There are many books devoted to basic endgames, even from the Middle Ages. Principles of typical endgames (such as keeping the rook behind a passed pawn, not setting pawns on the same colored squares as your bishop’s, distant pawns being more dangerous than central ones etc.) are well known too. But what about “complex endgames”? I have in mind endgames with at least two pieces on each side; well I don’t find them often nor sufficiently well-explained in the past! It is exactly this fact (together with my passion and great endgame experience) that has motivated me to write this book (many friends simply call me “Endgame Wizard” ).
Over two decades of working as a coach has confirmed my opinion that endgames are the biggest problem for young players. Today, in the computer era with a lot of information easily provided, youngsters all over the world rather play blitz, or solve some tactical puzzles in a manner that is “the faster the better” (or even spend time on some other chess disciplines). All of this neglects the basis of chess – the importance of endgames! It is not uncommon that everyday you can be witness to some strange endgame misunderstanding, even at the top level.
This is why I consider some of my favorite endgame books based on logic as the best I’ve ever read – I learned the endgame from some of the best endgame players and authors. And this is why I want to fill that gap in chess literature and to share my devotion, ideas, principles, opinions with you! I hope you will enjoy this material and I am pretty sure you will broaden your endgame horizons.
The Barry Attack is a highly aggressive system that arises after 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bf4. Although the concept of the Barry Attack has been known for a century or so, the modern interpretation (as with a number of other dynamic white systems) has mainly been developed by English grandmasters over the past couple of decades.
This “modern interpretation” is often not very subtle. If Black provides a target by castling early on the kingside, White will often let rip with moves such as Qd2, Bh6, 0-0-0 and h4-h5, playing very directly for a quick checkmate. If this strikes you as too crude to have a chance against a sophisticated and competent defender, then a quick glance through this book will undoubtedly change your mind. You will witness countless games where very strong players are destroyed on the black side in less than 30 moves. Sometimes a lot less.
This makes the Barry an ideal weapon for those who love to attack. Black’s defence has to be very accurate. If not, a quick annihilation is on the cards.
Play the Barry Attack is the ideal guide to this fascinating opening. Anyone who reads this book carefully and studies all White’s attacking ideas will have a fearsome weapon in their armoury.
Magnus Carlsen’s brilliant endgame play is one of the key reasons for his success. The World Chess Champion can win positions which look drawn to anybody else. And more than any other player, he is able to save bad endings.
For this second volume of Magnus Carlsen Endgame Virtuoso, International Master Tibor Karolyi has selected Carlsen’s best endgames from 2018-2022, whereas the first volume covered 1999-2017. Reviewing these new games and explaining what Magnus was doing, the author was thoroughly impressed. Even Carlsen, who in 2017 was already the best endgame player of all time with Anatoly Karpov, had managed to improve his skills further.
Carlsen has it all. He can find deep ideas, play very technically, and is exceptionally well-versed in strategic and tactical endgames. The author is convinced that this new selection contains even better and more instructive games than Volume one.
Karolyi explains the general ideas in the games and gives concrete variations. Exploring these annotated endgames, you will soon get a good sense of what is happening. You will find out that Carlsen does not rush unless it is necessary. You will learn how Carlsen increases the pressure and uses all available resources. And you will see that sooner or later, his opponents will start playing second-best moves, feeling uncomfortable, following up with some dubious decisions, and, finally, cracking.
Endgame Virtuoso Magnus Carlsen - Volume 2 is a highly instructive, inspiring and entertaining book. It will help you appreciate Magnus’ endgame magic and improve your skills in this important game phase.
Tibor Karolyi is an International Master, a former Hungarian Champion, a prolific chess author and a renowned trainer. For New In Chess, he wrote about Karpov and Carlsen.
For almost two centuries the French Defense has been a universally popular opening. Many authorities have made their contribution to establishing the theory. Thanks to their efforts, players nowadays can easily make a choice between the many and various options, whether peaceful or sharp, whether statically or dynamically orientated. Just as importantly, if not more so, fans of the French worldwide can today find good options to play both for a win and a draw! All this makes the French Defense very popular. However, the authors think that many lines have not been well explained or should be revisited. Some other lines deserve a better reputation. Finally we have also suggested some new approaches. Simply speaking, the French Defense looks to be inexhaustible and there cannot be enough books dedicated to it. This book takes a step in the direction of revitalizing our favorite opening!
