyes will glaze over. Ask a professional player about that same position, and by contrast they will bombard you with variations.
In this entertaining, humorous and entertaining read, Gormally gives his reasons why this is and tries to explain how they can improve, as well as also analysing other classic amateur mistakes, like moving a piece too often and not attacking enough.
The sum result is a tome that will not only help the amateur player to achieve better results but will also give them a consistent process going forward at the board that they feel comfortable with.
Daniel Gormally is a chess Grandmaster based in Alnwick in Northumberland. As well as being the author of several chess books including the comfort zone, pandemic shark and mating the castled king, he also runs a moderately successful chess YouTube channel.
In 2024 Gormally won the UK rapid play championship in Peterborough, and in 2025 he won the UK open blitz championships in Leamington Spa. In 2026 Gormally officially became a senior chess player and is hoping to use this fact to avoid playing underrated juniors in open tournaments, as much as possible.
In his spare time Gormally likes to read comic books and watch Korean cooking game shows, as well as trying to repair his bad back by going to the gym and attending yoga classes.
Nobody doubts that intuition in chess exists. It is part of the arsenal of every chess player, next to well-known skills such as tactical vision, the ability to calculate variations and endgame technique. But how does intuition in chess work, and where does it take us?
Intuition is by far the vaguest and hardest to grasp subject in chess, and consequently the least studied. Acclaimed author and experienced chess trainer Valeri Beim takes the bull by the horns and shows, with hundreds of well-explained examples:
– When intuition comes into play
– What the functions of intuition are
– Why some players have better intuition than others
– How intuition differs from pattern recognition
– How you can develop your chess intuition
– Why your intuition gets weaker as you grow older.
Valeri Beim deeply analyses and dissects how chess players think and demonstrates that each of us has the power of making intuitive decisions. You will learn how you can train and develop this human gift.
Beim uses plain language and illustrates his findings with sparkling tales about Capablanca, Tal, Fischer, Carlsen, and other greats in chess. With instructive examples of practical play, this is a thought-provoking, yet highly accessible work.
Valeri Beim is a grandmaster who lives in Austria. He has won numerous tournaments and plays in the Austrian and German leagues. For many years he was the head trainer at the chess school in Odessa, and he was also the trainer of the Israeli Olympiad team.
Uwe Bekemann, German Federation for Correspondence Chess:
"Bringing all this material together into a coherent and logical complex is, I think, the extraordinary achievement of the author (..) Beim highlights important benchmarks and best pratices in the text. This helps the reader to train and develop his talents."
Der Standard, Vienna:
"Beim demystifies the matter (..) Using excellently presented games, the intuitive way of playing chess is explained in a refreshingly classical and instructive way."
Luke McShane, New In Chess magazine:
"This book strikes me as an unusual thoughtful one (..) Beim has made a great effort to come up with a coherent theory of intuition, and there is plenty to enjoy along the way."
Martin Rieger, Europa Rochade:
"Very good are the prose and abundant explanations. Here is an experienced grandmaster spilling the beans!"
Marshtower Chess Reviews:
"I think the book can be read on two levels. Firstly, it represents a fine collection of inspirational games which can be enjoyed by any class of player. Secondly, it provides a deeper, thought-provoking read on a difficult subject."
Harry Schaack, KARL Magazine:
"Thrilling (..) Full of remarkable analysis and enlightening commentary (..) This book shows that mankind's intuition is still better than that of computers."
Hans Bohm, De Telegraaf:
"Beims method is always to first explain patiently what he is talking about, with pratical examples. Then he delves deeper into the material and considers things from different perspectives. That way every reader can apply what he learned at his own level."
B.H.Wilders, Nederlands Dagblad:
"The author has a clear view on how to develop chess intuition, with many interesting examples which show that it is indeed something quite different from recognition."
Joe Petrolito, Australasian Chess Magazine:
"As a trail-blazer, Beim is going out on limb with his ideas, but I think this will be an influential book on the topic (..) Highly recommended."
