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
For kids who love to amaze their friends with their chess skills, Charles Hertan presents new ways to find Power Moves, winning tactics that require thinking ahead.
In Volume 2, the four special teachers get a new colleague! Knelly the Knight arrives on the scene and will assists Zort (a computer from outer space), the Dinosaurs, the Power Chess Kids and the Chess Professor. Together they will help you to become a very dangerous chess player.
Power Chess for Kids is the most complete, practical and fun kids guide ever on learning how to win games. Forget about studying openings and endgames, Power Moves will help you to beat your opponents in all stages of the game!
Charles Hertan is a FIDE master from Massachusetts who has been teaching kids for more than thirty years. He has written a chess book for advanced players called Forcing Chess Moves: the Key to Better Calculation which was shortlisted for the Guardian Chess Book of the Year Award and won the ChessCafe Book of the Year Award.
Lukas Wedrychowski, DailyChess:
"What a wonderful series. This is really a beautiful and instructive book and a lot of children will certainly be enjoying it and getting better because of it."
Available via subscription
British Chess Magazine (March 2026)
Each exercise invites you to step into the shoes of the masters:
– Can you find the hidden combination that turned the tide?
– Will you spot the knockout blow that secured a brilliant victory?
– Can you defend as resourcefully as the Armenian greats when under pressure?
This collection is designed for players of all levels who want to sharpen their tactical vision and gain insights from the rich legacy of Armenian chess. With positions ranging from instructive classics to breathtaking brilliancies, the book offers a training ground where calculation, creativity, and intuition meet.
Whether you are a club player looking to improve, a coach seeking fresh material, or a chess enthusiast who loves the beauty of tactics, this book is your gateway into the magic of Armenian chess.
The English Opening, 1.c4, is a great practical weapon for players of all levels. White dictates the opening from the first move, reaching positions where understanding themes and plans is more important than computer-generated analysis. Win with the English! provides a complete repertoire with 1.c4, showing how to meet every major option that Black may try.
Playing the English (2023) became an instant hit with professional and club players alike, generating rave reviews. GM Matthew Sadler noted that “on top of all that great explanation, the analysis is simply first class”, while IM John Watson stated: “Every experienced English Opening player will want this book.” Still, author Nikolaos Ntirlis was determined to raise the bar even higher.
Win with the English! builds upon Playing with the English by tweaking move orders, plugging gaps and steering the play in even more practically potent directions than before. This enhanced edition leaves the best parts of the original work intact, while offering all the fine-tuning needed to make this the ultimate 1.c4 repertoire.
Nikolas Ntirlis is an award-winning author, correspondence IM and openings advisor to various grandmasters. His books are loved by amateurs and grandmasters alike, with a stellar reputation for clarity, practicality and analytical precision.
Whip the Winawer with The Ram!
The French Defense is one of the most popular responses by Black to 1.e4. And the Winawer is the most popular variation of the French. In this book, the authors advocate an early advance of the h-pawn – The Ram – and plans related to it. This move was first used in the game Pilnik-Ståhlberg, Mar del Plata 1946. Argentine grandmaster Hermann Pilnik would go on to win many games with the Ram.
The major tabiya of this line arises after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7. While 7.Qg4 – leading to a direct attack against the black king – has been played many times in this position, it leads to well-known forced lines.
But this book is devoted to 7.h2-h4, a more positional method of attacking. More strategic considerations become pivotal – getting the “feel” for the position, becoming familiar with general plans, the best squares for the pieces, etc.
Mastering the typical motifs and ideas will in fact give you the opportunity to continue positionally or to pursue an attack directed against the black king. The authors heartily recommend The Ram for all chessplayers who strive for an energetic struggle, rich in possibilities in their quest to get an advantage as White in the French Winawer.
Greek Grandmaster Vassilios Kotronias, has won the championship of Greece ten times and has represented his country many times in team competitions. He is one of the most respected opening analysts in the world today.
Russian-Serbian Grandmaster Mikhail Ivanov has been successful in many European tournaments, including the 2002 Neckar Open. He is a respected chess coach and trainer. He has co-authored several books with GM Kotronias for Russell Enterprises.
Russian international master Andrei Obodchuk is an eleven-time Russian champion, eight-time world champion, participant of six World Chess Olympiads, and one of the most experienced and titled participants of the 4th FIDE World Chess Championship for People with Disabilities. This is his first book for Russell Enterprises.
The French Defence hits the sweet spot between soundness and practicality, and remains one of Black’s most popular defences at all levels. Win with the French! offers a complete, robust repertoire for Black after 1.e4 e6.
Elite theoretician and author Vassilios Kotronias presents a two-pronged approach in the most critical main lines, with a theoretically bulletproof, professional-grade option accompanied by a sound yet combative choice to generate winning chances with less memorization. This versatile approach, combined with thoughtful advice about typical themes and pawn structures, makes Win with the French! the ideal modern guide to this classic chess opening.
Grandmaster Vassilios Kotronias is a ten-time Greek Champion with a peak ranking of 44th in the world, as well as a renowned theoretician and 1.e4 player. After spending many decades trying unsuccessfully to break the French Defence, he is ready to share his extensive insights on why it’s a great opening to play with Black.
¡Aprende grandes trampas, convierte las derrotas en empates y los empates en victorias!
Sergei Tkachenko, miembro del equipo ucraniano que ganó el 5º Torneo Mundial de Composición de Ajedrez en 1997 y que quedó segundo en 2000, 2004, 2013 y 2017, ha recopilado 100 estudios cuyo tema común es que las blancas terminan con una sola torre en el final, pero logran ganar o empatar.
