This book is a completely new edition of the original The Safest Grünfeld of 2011. I rechecked all the lines and changed my recommendations according to latest developments of theory and my new understanding. Especially the anti-Grünfeld chapters are basically new. In my opinion top players have long lost hope to find advantage in the main lines and try early deviations. Anand chose 3.f3 against Gelfand and 5.Bd2 against Carlsen. So I devoted special attention to the Sämish approach with two different propositions. 3...Nc6 is less studied and probably more rewarding from a practical standpoint, while 3...d5 is in perfect theoretical shape, but requires more memorization. Every too often White players try to avoid the Grünfeld by refraining from d4 or c4. I added an additional chapter on the very topical lately Trompowsky and Barry/Jobava attack. The 7.Bc4 system in the Exchange Variation, and the Russian System have also underwent a major reconstruction.
The author writes:
"This book offers a full repertoire based on the Taimanov move order 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6! 5.Nc3 Qc7. It is especially effective against the English attack and early kingside pawn storms. However, the fianchetto 6.g3 and the Classical system with 6.Be3 a6 7.Be2 pose certain problems. I propose to meet them with the Scheveningen set-up ...d6. Thus we take the best of two different worlds.
In 2014 I wrote The Most Flexible Sicilian with Delchev. It was based on my coauthor’s repertoire, with a focus on the Kann (without Nc6). On the opposite, I have always preferred the Scheveningen set-up whenever possible. The biggest problem is to avoid the Keres Attack and the system with f4, Qf3. The Taimanov move order is perfect for that aim.
My new book practically does not overlap with The Most Flexible Sicilian or with Pavlidis’ The Sicilian Taimanov as I recommend other lines, which are better or keep more tension, in my opinion.
I have been a devoted Sicilian player all my life and I have played at least 10 000 blitz games featuring 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6. Since a good half of them featured 3.c3, 3.g3, 3.d3 or other anti-Sicilians, I included these lines in the book."
Four-time US Champion Yasser Seirawan provides a fascinating and highly entertaining account of his games and encounters with the world champions of chess including: Garry Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov, Bobby Fischer, Boris Spassky, Tigran Petrosian, Mikhail Tal, Vassily Smyslov, Mikhail Botvinnik and Max Euwe. Having been involved in frequent battles against world champions over a 25-year period, Seirawan is in an ideal position to reveal how it really feels to be facing the legends of the game. He describes and analyses, in depth, his most memorable encounters - both famous victories and painful defeats, against the best chessplayers of the last 50 years. During this time Seirawan has also been highly active in off-the-board chess activities. This has brought him into close personal contact with many of these champions. In,"Chess Duels: My Games with the World Champions,"Seirawan recounts many stories involving these giants of the game - giving an intriguing insight into their personalities away from the board.
There are many ways to study and improve at chess, but some are more effective than others. GM Axel Smith, the author of Pump Up Your Rating, is a master at teaching his students how to make the most of their training. In this book, he dives into the technical and psychological aspects of chess and shows readers the best practice techniques and strategies for rapid improvement.
Smith covers many areas of chess from openings to middle and endgames, focusing on active learning acquired through ample training exercises and clear explanations.
Pump Up Your Rating is particularly great for intermediate to advanced players looking to overcome a plateau and increase their rating.
The previous book of Khalifman and Soloviov, The Modern Scotch, discussed how to counter 1.e4 e5 in the most direct, aggressive and sometimes even risky fashion. Their new work explores a radically different approach. It presents a White repertoire based on the Four Knights Game, and in particular, the main line – the traditional system with 4.Bb5. The authors summarise the method they propose in the following way: 1. White controls the centre, develops quickly and castles. He DOES NOT strive for a direct clash with the opponent after the first few moves in the opening. 2. He begins active operations only after the completion of his development; as a rule, these will take place in the centre and on the kingside. 3. White strives to reach positions in which basic strategical principles, correct evaluation and ability to choose the correct plan will be at least as important as calculation and theoretical knowledge. 4. He still fights for an opening advantage even though the focus is on the middlegame.
New and substantially expanded edition of a modern chess classic. By chance, in 2013 publisher New In Chess discovered a previously unnoticed and unpublished extra batch of endgame tactics collected by the legendary Dutch correspondence grandmaster Ger van Perlo (1932-2010). More than 250 fresh examples have been added, making this fourth edition 25% BIGGER than its predecessors. For casual players and club players. Why is it that most amateur chess players love opening and middlegame tactics but hate endgames? Why do you usually look at only a couple of pages in any endgame theory book you see? Sit back, forget about theoretical endgames, and enjoy the entertainment of real life chess in Endgame Tactics! There is no substitute for hard work in getting better at chess, as a wise grandmaster once said. But you always work harder at something you enjoy. Make the first step towards improving your endgame play (and beating more opponents) by learning to love the endgame. Endgames are fun, and the examples from everyday practice in Endgame Tactics prove it. – New (4th) and 25% expanded edition of a best- selling modern classic; – More than 1,300 Sparkling Tricks and Traps; – WINNER of the ECF Book of the Year Award; – WINNER of the ChessCafe Book of the Year Award; – Makes regular players discover the fun in endgame.