Grandmaster Joel Benjamin introduces all seventeen World Chess Champions and shows what is important about their style of play and what you can learn from them. He describes both their historical significance and how they inspired his own development as a player.
Benjamin presents the most instructive games of each champion. Magic names such as Kasparov, Capablanca, Alekhine, Botvinnik, Tal, and Karpov, they’re all there, up to current World Champion Magnus Carlsen. How do they open the game? How do they develop their pieces? How do they conduct an attack or defend when necessary? Benjamin explains, in words rather than in chess symbols, what is important for your own improvement.
Two Americans are included in this highly instructive manual, accessible to every post-beginner. Of course the crystal-clear style of Bobby Fischer, the 11th World Champion, guarantees some very memorable lessons. Additionally, Benjamin has included Paul Morphy. The 19th century chess wizard from New Orleans never held an official title, but was clearly the best of the world during his short but dazzling career.
Studying World Champion Chess for Juniors will prove an extremely rewarding experience for ambitious youngsters. Trainers and coaches will find it worthwhile to include the book in their curriculum. The author provides many suggestions for further study.
Joel Benjamin won the US Championship three times and has been a trainer for almost three decades. His book Liquidation on the Chess Board won the Best Book Award of the Chess Journalists of America (CJA), and his most recent book Better Thinking, Better Chess is a world-wide bestseller.
“The nice idea of this book is to fill the ‘culture gap’ that modern young players have about the classics (I was once told of a training session of promising young Western players where the immortal words ‘who was Spassky?’ were uttered!) through an easy to read overview of the world’s greatest players from Morphy to Carlsen. For each player, Benjamin provides an introductory summary of their career, annotates a few games in detail and then provides a small number of unannotated games for further study. I would definitely make sure this book was in the Christmas stocking of any budding young chess player!”
GM Matthew Sadler, co-author of ‘Game Changer’
“Benjamin’s guide to the greats of chess is most readable and contains a wealth of handy tips.”
CHESS Magazine (UK)
“Although the tone of voice is aimed at juniors, this book is very readable also for older generations. Welcome reading material, particularly for (beginning) club players who would like to learn more about the history of chess.”
Florian Jacobs, Max Euwe Center
“A book to increase the chess culture of junior chess players. The author brings to the reader’s attention the chess legacy of every official world chess champion including Paul Morphy. Joel Benjamin understand how juniors learn and the book is not a heavy read, but a door to future independent study. Benjamin’s writing style in World Champion Chess for Juniors is engaging, light but not simplistic and definitely will keep a young reader engage and make older readers avid to review their classics.”
Miguel Ararat, Florida Chess
The story of the Polgar sisters is extraordinary. The idea that Laszlo Polgar, a mediocre chess player, could decide to turn his children into chess geniuses, and then succeed beyond his wildest dreams, is incredible.
It suggests that, with the right training, anything’s possible.
In this book, Judit Polgar - the strongest of the three sisters and a former world top-10 player – reveals some of the secrets of her success. Together with the prize-winning coach, International Master Andras Toth, she has created a course based on the training she received as a young player. It is like having a private lesson from one of the best players in the world.
You will learn how to punish the three most common opening mistakes. And how to spot hidden tactical opportunities and how to force your opponent to play weakening moves. You will understand how to master one of the most difficult skills in chess: seizing the initiative. And you will find the tools to turn yourself into a lean, mean, attacking machine.
Master Your Chess with Judit Polgar covers all aspects of the game: from the opening to the endgame. The manual is accessible both for ambitious beginners wanting to build their chess development on a strong foundation and for intermediate players who have hit a plateau and need new insights to leap forward.
Nobody said mastering chess was easy! But with Grandmaster Judit Polgar and International master Toth behind you, you will learn to Master Your Chess and attack like the chess legend herself.
