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This book takes the reader on a journey from early 19th century developments in the game up to the present-day. It takes in the revolutionary Wilhelm Steinitz’s early summation and establishment of a firm positional basis for chess and the considerable contributions made by all of the subsequent world champions and certain other great players, including the contemporary computer phenomenon, AlphaZero.

A number of systems in the labyrinth of the Sicilian Defense involve the idea of increasing central pressure by playing ...Qb6. The main object of this early queen move is to decentralise the strongly placed white knight on the d4 square. The most direct way to apply this idea is the ‘Grivas Sicilian’, which arises after the moves: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Qb6

Grandmasters Kotronias and Ivanov are renowned as leading theoreticians and chess trainers. They offer a unique and world-class repertoire based on 1.d4! They advocate an ambitious approach for White, with the aim to fight for an advantage in any position. This is their first joint effort; they tackle the ever-popular Queen’s Gambit Accepted and their sidelines in Volume 1A and 1B.

The material is divided into four chapters, and two parts, depending if we have an endgame with queens or rooks on the board. I have decided to keep the focus on endgames because in middlegames, some other factors may simply prevail. In endgames, the importance of having a knight against a bishop just increases! For easier understanding, I suggest that before studying any example, you should determine which side will prevail and you can find the solutions yourself. Of course, you can work directly from the book and even skip some examples, and you can analyze them in random order. 

In the book, you will find Capablanca’s famous postulate about the queen and knight cooperating better than the queen and bishop, and some exceptions as well. For first time, you will hear of my audacious “postulate” that a rook and knight will “more often” prevail over a rook and bishop combination. I know this may sound absurd. I know Tal and Fischer would have disagreed and probably would have been indignant to hear this. I know many strong players would rather have a rook and bishop combination, basing their approach on the past masterpieces of these giants. But what about Rubinstein, and especially Karpov and Andersson – these masters had a great influence on my style and my coaching methods. Furthermore, I have based my “postulate” on statistics that I obtained after deeply searching for examples for this book. I hope it will reopen a debate about this material balance. My opinion is made, and I would like to apologize to all “bishop fans”.

I have decided to use actual words instead of symbols to explain my ideas, methods and plans. I think that it should be right in this computer era that is full of numbers, digits, etc. that words and sentences from the coach are simply irreplaceable to explain strategy and endgames. 

I am sure that this book will demystify that “eternal battle” and help you to broaden your horizons. I am sure you will find a lot for yourself in this book. 

When I decided to write The Modernized Sveshnikov (June 2020) I knew that I was basically committing myself to covering the Anti–Sicilians in a separate book as well. After all, what’s a book on the Sveshnikov alone worth when your opponents decide to avoid the Open Sicilian? Especially since the Sveshnikov is nowadays considered to be one of the most reliable options for Black in the Sicilian, White players have been investigating new territories within the Anti–Sicilians. The book you are holding in your hands, Beat the Anti–Sicilians, aims to provide a complete Black repertoire against all the critical sidelines after 1.e4 c5. The biggest part of the book covers the Rossolimo and Alapin, but also the popular lines at club player’s level like the Grand Prix Attack and the Morra Gambit, and other alternatives on White’s 2nd move are also worked out in detail.

Above all, the Averbakh is a very rewarding opening. White’s piece development follows classical principles. In general, White is not lagging in development. Even without the theoretical knowledge of certain variations, he should be able to find his way. Best of all, the Averbakh promises you a head-start at the end of the opening, without the mess our KID opponents love to create on the board!

I have always been interested by less theoretical Sicilians. I have been playing the Classical Sicilian for a long time and right before the covid period, I decided to find a new one. The Sicilian Kan came to me as a very serious option, and I decided to work on it. In the meantime, my friend and editor Daniël Vanheirzeele offered me the chance to author a book about it. This came to me as a complete surprise, as I had no experience with it. In comparison with my work on the Reti and the Dutch (my two previous books), I am a newbie on the subject. But I decided to accept the challenge. I found it extremely interesting, as this gave me a fresh look at the positions. I think I managed to ask myself the questions everyone would have asked. I also work as a second for others and am accustomed to working on openings I do not necessarily play as well as finding the key ideas very quickly. So, after a deep initial work to understand the variations, I was ready to start writing!

I realize that this book will not cover all open wounds, nevertheless my aim to write a manual about defense which can help us defenders enduring the hardest difficulties in practice, seems to be achieved. Personally speaking this book helped me as a defender to approach a worse position in a much more objective way, optimally use all of my defensive resources available, both psychologically and technically, to set – even under the most dire circumstances – pitfalls, while keeping my nerves under control.

Do you relish the prospect of setting your opponent awkward problems from the early start of the game? If so, you should just continue reading, for in the Bg5 Najdorf, it’s every man for himself, and only the best informed and most creative resourceful player survive. The Bg5 variation gives White very dangerous attacking ideas, and Blacks really needs to know a precise defense to come out of this variation alive. This book provides weapons that are ideal choices for those who revel in forcing opponents into chaotic and uncomfortable positions. Lukasz Jarmula, a player and writer of international caliber, will be your truthful guide!

The Mar Del Plata is probably the single most comprehensive variation of the King’s Indian in terms of the volume of possibilities and strategic richness. Even aside from players who wish to incorporate the King’s Indian into their repertoire, I believe that study of these positions is essential for all chess players, as the attacking and defensive ideas on display are such a fundamental and universal part of playing chess. Learning how to evaluate and compare the strength of each side’s attacking potential is a paramount skill which can be applied all throughout your chess career.

Chess Calculation Training Bundle

Do you relish the prospect of setting your opponent awkward problems from the early start of the game? If so, you should just continue reading, for in the Bg5 Najdorf, it’s every man for himself, and only the best informed and most creative resourceful player survive. The Bg5 variation gives White very dangerous attacking ideas, and Blacks really needs to know a precise defense to come out of this variation alive. This book provides weapons that are ideal choices for those who revel in forcing opponents into chaotic and uncomfortable positions. Lukasz Jarmula, a player and writer of international caliber, will be your truthful guide!