Looking for an easy-to-learn yet super-solid repertoire for Black against everything, which doesn’t require endless memorization of sharp theoretical lines? It’s here – and it was voted the best opening course on Chessable by the users of the most popular chess learning platform.
In this book, YouTube personality IM Christof Sielecki, aka ‘Chessexplained’, presents a complete solution to chess players of all levels for their opening choices with the Black pieces. With this one-volume repertoire, you will not only safely navigate the opening phase, but you will actually understand what is happening and how you can play for a win.
You’ll learn to fight 1.d4 and 1.c4 or 1.Nf3 with the Queen’s Gambit Declined, using the early a6-variation favoured by Magnus Carlsen. This tried-and-true opening will stand up to master level play and offer a few nasty surprises to your opponents.
Against 1.e4, your main weapon will be the rock-solid Caro-Kann, well known as one of the toughest openings for White to crack. You will be able to cut through the theory and go straight for interesting middlegames with good winning chances. Also included are weapons against almost all sidelines.
Why is the repertoire called simple? For the simple reason that the variations are straightforward, easy to remember and require little or no maintenance. But, as IM Sielecki puts it, ‘simple does not mean boring!’
Christof Sielecki is an International Master from Germany. He has been teaching and training chess for many years, runs an extremely popular YouTube channel called ChessExplained, and is one of the most popular authors on Chessable. New In Chess has published his books: Keep it Simple 1.e4 and Keep it Simple 1.d4.
GM Matthew Sadler (New In Chess magazine)
“A very good course full of interesting and useful ideas. I was particularly interested by Sielecki’s recommendations in a line of the Queen’s Gambit Declined that was always thought to be clearly good for White in the pre-computer age.”
IM Gary Lane (Australian Chess)
“I do like the way that the author tries to keep the amount of moves needed to reach a decent position to the minimum. A repertoire book that will help Black reach the next level.”
Rook endgames are the most frequently occurring endgames, as well as one of the most exciting and challenging areas of chess. In 2023, Quality Chess published Theoretical Rook Endgames by GM Sam Shankland and its sister volume Conceptual Rook Endgames by GM Jacob Aagaard – a dazzling dyad of domination in endgame literature.
This new book tops off the triumphant trio by presenting 208 instructive exercises of varying difficulty, testing and reinforcing the reader’s skill and understanding. Conceptual Rook Endgames Workbook will skyrocket your endgame abilities, whether used as a standalone workbook or as the last step in the Aagaard-Shankland Rook Endgames trilogy.
Grandmaster Jacob Aagaard is the most talented chess writer of his generation. He won the British Championship in 2007, but is mostly known for his multi-award-winning books and his work with students who have won club, state, national, continental and world championships, as well as Olympiad individual golds and team golds, the World Cup and Candidates tournament.
In Mazukevich's Madness, Black stuns White with a piece sacrifice on move 5, completely changing the direction of the game of this otherwise solid and rather predictable opening.
FIDE Master, FIDE Trainer, and opening specialist Carsten Hansen carefully analyzes all options for White after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Nxe4!, showing that Black not only is doing fine, but can often start pushing for more if White doesn't play accurately.
In addition to this analysis, in the second half of the book, Hansen presents a complete repertoire for Black against all other lines of the Four Knights, including the main lines 4.Bb5 and 4.g3, the modern 4.h3, 4.a3, and 4.a4, the sharp Belgrade Gambit, a favorite of Naroditsky's 4.Nd5, as well as other minor lines for White.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Philip H. Williams was, not without reason, called England's chess genius. This was not on account of his abilities at playing chess but rather his ability to compose chess problems.
This book first presents a detailed and richly illustrated treatise on composing chess problems and then moves on to present a selection of 100 problems from Williams' own hands.
This is a truly special book by a special composer. For chess problem enthusiasts, this book should be part of your library.
‘Albin Planinc was born in the middle of the Second World War, on 18th April 1944, in the little village of Briše, near the small town of Zagorje ob Savi, approximately 30 kilometers from Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. He spent his childhood with his mother Ljudmila (unofficially Milka), a simple, uneducated woman who earned money from various unskilled jobs’.
This fascinating biography of over eighty-five annotated games and stories are being presented by grandmasters Georg Mohr and Adrian Mikhalchishin. It covers Planinc’ entire life and chess career, including his most fascinating games. This fitting tribute of a forgotten chess genius should be found in anyone’s chess library. Thanks to this colorful book Albin Planinc will continue to inspire us all and will keep his spirit alive.
Twenty more years?
Magnus Carlsen has said that he may stay at the top for another 20 years. And who can argue with the World Champion? He's been dominating top-level chess with an iron fist and has rightly highlighted the lack of consistency from his potential rivals.
When Bobby Fischer, Garry Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen burst onto the chess scene, there was no doubt whatsoever about their future destiny: sooner or later they were going to become World Champion. How different is the situation today, when there seems to be no such player.
New In Chess contributing editor Anish Giri presents ten chess players that may challenge Carlsen's hegemony in the years ahead. Or may not. Giri not only shares his insider's knowledge about his colleagues in his lucid and witty notes to their games, he also provides the reader with valuable lessons in all phases of the game.