The world’s top trainer, Mark Dvoretsky, and one of his best-known pupils, grandmaster Artur Yusupov, present a five-volume series based on courses given to talented young players throughout the world. The books contain contributions by other leading trainers and grandmasters, as well as games by pupils who have attended the courses.
The final volume of the series deals with various creative aspects, such as the calculation of variations and the development of intuition. It also explores the psychology of taking decisions, both when attacking and when defending.
WINNER of The Guardian 2009 Chess Book of the Year Award
WINNER of The British Chess Federation 1995 Book of the Year Award
In this modern chess classic David Bronstein, one of the greatest chess artists of all time, shares his insights in his wonderful games – 237 of them played between 1938 and 1996, a career spanning 58 years.
Bronstein was famous for the joy he derived from teaching the game and this spirit permeates his writings. His explanations and analyses are invariably lively and easy to understand for players of all levels who want to improve their chess.
David Bronstein’s achievements and his legendary creativity have ensured him a unique position in chess history. He drew a match for the World Championship, won Soviet Championship twice and took first place in numerous international tournaments.
This revised and expanded edition, published two years after Bronstein passed away, contains a lot of new material and two moving In Memoriams, one by Bronstein’s widow Tatiana Boleslavskaya and one by his co-author and friend Tom Fürstenberg.
Furthermore, 32 pages of unique photographs have been included, as well as extensive new articles by Bronstein himself.
This unconventional book is a fitting homage to one of the eternal chess greats, fascinating and rich in ideas, and written with contagious enthusiasm.
Arne Moll, ChessVibes:
"Bronstein was not only a fantastic chess player, but also a great chess explicator. The book is full of very useful and instructive explications (..) There's lots of cool new stuff compared to the first edition."
Angus Dunnington, CHESS Magazine:
“There are many tips for the non-genius and it is a very useful book for those who want to improve.”
IM Malcolm Pein, The Guardian:
“There are photographs, personal history, anecdotes and advice. Above all it is a wonderful record of Bronstein's great achievements. A splendid addition to any chess library.”
"Those who already own the earlier edition should be pleased by the new edition too. I think there is enough new material to justify an upgrade for one's library."
The Judges of the Guardian 2009 Chess Book of the Year Award:
"Our book of the year is an unusual, personal, inspirational and endearing work."
IM John Donaldson:
"This revised and expanded edition (..) contains a lot of new material (..) It belongs in every chessplayer's library"
John Henderson, The Scotsman:
"Deserves a place on every chess player's bookshelf."
José Raúl Capablanca (1888-1942, World Champion 1921-1927) had a way of posting his pieces on exactly the perfect squares at the perfect time. For his opponents, it almost felt as if Capa’s pieces had a gift for condescension, since they had no need to look for opportunity. Opportunity instead came to them. The position’s optimal plan would magically and instantaneously arrange itself into coherent order within Capa’s chess mind.
Capablanca raised the bar on strategic understanding by at least one full generation. Only a handful of players in chess history were a generation ahead in strategic understanding: Morphy, Steinitz, Capablanca, Fischer, Karpov and Carlsen. The subject of this book and series is the third player on the list. While Capablanca was a player of his time, so advanced were his strategic ideas that he was simultaneously a person of our time as well.
There has never been a chess player who played blemish-free chess, yet some came close. At its best, Capa’s play appears free from obstacles of any kind. To players of that engine-free era, it sometimes felt as if Capablanca played perfect chess. The first time Emanuel Lasker met Capablanca and played blitz against him, he remarked that to his eyes, Capa never appeared to make a mistake.
Beginners often believe that quiet positions and endings are dead, lifeless realms. Play through Capablanca’s games and we see that they teem with life and possibility, since Capa saw hidden meanings in positions where his rivals were blind. He was especially deadly in quiet positions, since he had the unique ability to kill without seeming to strike a blow. By the time his opponents realized the danger, it was often too late to save themselves.
