General Strategy Books

Strategic Play - GM Preparation

Part of Jacob Aagaard’s award-winning Grandmaster Preparation series, this volume tackles what he considers the hardest area of all: strategic play, the handling of complex positions where the right path is not a matter of calculation or familiar patterns but of deep, original thinking.

This is the most demanding kind of chess training. The games and exercises here deliberately go beyond the skills drilled elsewhere in the series — beyond pattern recognition, calculation, and routine positional assessment — into positions so rich that you must genuinely think for yourself to find the way. Aagaard provides the conceptual tools and then sets you to work on tough, carefully chosen material.

As throughout the series, the emphasis is on active solving rather than passive reading: you wrestle with the positions the way a professional preparing for a tournament would, and the detailed solutions show how a strong player navigates the complexity.

Genuinely difficult, and aimed at strong, ambitious players — experts, masters, and aspiring masters — who want to develop the deepest layer of chess understanding. Not a first improvement book, but a superb one for those ready to be stretched.

This ebook is a part of Bundle: Grandmaster Preparation

The book contains 50 of the most exciting games of 2016. These games from high-level tournaments have been selected and analyzed by Grandmasters Naiditsch, Balogh, and Maze.

The book contains 50 of the most stunning games of 2016. These games from high-level tournaments have been selected and analyzed by Grandmasters Naiditsch, Balogh, and Maze.

Chess Strategy for Club Players is a comprehensive and structured curriculum designed to enhance players’ understanding of various types of positions and how to formulate strategic plans accordingly. Basing his teachings from Wilhelm Steinitz’s renowned foundational “Elements”, the author IM Herman Grooten expands upon these principles using contemporary examples.

Working through this book, the players will learn key elements of positional understanding, pawn structure, material advantage, king safety, piece coordination, centralization, and much more. 

Each chapter concludes with practical exercises allowing the readers to apply and reinforce their newfound knowledge. 

Luther’s Chess Reformation provides a wealth of practical tips and suggestions for chess players of all levels. Using the experiences and insights gained from his remarkable career, Luther offers an insider’s view into the world of grandmaster chess

IM Bonin offers the answers to practical questions that every chessplayer faces as the clock is ticking.

This book began as a teaching curriculum developed for the DYSS — the elite Russian state sports school that has trained some of the world's strongest grandmasters. Konstantin Sakaev and Konstantin Landa, both grandmasters with extensive coaching experience, adapted that material into a course that any serious player can follow independently.

Despite the title, this is not a positional chess textbook in the traditional sense. It covers a much wider range than piece coordination and pawn structures: the authors address opening principles and quick development, calculation and decision-making in the middlegame, material imbalances and when to disturb them, as well as practical topics including physical conditioning, psychological preparation, and how to structure study sessions without becoming over-reliant on computer analysis.

The DYSS framework gives the book an unusual coherence — these are not isolated tips but interconnected elements of a complete training approach tested with real students. The level is advanced; this is material designed for players aiming at master strength and above.

A companion second volume extends the same approach to more complex material.