This book presents a multi-faceted approach to the Reti – 1.Nf3 d5, followed by c2-c4. The core of the proposed repertoire is the topical system 2.e3 Nf6 3.c4 and 2.e3 c5 3.c4 d4 4.b4. Play often transposes to the English Opening with White having sidestepped 1.c4 e5.
For those who do not like the Reversed Blumenfeld and seek clear strategic play, the author adds three chapters on the Nimzo-Larsen System 1.Nf3 d5 2.e3 c5 3.b3. With this move order White prevents ...d4 altogether.
The book also covers 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 d4 3.b4, which opens the door towards the main lines of the QGD and the Slav. It does allow the challenging 3...f6 4.e3 e5 or 3...Bg4, but is the only option if White prefers schemes without e2-e3, as 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 e6 3.d4 and 2...c6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3.
The choice on move 2 and 3 should be based on reader’s preferred way of meeting the Slav, the Queen’s Gambit Declined and the QGA.
Semko Semkov is a chess journalist and theoretician, with two GM norms. His most famous books are The Modern English, The Most Flexible Sicilian, The Taimanov-Sheveningen Hybrid, Understanding the QGA.
In response to 1.e4, White’s most common first move, it has long been recognized that when and if Black can play ...d5 safely, the result is approximate equality. Scandinavian devotees argue all that can happen on Move 1! But it’s hardly a “peaceful” equality.
But do we really need a book that is a blur of all sorts of black and white possibilities with countless tightly-nested game fragments? Hardly. Double Trouble is a straightforward volume of repertoire recommendations, easy to understand and easy to play.
The book is in three parts. Part One, besides introducing the book generally, covers the very first moves of the Scandinavian Defense and White’s early deviations. Anyone who plays the Scandinavian will find this section quite helpful. Then Part Two covers Qd6 + g6 systems, while Part Three covers the very different Nf6 system.
In this book, popular author and Correspondence Master Marek Soszynski gives you a defense to 1.e4 that can honestly be called “complete.” Your prep could not be better...This book cuts [the theory] down to size. Marek Soszynski gives you just what you need to know to show that the old “theoretical” equalizer, 1...d5, can indeed be played, and played with verve, on Move 1! – From the Foreword by Al Lawrence
Double Trouble Scandinavian Style: Equalize early and then play for a win!
• The author has presented a complete opening repertoire for White.
• After 1.Nc3, the game can take various trans-positional paths.
• The opening move 1.Nc3 aims to control the center indirectly, and it allows for a flexible development of the pieces.
• The move prepares for subsequent development, and the game might transpose into various other openings depending on the subsequent moves by both players.
• While 1.Nc3 is not as popular or mainstream as some other first moves (like 1.e4 or 1.d4), it can be an interesting choice for players who want to steer the game away from well-known theoretical lines early on and enter into positions that might be less studied.
• As with any opening, understanding the resulting pawn structures, piece placements, and plans is crucial for successful play.
A completely revised edition, which retains the strucure of the first edition but is based on new analysis of all critical lines.
This book presents a Black repertoire based on the Scandinavian Defence with 3...Qd6. This is the safest yet aggressive queen retreat. It allows Black to increase pressure on d4 with ...0-0-0 or ...Rd8 while keeping coordination in the centre. Kotronias offers new plans for Black in the most topical lines. They are backed with deep analysis based on solid chess understanding.
GM Vassilios Kotronias is ten-time champion of Greece and a famous theoretician. His peak rating so far was 2628.
DragonMasters volume 1 charts the history of the most exciting and dangerous opening known to chess - the Dragon Variation of the Sicilian Defense.
Unlike almost all other books on the Dragon, the focus is not purely on theoretical development. Instead, the author has combined the most historically important games, the famous players who chose to fight either side (sometimes both sides!) of the opening, and the most unexpected and interesting stories featuring the Dragon. World Champions, contenders of the crown, code-breakers, revolutionaries in every sense of the world - all feature in this remarkable and entirely unique look into the history of an opening variation. as the ancient may say: Here be Dragons!
Is the Grob/Basman a con artist's bogus-operandi, or is the line actually sound? The truthful answer is that the opening is a bit of both! And we can call 1.g4 a "good opening," the same way a mob member calls a hitman colleague "a stand-up guy." The engine already prefers Black's chances after 1.g4, so nobody can honestly claim it is White's optimal first move from an empirical standpoint. But is it refuted? The answer is "no," and what we nearly always get is a disorienting mess by the early middlegame.
In this volume, experienced authors Lakdawala & Hansen take the Basmanic plunge and examine some of International Master Michael Basman's most remarkable victories with 1.g4 or 1...g5, along with some of his less successful tries, as well as some games by other occasional adherents, like Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura.
This should not become a cornerstone of your repertoire, but you are guaranteed a bunch of fun and entertaining games.
Today's openings are reruns of an old sitcom that we have all seen a hundred times before, while for players in the past, life on the chess board was wild, unexplored territory. Learning the details of that gigantic entity, the Ruy Lopez (from either side), is on par with the time that hateful 7th-grade teacher made us memorize the capital cities of every country in the world – in alphabetical order!