Few of us associate Capablanca with tactics, but maybe we should. He was one of the most tactically aware players of his era, rivaling both Lasker and Alekhine in this metric. Capa’s specialty was short-range combinations, which he almost never missed.
This series will be in three volumes covering the early years, Capa’s prime, and finally the later years. In this book, you will be presented with exercises which you can choose to do or not do. They include: combinations, calculation/visualization, planning and decision-making.
The present volume, number I, contains 156 freshly annotated games and fragments incorporating 168 exercises.
Chess has the rare quality that children love it despite the fact that it is good for them. Playing chess is just like life: you have to make plans, take decisions, be creative, deal with challenges, handle disappointments, interact with others and evaluate your actions.
In this guide, psychologist and chess teacher Karel van Delft provides access to the underlying scientific research and presents the best didactical methods. Van Delft has created a dependable toolkit for teachers and scholastic chess organizers.
What can teachers do to improve their instruction? How (un)important is talent? How do you support a special needs group? How do you deal with parents? What are the best selling points of a chess program? Boys and girls, does it make a difference? How do ‘chess in schools’ programs fare in different countries?
This is not a book on chess rules and moves, but it points the way to where good technical chess improvement content can be found. Van Delft offers a wealth of practical advice on the most effective didactics in order for kids to build critical life skills through learning chess.
Karel van Delft is a Dutch chess teacher and chess organizer. He holds a Master’s degree in Psychology of the University of Amsterdam and has lectured and published widely on the subject of the benefits of chess in education.
“More than 260 pages of pure motivation and inspiration. While other school chess books focus on concrete lessons, Karel van Delft provides insight into everything else that should be in the chess teacher's school bag (chess and autism, chess and girls, chess as social and therapeutic tool, the role of the parents...). The author strikes a wonderful balance between practical tips and scientific foundation. You can use some pages as a checklist, on the other hand the references to scientific works can make any school headmaster realise that chess really belongs in the classroom. And isn't that exactly what we need to spread chess in schools?”
Philippe Vukojevic, First Rank Newsletter, European Chess Union Education
“This book does not need to be read systematically. It is a work of ideas and advice, which will retain a long shelf life. Chess tutors and teachers will be able to dip into the book in search of inspiration and they will certainly find it waiting for them. It’s doesn’t matter how experienced a teacher or tutor may be: there will always still be plenty of new ideas to be found in ‘Chess for Educators’.”
Sean Marsh, CHESS Magazine
“Going through the book I encountered things that I had hardly heard of and that sometimes opened up an entire world to me, although I have been teaching chess for many years. Chapter 20 is an important one because it concentrates on research into the benefits of teaching chess. I think that many chess players will be able to identify with the section ‘Losing touch with school’. All in all a monumental work that deals with lots of aspects of teaching, coaching and organizing, but also with communication and promotion.”
IM Herman Grooten, Schaaksite
“2,000 hours of painstaking research, analysis and counselling ideas by Karel van Delft. Surely the most comprehensive guide yet for teachers and parents in the chess world.”
Chess Magazine Black and White (India)
“Essential reading for everyone interested in chess education, whether in practice or only in theory. Both established chess teachers and those just setting out will find great ideas to inspire them on every page. Karel van Delft is one of the world’s leading experts on the subject, so the book is an ocean of wisdom. The most important aspect of the book for me, on a very personal level, is the understanding that chess has potential social as well as cognitive benefits for a very wide range of young- and not so young – people. I hope Karel’s book meets with the success it deserves: you could start by buying a copy yourself.”
Richard James, British Chess News
“Van Delft does a great job of creating material for both chess club administrators and coaches. By combining both his own practical experience and extensive research, Van Delft has created a guide that is exceptionally useful for those within the chess education field.”
FM Peter Giannatos, Founder and Director, Charlotte Chess Center
Successful endgame play is all about technique. In this third volume of the series the authors explain how to study the endgame and to analyse endgame positions, and illustrate the highly important technique of converting an advantage.