The authors have decided to set the book in order from the less to the more popular and complex lines. In the case of the most popular moves 3.e5, 3.Nd2 and 3.Nc3, we decided to offer two options for Black – one aims to lead to calm play, taking care first with finding balance and equalizing; the other aims to lead to a direct game. Needless to say, we wish to arm the reader in all scenarios that can arise in a practical game of chess, depending on their intentions, wishes, preparation, motivation level, and standings etc.
Available via subscription
British Chess Magazine (April 2023)
Chess students love a Puzzle Rush. And solving tactics puzzles certainly helps you improve your pattern recognition and will help you find good moves in tournament games. But there is a downside to most tactics puzzles — we always know who is supposed to win!
Chess in real life is different, not just because no one taps us on the shoulder and tells us to look for a tactic. Sometimes tactics work, and sometimes they don't. Sometimes your opponent has a few tricks up their sleeve, too.
This book shows the reality of chess tactics. It explores a chess player's challenges over the board: attack, defense, and counterattack! It exposes the actual give-and-take nature of chess tactics.
American grandmaster Joel Benjamin, a three-time U.S. Champion, was inspired by the 20th-century classic Chess Traps, Pitfalls, and Swindles by legendary chess authors Fred Reinfeld and Israel Albert Horowitz. With modern examples, Benjamin arouses the same spirit of fun and enjoyment. With a generous amount of puzzles in quiz form, this manual will help chess students sharpen their tactical skills and be ready to strike - or counterstrike.
Joel Benjamin is an American grandmaster and a three-time U.S. Champion. He became the youngest-ever U.S. chess master at age 13, beating Bobby Fischer's record. Chessboard Combat is his fifth book for New In Chess. Benjamin graduated from Yale University with a major in history.
CHESS INFORMANT’S 155th ADVENTURE
REJUVENATED
CONTENTS:
Leitao – Brazilian Champion in Wijk aan Zee (Tournament Review)
Moradiabadi – Tata Steel 2023 Wijk aan Zee (Tournament Review)
Yochanan Afek – Perls from Wijk (Tournament Review)
Perunovic – Instructive positions from Wijk
Foisor – Women FIDE Grand Prix Munich (Tournament Review)
Shyam Sundar – This or that? (Instructive Lesson)
Gormally – 4NCL (Review)
Prusikin – The Uncastled King (Instructive Lesson)
Davies – The Catalan 7.dc5 (Theoretical Survey)
Kotronias – The King’s Indian 5.h3 (Theoretical Survey)
Szabo – The French C11 (Theoretical Survey)
Perelshteyn – The Ruy Lopez Nerwegian Variation (Theoretical)
Petrov – World Championship Game Changers – part 6
Rogers – Belgrade Open 1984 (Roger’s Reminiscences)
Griffin – Ljubojevic – Miles, Olympiad 1980 (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!
Tried and True for More than Two Centuries
The Scotch Game is a solid opening that has been tried and tested in practice by some of the strongest chessplayers in the world for more than two centuries. The idea behind the Scotch Game is simple and easily understandable. White eliminates – in a purely mechanical fashion – Black’s e5-pawn which initially impedes his ambition to dominate in the center.
This is very appealing for White, as he controls the direction of the struggle’s development, while Black can only try to keep pace. Furthermore, there are relatively simple schemes in the white repertoire in which it is enough to remember the main plans of both sides and typical maneuvers.
This is the second edition of Vladimir Barsky’s book that first appeared in 2009. The new edition consists of seven chapters dealing with the core ideas and variations of the Scotch, supplemented by 79 Illustrative Games. The authors not only present detailed analysis of all lines but are also careful to discuss the ideas behind the opening. If you already play the Scotch, you need this book. If you don’t, find out what you have been missing.
About the Authors
Grandmaster Alexei Bezgodov won the Russian Championship in 1993, and finished second in 1999. He is the author of many books, including The Art of the Tarrasch Defense, The Liberated Bishop Defense, Extreme Caro-Kann, The Double Queen’s Gambit, and Defend like Petrosian.
