Chess has evolved significantly over the past few years. Talented teenagers are playing better than ever, top players possess even deeper theoretical knowledge and make fewer mistakes, and preparation now demands more time and energy. Consequently, winning against strong opponents has become increasingly challenging. This has taught us that players need to manage their energy levels carefully. Most of the advice in this book remains applicable even when you are tired, though in such cases, it's usually better to play more solidly if you're primarily aiming for a good result. That said, results aren't everything. Interesting games are also important, and we are excited to share them with you in this epic book.
I was lucky enough to play against six world champions and several top players in my modest chess career, but the greatest player I feel privileged to have known, to have spent time with him, was Miguel Najdorf, “El Viejo”. This is a chess book, with 275 commented games, it covers all his chess career, but it has also many stories. Najdorf was the most important Argentinean chess player, and he was an exceptional person. Oscar Panno said that Najdorf reminded him of Don Quixote, in the part of the book where he tells Sancho Panza, “Wherever I am, that is where the head of the table is going to be”. He successfully overcame the most terrible setbacks, as few are capable of doing. Writing about Miguel Najdorf is one of my greatest pleasures as a chess journalist and writer!
The engine has become the “Holy Cow” to which all chess players now pray regardless of their religious convictions or rating. Far from being a foe or rival it has become an invaluable helper, consultant and the highest of authorities. Since the highest of all oracles is soulless and cynical it is ready to help anyone ignoring opinions and preferences. Therefore, the task before each player is to use this dominant and universally accessible power to their particular advantage.
This book takes the reader on a journey from early 19th century developments in the game up to the present-day. It takes in the revolutionary Wilhelm Steinitz’s early summation and establishment of a firm positional basis for chess and the considerable contributions made by all of the subsequent world champions and certain other great players, including the contemporary computer phenomenon, AlphaZero.
About 10 months ago, Nery approached me. We already knew each other; Nery had been my student in group online classes for about 2 years. Nery’s main goal and desire is to help chess lovers like himself. Let’s say we don’t know the theory beyond moves 8-10 and, in many cases, after 5-6 moves we find it difficult to make the right choice. We are also not interested in studying all these complex and long variations, it does not bring us pleasure, and we only want to understand the criteria that we can rely on in choosing a move or plan in opening positions that are critical for us. Nery came to this idea thanks to numerous positions from many of his games in which he found it difficult to make a quick and correct decision. The analysis of these positions after the game, and the conclusions made together with his coach or the computer, or even independently, brought invaluable experience for making further correct decisions in the opening.
Dear chess friends, he wants to share this experience with you.
I’m sure you will enjoy reading this book. Play chess and love chess!!!
In this book I would like to tell the story of my chess journey where I rose to become the Orlando Chess Champion and later its president. I will detail the creation of the Central Florida Chess Club and how as its president it became the most successful club in Florida. I will detail the wars waged to become Central Florida Chess Club champion and the rivalries that were formed. I will also share stories from the U.S. Amateur tournaments which my team won five times. I will detail the struggle to become a USCF original Life Master while raising a family and teaching full time. Mostly, I will show some of the wonderful games I played, some with very important opening preparation, and give the reader insight into the battles waged over sixty-four squares.
I hope you find the games and their stories as stirring as I do.
For the purpose of writing this book I decided to look at all the games Veselin has played from 1995 until the present, as there were many I didn’t know! I must say that, although seeing great moves from a 2800 player sounds normal, it was impossible not to be astonished by some of his games. Topalov is one of the kings of practical decisions in chess. He regards chess as more a sport than a science. If he thinks an idea will work over the board, the notion of risk is irrelevant to him. He wants to be on the attack and believes an objectively inferior position isn’t necessarily bad if his opponent needs to find several difficult defensive moves. “If that’s the only move for my opponent, let’s enter the line and see if he sees it!” is his philosophy. He never liked peace over the board or routine play. The moments where he has refused to repeat moves or has sacrificed something strictly out of intuition are countless. In short, Topalov’s aim has always been to hit hard and bring his own touch to the game, and I think he has succeeded!
I was once dismissive of the attempts by amateur players to improve. To me it seemed too obvious - you either had it or you didn’t. Talent was ultimately all that mattered. All my writing on chess was really for myself. If amateur players couldn’t follow, tough.
I don’t think that this dismissive attitude towards amateurs by professional chess players is particularly unusual. There is plenty of talk about ‘fish’, and in professional circles a general level of contempt is always on display. Perhaps we too easily forget that we were once ‘fish’ and ‘patzers’ ourselves, and are probably still viewed as such by even higher-rated players. It is only recently that I have started to think more along the lines of how amateur players approach chess, and the typical mistakes they make.
Classic mistakes by amateur players include:
These and other mistakes I will try to explain in the book. Of course it should be noted that professional players also make these kinds of mistakes. I certainly do, all the time, so there is plenty of overlap and understanding of where these mistakes come from.
I decided to divide the book into four parts. In the first and the most difficult and time-consuming part of the book you will find my memorable games. I emphasize that these are my most memorable games, not my best games so out of 25 games given here there are a few draws and one loss. If I had decided to collect my best games the selection would have been quite different. It should therefore come as no surprise that as many as seven games with world champions found their way into the book.
The second part consists of my 50 most memorable fragments. There you will see both instructive and curious examples. Here too the selection process was quite strict. While the memorable games cover the period of 1991-2010, the fragments cover the span from 1982 till 2016. And since they cover my early years as well, you will find some of them that did not find their way into databases.
The third part of the book contains my 75 studies, in 50 of which White must draw and in 25 must win. I have many more but except for a couple of examples I decided not to include the most difficult and interesting rook studies in the book. I have to say that composing studies is much more difficult than problems; it’s just a hell of a job.
And finally, the fourth, my favorite part of the book, featuring my 150 best chess problems. I should talk about this in greater detail: I was 12 when I composed my first problem. It was later published in the article by the famous composer and study-maker Alexander Sarychev, whom I had had the great fortune to meet. Yet, despite this positive experience at a young age, it was only much later that I composed a significant number of problems.
And so, I hope that in each of the 300 snippets presented in the book, be it games, fragments, studies or problems, the reader will find something worthwhile. At least, the author really strove for that.
I decided to write about something that I would be interested to learn myself. In this book: • I show what preparation for a game by a 2650 player looks like. In chess, we only see the game on the stage, and can only guess at what is hidden behind the scenes. Top players can't reveal this, nor can their seconds, so I decided – who, if not me? • I show my preparation for games, accompanied by analyses that I consider enough to apply the opening line. • I show how I outplay opponents, not with powerful opening preparation, but by leading them into positions that are pleasant for me or unpleasant for them. • I explain things that many players do not pay attention to in terms of opening preparation and preparation for an opponent.
This updated volume takes you deeper into the strategies and tactics of one of the most daring defenses in chess.
The Benoni, known for its bold imbalance and sharp counterattacking potential, is the weapon of choice for players looking to challenge White from the very start. This expanded edition not only revisits the fundamental ideas of this opening but also introduces cutting-edge theory, new variations, and insightful commentary from top-level play.
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