Twenty years ago, New In Chess magazine started its own Proust Questionnaire, entitled Just Checking. In this back page column, chess players and personalities named their favourites, preferences, moods, life mottos and whatnot. One of the questions has always been: What was the most exciting chess game you ever saw?
Chess greats such as Anand, Shirov and Ivanchuk (and probably any other top player you can think of), authors and commentators such as Jeremy Silman, Jennifer Shahade, and Tania Sachdev nominated memorable games. This anthology presents the 45 most exciting of these most exciting games.
Besides inevitable ‘usual suspects’ like Kasparov-Topalov (Wijk aan Zee 1999) or the ‘Immortal’ Anderssen-Kieseritzky (London 1851), you’ll be treated to a wide variety of lesser-known gems. You’ll see Ding Liren revelling in an all-out attack, Ivan Saric juggling a knight and five pawns versus two rooks, and Sergei Radchenko chasing the white king all over the board.
Every game is a showcase of the richness and resourcefulness of chess.
Steve Giddins edited this selection, a job he immensely enjoyed: ‘I hope that every reader will find games here which bring a smile to their face and a lift to their heart’.
In this revealing self-portrait of Abhimanyu Mishra, he tells the story of a highly ambitious family project. Supported by his father, mother and sister, Abhi sets out to beat a nineteen-year-old world record. He wants to become the Youngest Chess Grandmaster in the World.
In June 2021, at the height of the Covid pandemic, he succeeds against all odds.
Abhi was born on February 5, 2009. On June 30, 2021, he became the youngest grandmaster in the world at 12 years 4 months and 25 days.
In this book, he explains the extraordinary training methods of his father, who not only helped Abhi develop his talents and fighting spirit but also selected his professional chess coaches to constantly improve his skills. Together they travelled from New Jersey to Budapest, Hungary, for the last part of the journey – a non-stop barrage of chess games to secure the necessary results.
‘The pressure was immense both for me and my opponent. It was a dead equal game and I decided to sacrifice my Knight for a pawn. It was right at this moment that my opponent gave in to the severe time pressure and ended up making a mistake. After a few moves, GM Leon resigned. I had won the game. I went out and saw Bapu waiting for me. I rushed to him and gave him a big hug. I had become the youngest Grandmaster in the entire world. I had beaten a nineteen-year-old world record. I should have been jumping with excitement, but my heart was so full that I ended up teary-eyed in the arms of my father.’
Abhimanyu Mishra (born February 5, 2009) is an American chess prodigy from New Jersey. On June 30, 2021, he became the youngest grandmaster in the world at the of 12 years 4 months and 25 days, beating a nineteen year old record.
The World Championship match between Fischer and Spassky in Reykjavik 1972 was played at the height of the Cold War. The image of a lone American genius defeating the Soviet machine captivated a worldwide audience unlike anything else in chess history. Exactly fifty years later, Fischer – Spassky 1972 takes a fresh look at both the chess and the human aspects of this monumental match.
Bobby Fischer is one of the greatest chess players of all time. His astonishing journey up to the 1972 match was documented in The Road to Reykjavik. In this volume, award-winning author Tibor Karolyi completes his study of Fischer’s career with in-depth analysis of the legendary Reykjavik match and the controversial Fischer – Spassky 1992 rematch.
International Master Tibor Karolyi is a renowned author and trainer from Hungary. His biographical works for Quality Chess have received glowing praise from readers and reviewers.
Tigran Petrosian, the ninth world chess champion, was one of the deepest thinkers the chess world has ever seen. His handling of complex positions was legendary.
With his rare strategic feeling and exceptional vision, Petrosian gradually became one of the top exponents of the art of the exchange sacrifice, and perhaps the leading protagonist for the positional exchange sacrifice.
Acclaimed author Vassilios Kotronias has assembled a splendid collection of Petrosian’s games, exemplifying the artist at work. The Greek grandmaster presents 36 games – all deeply annotated – in which he puts the Tiger’s signature sacrifice under the analytical microscope. And each game has an exceptional introduction putting it into historical perspective.