Anish Giri (1994) became a Grandmaster at the age of 14.
J.H.Donner (1927-1988) was a Dutch Grandmaster and one of the greatest writers about chess of all time. He was a chess reporter and a chess columnist, as well as an annotator of the game. Above all he was a witty and unpredictable commentator of everything and everybody, both inside and outside the chess world.
THE KING spans a writing career of more than thirty years during which Donner slowly developed from chess player-writer into writer-chess player.
Donner's favourite themes are: Bobby Fischer, the blunder, chess as a game of luck, why women can't play chess, madness, and poor Lodewijk Prins, his rival for the Dutch National Championship for many years, who, according to Donner, "couldn't tell a bishop from a knight."
'THE KING' is a book full of insults and ironies, but Donner wouldn't be Donner without a considerable amount of self-mockery.
"After I resigned the last game with perfect self-control and solemnly shook hands with my opponent in the best of Anglo-Saxon traditions, I rushed home where I threw myself onto my bed, howling and screaming, and pulled the blankets over my face."
Shortlisted English Chess Federation 2006 Book of the Year
The first unabridged English edition of this classic
Lubosh Kavalek, The Washington Post:
"[An] acclaimed masterpiece. The late Dutch Grandmaster was a brilliant, amusing, provoking and self-mocking author, a master of vertical hyperboles and shortcuts."
Taylor Kingston, ChessCafe:
"His reportorial style reminds one of the 'gonzo journalism' of Hunter S.Thompson fame, and his polemics are reminiscent of such great scourges of hypocrisy as H.L.Mencken (...) If you do not buy this book, and you later realize just how good it really is, and what a treasure you have missed, you will feel depressed, and deservedly so."
Raymond Keene, chess columnist of The Times (London):
"Absolutely wonderful."
Harry Mulisch, author of 'The Discovery of Heaven':
"This book is about chess only in appearance, and I hope that no one will allow himself to be scared off by the diagrams and the annotations. It is in fact a magnificent self-portrait of Hein Donner, the player, the equally fearless and hilarious provocateur, who, when the chips are down, will always be found on the right side."
Bob Long, Chessco:
"Totally absorbing. Any insightful person should have this book."
Paul Motwani, The Scotsman:
"An irresistible gem of a book, that weighs in at 390 pages, yet never looses the seemingly magical lightness of its text."
John Saunders, British Chess Magazine:
"A work that all chess players should own. It would probably be my only 'desert island' chess book."
Malcolm Pein, chess columnist of The Daily Telegraph:
"Donner was the wittiest, most irreverent writer of his generation. The book is a triumph."
John Donaldson, Inside Chess Magazine:
"Donner was witty, opinionated and often cranky, but he was always fun to read - assuming of course you weren't the object of one of his attacks."
Sarah Hurst, Chess Moves:
"The most outrageous chess book money can buy."
Jeremy Silman, author of 'How to Reassess Your Chess':
"Far and away the finest chess writing ever seen (...) Trust me, you don't want to be without this book."
Tim Krabbé, author of 'The Vanishing':
"Eminently readable for chess players and non-chess players alike."
The world’s top trainer, Mark Dvoretsky, and one of his best-known pupils, grandmaster Artur Yusupov, present a five-volume series based on courses given to talented young players throughout the world. The books contain contributions by other leading trainers and grandmasters, as well as games by pupils who have attended the courses.
The final volume of the series deals with various creative aspects, such as the calculation of variations and the development of intuition. It also explores the psychology of taking decisions, both when attacking and when defending.
The main theme of volume 4 is prophylaxis, a concept first expounded by Nimzowitsch and one which has been brilliantly developed by Mark Dvoretsky and his pupils. The art of positional play is explained in terms of planning, manoeuvring, the study of typical positions, and deep strategy in grandmaster games.
If you want to amaze your friends with your chess skills, this is exactly the book you have been looking for. To become one of the best chess players in your school you need to play Power Moves, winning tactics that require thinking ahead.
But how do you find Power Moves? Experienced chess trainer Charles Hertan will show you and help you to become a very dangerous player!
• You will learn how to weed out silly moves and just consider a few important ones.
• You will learn how to start seeing great moves you never thought of before.
• You will learn the two easiest ways to think one-and-a-half moves ahead:
1. Takes Takes Bang!
2. Check Moves Bang!
Charles Hertan introduces the four main characters who will help you to learn these basic skills: Zort (a teenaged computer from the planet Zugszwang), the Dinosaurs, Power Chess Kids and the Chess Professor. The most complete and fun kids book ever on learning how to win games!
Charles Hertan is a FIDE master from Massachusetts who has been teaching kids formore than thirty years. He has written a chess book for advanced players called Forcing Chess Moves: the Key to Better Calculation, which was shortlisted for the Guardian Chess Book of the Year Award and won the ChessCafe Book of the Year Award.
Edward Scimia, About.com-CHESS:
"I really enjoyed 'Power Chess for Kids'. Just as importantly, the kids I work with got a kick out of it, too (..) The fact that kids can read this book on their own and be entertained while they learn to improve their chess is an added bonus."
