When Axel Smith was chasing his final GM norm, he decided he needed a change in his White opening repertoire. Instead of his usual approach of memorizing many concrete moves to try to force an advantage, he would focus on pawn structures and typical plans. The result was a repertoire based on a set-up with the moves d4, Nf3, c4 and e3. It helped Axel Smith to the GM title, and led to the creation of e3 Poison.
The combination of the Slav Defense and the Caro-Kann Defense enables Black to facilitate his defense in the opening and to avoid numerous unpleasant schemes for him. For example, after 1.c4, he can simply play 1…c6, without being afraid of 2.e4. In the above mentioned London System, after the moves 1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 c5 3.e3, Black has the resource 3…cxd4 4.exd4, after which there arises by transposition a variation from the Caro-Kann Defense which is practically harmless for Black.
A new collection of puzzles carefully selected by two experienced trainers.
In addition to the Pirc, the first part of the book covers all possible set-ups in which White refrains from the moves 1.e4 and 1.d4, namely: 1.f4, 1.b3, 1.b4 (Chapter 1), 1.Nf3 (Chapter 2), 1.c4 (Chapters 3, 4). The second part of the book (Chapters 5-9) is devoted to opening schemes in which White does play 1.d4, but then he does not follow up with c2-c4. This is the Trompowsky Attack (d4, Bg5) and the London System (d4, Nf3, Bf4).”
FIDE Master and coach Tigran Gyozalyan fills a gap in the chess literature with the first systematic exploration of the king’s role and capabilities in the opening and the middlegame
A collection of games in the Indian Defenses showing a catalog of typical mistakes, misunderstandings, mis-evaluations and how to exploit these: either through simple execution or brilliant chess tactics.
This book is going to help you to become better in the same-colored bishop endgames (SCBE). Being an adherent of Mark Dvoretsky’s method of coaching, author supports his idea about optimal way to study chess endgames. First, one needs to study the theory of a given type of endgame; secondly, a player needs to improve his or her practical skills with exercises.
The lines covered in this book, the Ruy Lopez Main Lines, arise (with a few exceptions for move order and such) after 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0. Some of the lines are incredibly theoretical, but rather than burden you with a ton of theory in lines you will have limited chance of using in your own games, the emphasis is on the lines that are more likely to occur in your games. Those lines will be in chapters 3 and 4, the two longest chapters of the book. This book is by no means an all-encompassing theory work, which means that there is a lot of theory that is not discussed in the notes. This is of course intentional. The book is written to entertain and inspire. If you find some lines that you like, you are encouraged to dive deeper into those lines before using them in your own games.
International Master Luis Bernal has unraveled the Berlin and made it accessible for amateur players. His practical guide is fully up to date, explains typical formations and strategies, and presents new ideas and resources in the old Berlin Wall structures.