As noted by American grandmaster Alex Fishbein in the Foreword:
You will find your share of positional exchange sacrifices here. But you will also see exchanges sacrificed in the midst of a crushing attack. You will see sacrifices born of desperation, to save a bad ending. You will see correct and incorrect sacrifices. In fact, Tigran Petrosian will lose some games here. This is real life; there are mistakes, and the author explains it all to you.
Vassilios Kotronias has brought you the material in a way that will enhance your appreciation of chess as an art form. He has also offered you practical lessons you can use in your own chess endeavors.
You are already familiar with the exchange sacrifice as an art form. Now enjoy the brilliant games of its greatest artist, Tigran Petrosian.
We are pleased to release another book in the Fred Reinfeld Chess Classics series. The Immortal Games of Capablanca was – and continues to be – one of Reinfeld’s most popular books. A detailed biography of the third world chess champion introduces the 113 games. They are presented chronologically, with clear and instructive annotations.
This 21st century edition has been revised and reformatted to meet the expectations of the modern chessplayer. This includes:
(a) The original English descriptive notation has been converted to modern figurine algebraic notation;
(b) Over 200(!) diagrams have added, along with more than a dozen archival photos; and
(c) The Index of Openings now has ECO codes.
Reinfeld’s annotations were also cross-checked by Stockfish 14, one of the most powerful engines available. When Stockfish had a different, meaningful evaluation from that of Reinfeld’s, the engine’s suggestion is indicated by “S14:” followed by the specific line.
As in our other “21st Century Editions,” and with the exception of the occasional supplement by Stockfish, Reinfeld’s original text has been preserved.
Follow the life and games of the brilliant Cuban world champion in Reinfelds’s timeless classic The Immortal Games of Capablanca.
Contents:
Leitao – American Continental Championship (Tournament Review)
Moradiabadi & Arsovic– Fide Grand Prix Belgrade and Berlin (Tournament Review)
Gormally – Danny’s Chess Diary – 4NCL (Tournament Review)
Prusikin – Nimzowitsch Legacy (Instructive Lesson)
Foisor – The Pillsbury Attack (Instructive Lesson)
Davies – The 3...Qd6 Scandinavian – part 2 (Theoretical Survey)
Perunovic – The Alapin Sicilian (Theoretical Survey)
Szabo – The Scotch Game C45 (Theoretical Survey)
Petrov – World Championship Game Changers – part 4
Rogers – The Balaton Tournament 1983 (Roger’s Reminiscences)
Griffin – The most entertaining draw at the USSR Championships (From Informant Archives)
Traditional sections: games, combinations, endings, Tournament reviews, the best game from the preceding volume and the most important theoretical novelty from the preceding volume.
The periodical that pros use with pleasure is at the same time a must have publication for all serious chess students!
Forward Chess will be donating ALL its revenue from the sales of this book to charities supporting Ukraine
The Ukrainian chess community is helping Ukraine in the war against Russia. The chess genius Vasyl Ivanchuk is giving online simuls to raise funds. European champion and Olympic gold medal winner Natalia Zhukova is working as a politician in Odessa. And FIDE World Champion Ruslan Ponomariov coordinated this wonderful collection of chess games from Ukrainian players, published by New In Chess. All games were nominated and annotated by the players themselves. The proceeds of this book will support Ukrainian charities.
The book also covers the three legendary Olympic victories by Ukraine, in 2004 and 2010 for the men’s team and 2006 for the women’s team. Oleg Romanishin remembers his training match against Mikhail Tal. And Jan Timman has a look at his favourite Ukrainian study composers.
With contributions by Vasyl Ivanchuk, Ruslan Ponomariov, Anna and Mariya Muzychuk, Anton Korobov, Vladimir Tukmakov, Pavel Eljanov, Andrei Volokitin, and many, many others.
