General Improvement

Positional chess remains a mystery to many and yet an understanding of the finer points of the game so often makes the difference between two equally matched players. Improve your positional play and you will see chess in a totally new dimension! In this unique book, Grandmaster Jacob Aagaard selects many original examples of positional chess, the créme de la créme of those that he uses for training and study. Aagaard also delves deeply into the ideas of positional evaluation and analysis.

One of the finest chess books ever written, now in the revised algebraic edition. The author expounds both the basic principles and the most complex forms of attack on the king. A study of this masterpiece will add power and brilliance to any chess enthusiast's play.

"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe." Abraham Lincoln. There's no escaping the fact: if you want to win chess games, you have to attack at some point. Many players are happy solving combinations in winning positions, when the hard work is already done, but the key to a successful attack undoubtedly comes much earlier. No-one can attack effectively if they haven't prepared properly, and yet planning in chess can be a difficult technique to master, even for experienced players. This book provides a solution. Using an abundance of illustrative games and examples, Gary Lane answers the questions which constantly puzzle players of all levels. How should I plan after the opening? Where are my opponent's weaknesses? Do I have enough pieces in the attack? When should I strike? Do I need to sacrifice? Should I cash in or continue to attack? Read this book, discover the answers and attack with confidence!

I may be old-fashioned, but I keep using for my inspiration the treasure of the past. It does not make sense to speculate whether, for instance, Carlsen is stronger than Fischer or Korchnoi, as matches between players separated in time by so many decades are impossible. But this book aims to prove that some of the basic aspects of our game did not change over the generations. The same kind of brilliant ideas and mistakes are played again and again in specific situations. I actually launch an invitation to examine the games of the classics, featuring ideas thought over only by human brains, and by no means less deep than those used today. We all use computer assistance when preparing or writing, but at the chess board we are all alone with our opponent, so educating our mind to work along the classical values is essential.It is virtually impossible to write a "complete" chess course, as the general themes and examples to each of them are practically inexhaustible. But I hope that after studying the book the reader will feel enriched, technically and aesthetically. I remember my enthusiasm when receiving my first original copy of the Chess informant in 1987 (number 43) after having annotated some of my games from the Warsaw zonal tournament, ending in my first qualification to the Interzonal. Almost a third of a century has passed since then, but I am looking forward to hold this new book in my hands with no less excitement.

Imagine you are a club player who has been given the opportunity to talk at length with a famous Grandmaster. How would you make the most of this opportunity? This is the third book in the highly acclaimed Lessons with a Grandmaster series. It bridges the gap between great player and amateur through a series of conversations between teacher, the renowned Grandmaster Boris Gulko, and student Dr. Joel R. Sneed, a professor of psychology and amateur chess player. The lessons are based on Gulko's own battles against fellow Grandmasters. In this third volume, Gulko and Sneed focus on both strategic and tactical ideas, and how to successfully combine the two parts over the board. Among the many subjects examined are attack and defence, exploiting weak squares, fighting for the initiative, Sicilian strategy and the bishop pair.

The engine has become the “Holy Cow” to which all chess players now pray regardless of their religious convictions or rating. Far from being a foe or rival it has become an invaluable helper, consultant and the highest of authorities. Since the highest of all oracles is soulless and cynical it is ready to help anyone ignoring opinions and preferences. Therefore, the task before each player is to use this dominant and universally accessible power to their particular advantage.

With the ascent of computer technology, humans have a chance to develop their thinking process based on hard evidence. Think Like a Machine explores human limitations and proposes new avenues for human thinking, inspired by computer engines. In positions taken almost exclusively from modern tournament play, the authors present jaw-dropping continuations which humans struggle to find, not due to lower human computing power, due to conceptual and perceptual limitations. In this book these “crazy” moves are analyzed and categorized. If you want to expand your chess imagination, understanding and intuition, Think Like a Machine is the book is for you. Think Like A Machine is the second chess book co-written by Noam Manella and Zeev Zohar. Manella is a digital and Social Networks Researcher; Zohar is an accountant and businessman. Their previous book, Play Unconventional Chess and Win, was a highlight in chess publishing in 2014.

Imagine you are a club player who has been given the opportunity to talk at length with a famous Grandmaster. How would you make the most of this opportunity? This book is the much anticipated follow-up to the highly acclaimed and award-nominated Lessons with a Grandmaster. It bridges the gap between great player and amateur through a series of conversations between teacher, the renowned Grandmaster Boris Gulko, and student Dr. Joel R. Sneed, a professor of psychology and amateur chess player. The lessons are based on Gulko's own battles against fellow Grandmasters. This second volume focuses on dynamic chess, developing chess imagination, the capacity to take risks, the ability to simultaneously attack and defend, and perhaps above all, the ability to visualize the chess board and calculate combinations in sharp positions.

During a game, the same hard questions keep recurring: who stands better, should I release the central tension, how do I improve my worst-placed piece? This expanded edition of the classic Best Lessons of a Chess Coach is built around learning to answer them — by sitting in on the classroom of one of America’s most respected teachers.

Sunil Weeramantry organises the material thematically rather than by opening. The twelve core lessons are grouped under four ideas that underpin strong play: outpost squares, weak squares, the initiative, and piece coordination and control. Each lesson is taught through a single deeply annotated game, so a concept is absorbed in the context of a real fight rather than as an abstract rule.

What gives the book its character is the mix of sources. Weeramantry teaches both immortal classics — Morphy, Steinitz, Alekhine, Fischer — and his own tournament games, and the difference matters: with the masters you reason alongside them, while with his own games he conveys the genuine tension, disappointment, and satisfaction of the player who lived them. Dozens of further illustrative games, running right up to modern engine encounters, extend each theme.

The cumulative effect is a working toolkit for the aspiring player. Best suited to intermediate players ready to think in terms of plans and ideas rather than memorised lines.