The Origins series is an attempt at a "big picture" view that displays the interlocking parts of a much larger mechanism in time.
In this volume, the authors cover lines where Black does not meet 3.Bb5 with 3...a7-a6, and vast portions of this volume, are devoted to Berlin Defense Closed lines and the Berlin Wall Ending.
Although the London System was first played almost 200 years ago, it lay dormant until the beginning of the 21st century. Then chessplayers rediscovered it, realizing that the London could be played against most responses by Black, obtaining a good game with little preparation.
Nowadays the London has evolved into an opening taken up by both club players and world champions. Magnus Carlsen has played it regularly and the new word champion Ding Liren used it to convincingly defeat Ian Nepomniachtchi in game six of their 2023 title match.
Literature on the London has focused primarily on play from White’s side. However, this new book by grandmasters Vassilios Kotronias and Mikhail Ivanov changes all that. Thea authors present four (!) separate ways to combat the London: (1) King’s Indian Setups; (2) the London Benoni; (3) the London Nimzo- and Queen’s Indian; and (4) the London Orthodox System.
The London Files presents Black many good and flexible options for neutralizing White, while also giving us Londoners many new problems to contend with ... Without a doubt, this book will give Black players highly effective means to deal with the London System for a long time to come and may even have players completely rethinking their approach with the white pieces. – From the Foreword by Ian Harris
Defang the London System and fear it no more!
About the Authors:
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 venerable chess coach and trainer. This is his first book for Russell Enterprises.
The Pirc Defence and the Modern Defence are two naturally entwined chess openings that are both flexible and rich in strategic and tactical ideas. They feature in the repertoire of great players like Grischuk, Ivanchuk, Nakamura and Carlsen.
In The Perfect Pirc-Modern, Viktor Moskalenko, a renowned propagator of dynamic chess who has championed the Pirc-Modern for many years, explains:
- the ideas and plans that matter
- the various pawn structures and how to handle them
- tricky transpositions: opportunities and risks
- a wealth of new resources for both Black and White.
In this updated version of Moskalenko’s 2013 book of the same name, 33 of the 42 games are new, the structure has been updated in places, and there are fresh ideas on every page.
Moskalenko expertly guides you through this ground-breaking opening book with the enthusiasm, ease and humour that characterize his style.
Viktor Moskalenko (1960) is an International Grandmaster and a well-known chess coach. The former Ukraine champion has won many tournaments in Spain, his current home country. For New In Chess, he wrote, among others, The Fabulous Budapest Gambit (2007), Revolutionize Your Chess (2009), The Diamond Dutch (2014), Training with Moska (2017), The Fully-Fledged French (2021) and Trompowsky Attack & London System (2022).
Forging New Paths in an Ancient Opening
The Queen’s Gambit Accepted is one of the oldest known openings in chess. It was first mentioned in chess literature in the late 15th century. Over 500 years later, American Grandmaster Max Dlugy demonstrates in this groundbreaking work that the QGA is still a fighting, uncompromising opening that allows Black to play for a win from the very first move.
But his comprehensive coverage is something players who face the QGA with White will also want to study. Dlugy not only carefully maps out Black’s best strategy, but also gives ample consideration to how White should play. The positions analyzed are a blend of the tactical elements and the key positional considerations such as space, time and pawn structure to be assessed when choosing your lines.
This book will teach you not just the QGA, but chess strategy in general. It will teach you how to play solid yet lively positions and allow you to take something away from Maxim Dlugy’s classical style and lucid explanations. If you want to improve your chess while learning a reliable opening with Black, you are now reading the book you need. – From the Foreword by GM Alex Fishbein
Max Dlugy has great experience with the QGA, having played it successfully for over 40 years. In this book, he presents new analysis in established lines and rehabilitates many variations, turning existing theory on its head. Whether you play White or Black, this creative, cutting-edge treatment of the Queen’s Gambit Accepted will be indispensable.
For many chess-players, opening study is pure hard work. It is difficult to know what is important and what is not, and when specific knowledge is vital, or when a more general understanding is sufficient. Tragically once the opening is over, a player is puzzled what plan to follow, or even understand why his pieces are on the squares on which they sit.
Our author GM Dariusz Swiercz, continued in the second Volume of his series, and explains in a methodological way how to solve these issues when White proceeds with 3.Nf3 and g3.
He picked some aggressive options with the Ragozin and brings the ever popular Catalan to a stand still. Any chess player being Black would be much interested to find out how Dariusz decided on his final choices. We are convinced you won’t be disappointed with his second and final volume of this series.
The London System is a chess opening that is characterized by moves 1.d4 and 2.Nf3 followed by Bf4 and e3. This opening gained a lot of popularity among chess players because it is solid and flexible. By developing the knight on f3 and the pawn on e3, the central pawn structure is solid and well protected, making it difficult for the opponent to create any weaknesses. Such a stable center makes it easier for White to attack and, if needed, defend. The move Bf4 can be followed by a number of different moves, such as Nbd2, e3, c3, dxc5, h3, and in some cases c4, which allows White to adapt to a wide array of specific game situations. This flexibility allows for a number of different plans and possibilities, making it difficult for the opponent to anticipate White’s plan and thus counter it properly.
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