General Strategy Books

The correct handling of pawns is one of the hardest things to teach in chess, because the guidelines are rarely spelled out. In this book, American grandmaster and former US Champion Sam Shankland sets out to do exactly that — reduce pawn play to a set of clear, memorable principles any player can actually apply.

The structure follows the simple truths that make pawns unique. The four parts are built around the facts that pawns cannot move backwards, can be compelled forwards, seldom move sideways, and can be forced to do so — and each principle is developed through themed chapters with names like “Protecting Your Children,” “Driving on Open Roads,” and “Keeping Your Door Locked.”

Shankland begins with strikingly simple positions and then raises the level steadily, repeatedly showing how even grandmasters could have made better decisions had they applied the book’s guidelines. Each chapter ends with exercises so you can test the idea before moving on.

The approach is practical rather than encyclopaedic: instead of cataloguing every structure, Shankland teaches a way of thinking about pawns that transfers to your own games. Suitable for club players and above who want their positional understanding to rest on principles they can state out loud.

This ebook is a part of Bundle: Pawn Play Bundle

Grandmaster Insides takes you into the inner world of the American Grandmaster Maxim Dlugy, a former World Junior Champion.

Robert Ris wrote this book especially for club players who want to do more than opening theory.

Acclaimed chess teacher Dan Heisman equips the not-quite-novice with the practical tools and knowledge needed to get started in competitive play: how to develop board vision; what to do when you’re way ahead in material; how to avoid common mistakes in thinking; when to “believe” your opponent; even how to act properly at the chessboard. The author uses examples from inexperienced players to provide a wealth of common-sense advice, topping it off with a collection of illustrative games and practice puzzles.

This ebook is a part of Bundle: Dan Heisman's Books

The basic concept of the book is simple but quite effective: various surveys on all aspects of the game, covering and explaining unrevealed or poorly explained ideas and paths. In the present book a total of 40 concepts are deeply analysed.

The goal of this book is to illustrate how specific pawn structures should be studied for typical themes even if they arise from different openings. The pawn structure with (typically) White’s isolated queen pawn on the ‘d’ file has been known for over a hundred years, and different players have shown best plans for both sides over the years.

Winning with the Modern London System - PART 2

This is the second volume of a complete White repertoire built on the Modern London System — the Bf4 set-up that has swept through chess at every level because it is sound, flexible, and refreshingly light on theory. Where the first book laid the groundwork, Part 2 fills the most important gaps.

The main focus is on Black’s fianchetto and ...e6 defences — the King’s-Indian- and Grünfeld-style set-ups with ...g6, and the solid ...e6 structures — which are exactly the lines that give London players the most trouble. The book also folds in improvements on the first volume, extends coverage to the closely related Torre Attack, and adds an Anti-Benoni section for when Black strikes with ...c5.

The material is taught largely through complete, well-chosen games — including many recent grandmaster examples and instructive efforts by London specialists — so you absorb the typical plans, piece set-ups, and attacking patterns in their natural context rather than as dry variations.

Best read alongside Part 1, it completes a practical, low-maintenance 1.d4 system for club players who want a reliable opening they can play in every game and improve at through understanding rather than memorisation.

Jacob Aagaard shares his simple three-step tool of positional analysis that he has used with club players and famous grandmasters to improve their positional decision-making. Working from the starting point that all players who aspire to play at international level have a certain amount of positional understanding, Aagaard lays out an easy-to-follow training plan that will improve everyone’s intuition and positional decision-making.

This ebook is a part of Bundle: Grandmaster Preparation

This book invites the reader to enter the wonderful elite chess world with one of the most creative GM’s of all time. It tells about his approach to the core of fighting, about his strongest points but also about his weaknesses. It presents real masterpieces and hurtful losses.