Martin Rieger, Rochade Europa Magazine:
"I myself have three children and when my youngest son (8 years old) saw the book, he immediately got excited. The drawings and the child-friendly lay-out had a magic impact on him."
Dr Alexey W. Root, former US Women's Chess Champion, author of 'Children and Chess':
"The organization of the book is stellar, the layout is cheerful (with cartoon-style characters) and the material is important for chess improvement."
Marshtower Chess Reviews:
"Cartoon characters and a very lively writing style make this an appealing book for young juniors. Chess teachers and coaches will be able to put the material to good use, too."
Neha Batt, Outlook India:
"Recommended reading for young chess players to sharpen tactics and strategy."
Marcia Duran, chess parent:
"Charles Hertan is the perfect chess teacher for kids. He has a great grasp of the material and, even more importantly, he makes learning chess fun, and understandable for kids of all ages."
The Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defence continues to be extremely popular. Advocated by great fighting champions like Garry Kasparov and Bobby Fischer, this flexible, wonderfully rich system offers one of the best ways for Black to play for a win.
Young Armenian grandmaster Zaven Andriasyan has developed and successfully employed his very own attacking repertoire for Black in the Najdorf.
In this book he points out ways to avoid the most dangerous white systems, such as the English Attack, and presents ideas for Black to fight for the initiative right from the start.
Revisiting all major Najdorf battlegrounds, Andriasyan challenges accepted views and sheds new light on this great opening. In his search for new paths he has found a great number of radical improvements, resulting in a complete, surprising and punchy repertoire.
After you have read and studied Winning with the Najdorf Sicilian, you will be ready and happy to take on 1.e4 players at all times!
With a foreword by Levon Aronian.
Zaven Andriasyan (1989) was both European under-18 and World under-20 champion in 2006. He is currently one of the strongest grandmasters in Armenia. Zaven Andriasyan regularly writes for the New In Chess Yearbooks.
Sam Collins, Chess Today:
"Andriasyan has an excellent writing style (..) He often interrupts dry analysis with explanations about which pieces to trade, why he likes certain manoeuvres and dislikes others. This is all entertaining and instructive and makes the material much easier to digest and remember. His line selection is also excellent, frequently giving a choice for Black but always explaining why he prefers the variations he recommends (..) One of the very best opening books I've ever seen."
Dennis Monokroussos, The Chess Mind:
"I learned new things not only for Black, which is what you'd expect, but for White too. He is very even-handed, and quite regularly shows a main line for Black that has troubles, so that he can better motivate and explain his preferred line. That makes this an even more valuable resource - it's a good source of ideas for the first player too."
Adam Hunt, British Chess Magazine:
"Excellently researched with some very interesting ideas and novelties along the way (..) There is also a chapter at the end on Najdorf exercises, which I enjoyed very much (..) It will become my new Najdorf reference and if you are serious about this opening I would recommend you get yourself a copy."
Max Euwe Center, Amsterdam:
"All variations of the Najdorf are being treated and the objective is for Black to be the first to deviate from the main lines (..) Andriasyan concludes that the Najdorf is the best way for Black to play for a win."
Richard Vedder, Schakers.info:
"Andriasyan advocates a sharp but rather narrow repertoire for Black to play for a win (..) Within that repertoire he presents comprehensive analyis with various tips and tricks (..) White players, as well, can pick up a few things as well."
‘Fischer gets up, tall, overweight, and slightly clumsy. He tries to fulfil the duties of the host and shakes hands, but his nervously darting eyes betray his unease with the situation. This is not a man accustomed to receiving visitors.’
Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam’s encounter with the reclusive American world champion in war-torn Yugoslavia, is the apotheosis of a unique collection of interviews with chess legends and stars that was first published in 1993.
Why did Garry Kasparov think Bobby Fischer was an alien? How many stamps does Anatoly Karpov have? Was it really Caruso who appeared in Vassily Smyslov’s dream to teach him how to sing?
Brimming with anecdotes and revealing insights these interviews bring together champions past and present. From Botvinnik, Najdorf, Portisch and Spassky to modern stars like Anand, Kramnik, and Judit Polgar.
Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam is editor-in-chief of New In Chess, the chess magazine with readers in 116 countries.
Sean Marsh, CHESS Magazine (UK):
"It is good to see this book back in print, as it is, quite simply, the finest collection of chess interviews yet assembled."
Edward Winter in Chess Notes:
“Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam brings to the task painstaking preparation, wide knowledge and sharp intelligence.”
Chris Wainscott, ChessIQ:
'The interviews individually are fascinating glimpses into the lives of chess immortals. As a whole they are something even greater. They are the very fabric of the chess history of 20 and 30 years ago. Go buy this book. You will not regret it"
British Chess Magazine:
"A vintage collection and very valuable, thorough and carefyully structured."
"A master interviewer."
Max Euwe Centre, Amsterdam:
"Ten Geuzendam's interviews always result in rich conversations."
British Chess Magazine on 'The Day Kasparov Quit':
"Ten Geuzendam somehow manages to get the confidence of his subjects despite asking them sharp and challenging questions."
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