International Master Vladimir Barsky is a respected journalist and trainer. Among the books he has written are A Modern Guide to Checkmating Patterns, The Ragozin Complex, The Modern Philidor Defense, and A Universal Weapon 1.d4 d6.
Vinay Bhat rose through the ranks of American chess in the 1990s and 2000s, overcoming plateaus, competitive challenges, and academic and professional commitments, before achieving the highest title in chess. Follow Vinay’s path to improvement and the struggles he had to go through, to carve out your own path to improvement and achieve your chess goals.
How I Became a Chess Grandmaster is a personal story that entertains as it instructs. With numerous photographs and anecdotes, you can follow the inspirational rise of a young player from novice to Grandmaster.
Vinay Bhat became a National Master at the age of 10 and an International Master at 15 – at the time the youngest American IM since Bobby Fischer. He later went on to gain the ultimate title of Grandmaster in his mid-twenties.
The author proposes a full repertoire against 1.d4 and 1.c4, which is theoretically sound and leads to sharp, strategically unbalanced positions. It is based on the so-called English Defence 1.d4 e6 2.c4 b6 or 1.c4 b6. A great deal of the book is devoted to White's tries to deviate from theoretical dispute and transfer the game into the Queen's Indian with g3.
¿Cada vez te juegan más la Defensa Holandesa cuando juegas peón de dama? ¿Juegas distintos esquemas contra esta defensa y ninguno termina de convencerte?
Si tu respuesta es SI a alguna de estas dos preguntas, este libro es para ti.
En el último año, han salido distintas publicaciones recomendando esta variante para jugadores aficionados. ¿La razón? Es una variante universal contra 1.d4, 1.c4 y 1.Cf3 por parte de las blancas.
Sin embargo, considero que la Defensa Holandesa no es una variante buena y, en caso de que las blancas sepan como jugar, pueden conseguir una gran ventaja.
En este libro ofrezco una forma de jugar innovadora que te permitirá hacerte con ventaja contra jugadores de todos los niveles.
Las variantes han sido revisadas con Stockfish. La apertura está analizada de manera sistemática y organizada de manera que sea cómoda para el lector.
Además, no solamente se analiza la apertura, sino que también me adentro en el medio juego, analizando partidas modelo que nos servirán de guía en el momento que se termine la apertura.
Para terminar, como no podría ser de otra manera, ofrezco ejercicios típicos del medio juego de la Defensa Holandesa, la mejor forma para estar preparados para la partida.
Al terminar este libro, estarás preparado contra esta apertura para toda tu vida y estoy convencido de que podrás conseguir muchas victorias gracias a mis ideas.
The Polgar Way to Better Chess!
Learn Chess the Right Way is a five-volume chess puzzle book series aimed at the novice, beginner and intermediate level player, using the unique methods of the award-winning coach and former world champion Susan Polgar. It introduces the most important checkmate and material-winning tactics, as well as defensive techniques to the new chess player. Each of the five volumes will consist of 500 puzzles.
Volume 2 is all about “winning material” exercises. In each of the first six chapters a certain piece captures an enemy piece (in chapter 1 – The Queen, in chapter 2 – The Rook, and so on). In chapter 7, you will get no hint about which piece should be moved. In chapters 8-12, the most common and important chess tactics (such as decoy, fork, pin, discovery and skewer) are introduced. Finally, in chapter 13, in addition to the previously mentioned patterns, you will need to figure out which tactical pattern to use to win material, including concepts like “trapping a piece” or “intermediate move.”
With over 40 years of experience as a world-class player and coach, international grandmaster Susan Polgar has developed the most effective way to help young players and beginners – Learn Chess the Right Way. Let her show you the way to understanding the most common and critical patterns and let her show you the way to becoming a better player.
SUSAN POLGAR is a winner of four Women’s World Championships and the top-ranked woman chess player in the United States. She became the #1 woman player in the world at 15 and remained in the top 3 for over 20 years. In 2013, she received the U.S. Coach of the Year Award and the following year, she was named the Chess Trainer of the Year by the International Chess Federation (FIDE). She thus became the first person in history to be accorded both honors. Under her guidance, SPICE chess teams at both Texas Tech University and Webster University have won a combined five consecutive National Division I Collegiate Chess Championships.