CHESS INFORMANT’S 151st ADVENTURE
Eternally Puzzled
CONTENTS:
WIJK AAN ZEE 2022 GM Ivan Sokolov
FIDE GRAND PRIX 2022 GM Elshan Moradiabadi
THE CLASH OF GENERATIONS GM Rafael Leitão
THE BERLIN RUY LÓPEZ GM Mikhail Golubev
THE SCANDINAVIAN – Part I GM Nigel Davies
NEW IDEAS IN THE PAULSEN SICILIAN GM Miloš Perunović
KING’S INDIAN, FIANCHETTO – Part II GM Krisztián Szabó
POSITIONAL ZUGZWANG GM Ivan Ivanišević
BISHOP PAIR IN CLOSED POSITIONS GM Michael Prusikin
IDEAS AND PLANS IN ISOLATED QUEEN’S PAWN (IQP) GM Sabina-Francesca Foişor
ROGERS’ REMINISCENCES – Manila Olympiad 1992 GM Ian Rogers
CHAMPION OF THE NEW EPOCH GM Marian Petrov
FROM THE CHESS INFORMANT ARCHIVES Douglas Griffin
For nearly forty years, FIDE Master David Lucky has been playing great players from around the world in chess tournaments. Along the way, he has won several brilliancy prize games, in addition to many other exciting games against Grandmasters, International Masters, and other champions. This book is a specially selected collection of 119 of his very best games. Included are wins against Grandmasters Walter Browne, Yuri Shabanov, Nick deFirmian, Michael Wilder, Igor Ivanov, and many others. There are a plenty of creative attacking games, and amazing combinations that were published in various chess magazines and newspaper columns. The book also includes an article about David’s discovery of a “missed win’ from the World Championship Match between Gary Kasparov and Nigel Short, together with another article about David’s discovery of a powerful move in a popular opening variation that was named one of the best theoretical novelties of the year by Chess Informant. This book should delight any Intermediate or better chess player (USCF rating of 1400+).
Joel Benjamin is one of the most prominent faces in the history of US chess. At thirteen years of age he broke Bobby Fischer's record as the youngest ever national master, and this was followed by countless tournament successes. Perhaps most famously, in 1997 he hit the headlines when he became the chess consultant for IBM's Deep Blue computer, which made history by beating World Champion Garry Kasparov in an epic encounter.
In American Grandmaster, Benjamin takes the reader on a journey through chess adventures spanning more than thirty years. Tracing through his own career, from being a prodigy in the 'Fischer boom' era thorough to an experienced Grandmaster with many titles, Benjamin is in a unique position to highlight the major changes that have occurred both in US and international chess throughout the last four decades.
This book contains games from every single female World Champion, as well as young up and comers, top seasoned professionals, streamers, and even a section at Beth Harmon from the recent famed Queen’s Gambit hit show.
This book is not just for girls and women, however. Any chess player can learn from these games and discover female chess history, both from the famous players in the past right up to the present day.
How have these games been selected?
It is at this point I can mention the real reason - my UK Girls chess project called ‘She Plays To Win’ (SPTW).
This group has officially been going since April 11 th 2020. I had the idea even a few years before, but I was not sure how it could be set up. The unfortunate events of worldwide lockdown provided the answer, as the switch to being online allowed me to offer zoom lessons for UK girls as well as weekly girls tournaments on the Lichess server. I do this for free and parents have never paid anything to get involved.
Each week I cover a top female player and we analyse the game. Over the past year I have built up a large collection of games and tactics, which I felt could be published. It is the most up to date collection about women’s chess covering a variety of ages and levels.
After nearly two years, I have nearly 500 girls across the UK signed up, and a further 200 girls in our new beginners programme. I hope this is just the beginning.
After all, on our official website www.sheplaystowin.co.uk the tagline reads ‘Every Girl in the UK should play and learn chess - the educational benefits are huge’.
I can announce that I personally will not take a penny from this book, as 10% of the proceeds from sales will go directly to the She Plays To Win charity in order to further the SPTW UK girls chess projects.
So not only can you benefit a lot from this book personally, your purchase will benefit UK girls chess immensely.
Chess Secrets is a series of books which uncover the mysteries of the most important aspects of chess, such as strategy, attack, defence, opening play, endgames, off-board preparation and mental attitude. In each book the author chooses and deeply studies a number of great players who have excelled in such aspects of the game, greatly influenced their peers and inspired all of us.
In Heroes of Classical Chess, Craig Pritchett selects five great players whose style exemplifies classically direct, clear, energetic, tough, ambitious yet fundamentally correct chess playing attributes. Pritchett studies the major contributions they have made, compares their differing styles and discusses the critical influences they have had on the development of chess, on their peers and on all our games.
Read this book and enhance your own skills. Understand how to play in a classical style and win more games.