La mayoría de las soluciones no tienen más de seis movimientos, por lo que los jugadores experimentados pueden analizar las posiciones directamente a partir de los diagramas. Los principiantes en problemas de ajedrez también encontrarán útil analizar estos estudios. El diverso conjunto de ideas tácticas que involucran una sola torre en el final les permitirá comprender mejor la versatilidad de la torre.
Algunos de estos estudios son clásicos de épocas pasadas. Otros fueron publicados originalmente en la Unión Soviética o en países exsoviéticos. Varios son composiciones del propio Sergei Tkachenko.
Este es el cuarto libro de una serie de estudios de finales de Sergei Tkachenko que publicará la editorial Elk and Ruby Publishing House.
¡Aprende grandes trampas, convierte posiciones perdidas en empates y empates en victorias!
Sergei Tkachenko, un miembro del equipo ucraniano que ganó el 5º Torneo Mundial de Composición de Ajedrez en 1997 y que quedó segundo en 2000, 2004, 2013 y 2017, ha recopilado 100 estudios cuyo tema común es que las blancas terminan con una sola dama en el final, pero logran ganar o empatar.
La mayoría de las soluciones no tienen más de seis movimientos, por lo que los jugadores experimentados pueden analizar las posiciones directamente a partir de los diagramas. Los principiantes en problemas de ajedrez también encontrarán útil analizar estos estudios. El diverso conjunto de ideas tácticas que involucran una sola dama en el final les permitirá comprender mejor la versatilidad de la dama.
Sergei Tkachenko, un miembro del equipo ucraniano que ganó el 5º Torneo Mundial de Composición de Ajedrez en 1997 y que quedó segundo en 2000, 2004, 2013 y 2017, ha recopilado 100 estudios cuyo tema común es que las blancas terminan con solo un peón en el final, pero logran ganar o empatar.
Con la excepción de tres estudios, no hay más de seis movimientos en ninguna solución, por lo que los jugadores experimentados pueden analizar las posiciones directamente a partir de los diagramas. Los principiantes en problemas de ajedrez también encontrarán útil analizar estos estudios. El diverso conjunto de ideas tácticas que involucran a un solo peón en el final les permitirá comprender mejor la versatilidad del peón.
Algunos de estos estudios son clásicos de épocas pasadas. Otros fueron publicados originalmente en la Unión Soviética.
The King’s Indian Attack, featuring White’s early kingside fianchetto and d3, while usually involving the e4 advance and often a kingside pawn storm, was one of Bobby Fischer’s favourite openings. It is simple to learn without the need to worry about huge blocks of theory and it is taught through 77 illustrative games.
That said, being simple to learn doesn’t mean that the opening doesn’t have its fair share of excitement – and complications. It certainly has – both tactical and positional – once you get into the middlegame, but there is very little that you need to learn by heart after you digest the key ideas from the book’s introduction and illustrative games.
This book features eleven games with Fischer as White.
The book recommends White’s best easy-to-remember set ups against all of Black’s main replies. The key material is delivered as follows:
Chapter 1: The Reversed King’s Indian
Chapter 2: The Reversed Pirc
Chapter 3: KIA vs ...d5 ...c6 and ...Bxf3
Chapter 4: KIA vs ...d5 ...c6 and ...Bh5
Chapter 5: KIA vs Reversed London System
Chapter 6: KIA vs French Defence
Chapter 7: KIA vs ...e5/...d6 Structures
Chapter 8: KIA vs Reversed English Formations
The author himself is a frequent practitioner of the opening. The book features nine games with Cyrus as White and another three as Black. Further, he has taught it to numerous students over the years. Other games feature elite players including Carlsen, Kasparov, Kramnik, Anand, Petrosian, Botvinnik, Gukesh, Ding, Nepo, Nakamura, Pragg, Svidler, Giri, Timman, Kamsky, Polugaevsky, Erigaisi, Lilienthal and Stahlberg.
Zwischenzug! is the first-ever comprehensive guide to the chess tactic also known as the intermediate move, or intermezzo. This exciting manoeuvre can catch opponents off guard because it is against the expected run of play. You will learn how to spot Zwischenzugs, when to look out for them, and how to set them up in your games.
The authors have studied thousands of games and have identified the patterns that appear frequently in practical play. The book categorizes the different types of Zwischenzugs and distils them into easily accessible themes. The concepts are given catchy names to make them more memorable, and historical details and anecdotes are added throughout the book.
Included is an extensive mix of sample puzzles for learning and practice.
When published on Chessable, the course was received very enthusiastically and awarded an average rating of 4.82 out of a possible five stars. Another welcome effect is that the authors are now finding a lot of Zwischenzugs in their own games!
Natasha Regan is an award-winning chess author, best known for her book Game Changer, co-authored with GM Matthew Sadler. She has represented England at two Chess Olympiads and is also an accomplished Go and shogi player.
Matt Ball is a content creator and chess coach. He holds the FIDE title of National Instructor and is also a regular tournament player. He represented England at the World Senior Team Championship 2022.
IM Gary Lane (Australian Chess)
“An absorbing puzzle rush with a twist.”
IM John Donaldson (Oklahoma Chess Magazine)
“Players in the rating range 1600-2200 will find this book helpful in breaking the habit of making automatic recaptures without first looking for an in-between move.”
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