The second volume explains the basic principles of the opening, discusses how to build an opening repertoire and produce opening novelties, and explores the connection between the opening and the later stages – the middlegame and the endgame.
A winning streak in chess, says Cyrus Lakdawala, is a lot more than just the sum of its games. In this book he examines what it means when everything clicks, when champions become unstoppable and demolish opponents. What does it mean to be ‘in the zone’? What causes these sweeps, what sparks them and what keeps them going? And why did they come to an end?
Lakdawala takes you on a trip through chess history looking at peak performances of some of the greatest players who ever lived: Morphy, Steinitz, Pillsbury, Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, Botvinnik, Fischer, Tal, Kasparov, Karpov, Caruana and Carlsen. They all had very different playing styles, yet at a certain point in their rich careers they all entered the zone and simply wiped out the best players in the world.
In the Zone explains the games of the greatest players during their greatest triumphs. As you study and enjoy these immortal performances you will improve your ability to overpower your opponents. You will understand how great moves originate and you will be inspired to become more productive and creative. In the Zone may bring you closer to that special place yourself: the zone.
Cyrus Lakdawala is an International Master and a former American Open Champion. He has been teaching chess for four decades and is a prolific and widely read author. His Chess for Hawks won the Best Instructional Book Award of the Chess Journalists of America (CJA). Other much acclaimed books of his are How Ulf Beats Black, Clinch It! and Winning Ugly in Chess.
“Lakdawala is the author of quite a few acclaimed and prize-winning chess books, and this one is another direct hit. His annotations are never dull, which cannot be said of all other chess writers. It’s almost 400 pages full of chess delight.” – Bab Wilders, Nederlands Dagblad
“In the Zone is the rare book that is both instructive and entertaining and should appeal to a wide audience, primarily players rated from 1800 to 2300.” – International Master John Donaldson
“As ever, Lakdawala provides entertaining but also instructive coverage of a great many fine games in his latest work. He also explores just how such winning streaks, by the likes of Carlsen, Kasparov, Morphy and Pillsbury, arose and why they came to an end. If you fancy overpowering your next opponent or just improving your creativity, a study of some seriously impressive winning streaks in Lakdawala’s company might just come in handy.” – CHESS Magazine
“The prolific American author has the clever idea of looking at thirteen players who have excelled at events starting with Morphy and ending with Magnus Carlsen at Grenke Classic 2019. This is a good excuse to look once again at Fischer’s stunning victory at the 1963/64 US Championship with 11/11 and every game is examined to find a link why Fischer dominated. There is an attempt in every chapter to explain why the player was at the peak of his powers and if there are numerous games then a few are selected to emphasise his prowess. A book that makes you think.” – International Master Gary Lane, Chess Moves Magazine
“Lakdawala’s tone of voice is unique in chess literature; he is like a friend you have known for a long time. His qualities as a trainer and an author reinforce each other.” – Thomas Binder, Glarean Magazine
“Lakdawala writes in a charming and highly instructive manner.” – Jeremy Silman, author of How to Reassess Your Chess
“This is an excellent and original idea for a book. We meet some of the greatest players from Morphy onwards and look at their peak performances. It might even inspire you to get ‘into the zone’ yourself in your next tournament, whenever that might be. As a highly experienced author and teacher, Lakdawala knows just how to get the balance right between words and variations, and has used a modern engine to check the analysis. You’ll find lots of Exercises (for you to solve), Principles (to help you improve) and Moments of Contemplation (to think about an interesting position).” – Richard James, British Chess News
“Aside from discussing the streaks and the tournaments in which they occurred, Lakdawala annotates the games in his trademark humorous style. There is also a look behind the curtain to reveal what goes into achieving such amazing streaks: luck, craft, excellence as well as the ability to put it all together in one tournament. A welcome look at some phenomenal performances.” – Carsten Hansen, American Chess Magazine
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