The Scandinavian Defence is one of the most popular chess openings among amateur players, and it is easy to see why. Black players immediately limit the opening theory they have to know because there is no way White can side-step Black’s first move. What’s more, the Scandinavian requires only very little theoretical knowledge, so it has an extremely low maintenance factor. To cap it all, Black gets a solid structure. And that’s not even the end of the good news, as Thomas Willemze demonstrates in this compact and practical manual. Playing the Scandinavian teaches invaluable techniques that you can use in almost all of your other games. Pressuring the centre, neutralizing your opponent’s initiative, improving your piece coordination, trading the right pieces and exploiting your opponent’s weak points are all typical ‘Scandinavian’ spin-offs that Thomas Willemze teaches you in his trademark lucid style. The Scandinavian for Club Players offers everything you need to know to be fully prepared to meet 1.e4. The various lines are enriched with verbal explanations, diagrams, flash-cards and exercises that make this book even more accessible. Willemze not just uses examples from the games of elite grandmasters. As an experienced trainer he knows that discussing club player’s adventures are particularly instructive for his target group.
The unique concept of Monster your middlegame planning received a very good feedback from our readers, therefore we decided to continue the series by keeping the same concept for endgames in two volumes. The author GM Efstratios Grivas is going through the most important endgame topics in a testing format, so the reader not only masters endgames, but also tests his actual knowledge.
This ebook is a part of Bundle: Monster Your Planning
The Queen’s Gambit is easily the most talked-about chess opening since the immensely popular Netflix TV series of the same name became a hit. The screen adventures of Beth Harmon have inspired thousands to start playing the Royal Game but didn’t offer any information on this highly popular chess opening. This book fills that gap.
German Grandmaster Michael Prusikin presents a solid but dynamic opening repertoire for Black against the Queen’s Gambit. He wants you to understand rather than memorize what is important. His primary focus is on explaining the relevant pawn structures and the middlegame ideas behind the lines he recommends.
Prusikin deals with every single variation of the Queen’s Gambit in a way that is highly accessible for club players but at the same time surprisingly effective and concise: the Catalan, Tartakower, Carlsbad, London, Colle, Veresov, and all the others. As a bonus, the FIDE Senior Trainer also provides responses to openings such as the Bird, Réti, and Nimzo-Larsen. It may seem unlikely, and yet it is true: in less than 200 pages, Countering the Queen’s Gambit has Black covered for really every first move except 1.e4!
To test your newly acquired insights in the tactical motifs and strategic ideas of the Queen’s Gambit, you are invited to solve 36 exercises in carefully selected key positions from actual games.
100 Years Later, Nimzovich Is Still Good for Your Chess!
Almost a century ago, a chess book about positional play and strategic concepts appeared on the chess scene. Written by a Latvian grandmaster residing in Denmark, it quickly took its place as one of the classics of chess literature. Since then, Aron Nimzovich’s magnum opus My System has been embraced by every generation of chessplayers.
However, there were some inherent flaws. For starters, it was quite “dense.” The reader had to plow through many subjective digressions and other literary detours before getting to the core concepts. Now American Grandmaster Alex Fishbein has adapted this classic for the modern chessplayer.
While remaining true to the original text – and with the same goals as his outstanding work with the FastTrack Edition of Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual – Fishbein has produced an eminently readable, modernized version of My System. The result is a book that not only retains the unique imagery of the original text, but a book that is also easy to understand by both club players and masters.
As the author stated in his preface: Nimzovich’s ideas have stood the test of time and, if anything, are more relevant today. In his famous foreword to the 1974 Russian edition, Mikhail Tal wrote: “This old book, sustaining many editions in different forms and different languages, is imbued with an elixir of eternal chess youth.” My aim was to retain that elixir in this new translation.
Alex brings you the best of Nimzovich’s My System, erasing all misconceptions. As a newcomer to the game, you will feel blessed to learn pure, unmistakable strategies, while if you are an old chap like me, you will appreciate the fresh clarity, helping you re-evaluate your personal chess philosophy… Nimzovich is good for your chess, and a more coherent Nimzovich even better. – From the Foreword by GM Vassilios Kotronias