The diverse set of tactical ideas involving a bishop and knight in the finale will enable them to gain a deeper understanding of how the bishop and knight pair combine.
This book focuses on patterns based on material left on the board – bishops of opposite color and rooks. It explains the ideas of bishop endgames alone, and then shows how the strategy changes when rooks are also present on the board.
Bishop or knight? An eternal dilemma! The legendary Bobby Fischer would likely vote for the bishop. Other authorities like Nimzowitsch would prefer the knight. The truth is somewhere in the middle. Of course, it is clear a bishop usually dominates in open positions while the knight should be preferred in blocked positions. But what does that “usually” mean? Are there exceptions? Sure, a bishop can dominate even in a blocked position if the controlled diagonal is important. Further, the knight can dominate in open positions if there is a good outpost or influential place for it. The pawn structure definitely determines the minor pieces’ prospects, and it is extremely important to predict the future properties of the pawn structure early in the game. Nowadays it is not enough to start thinking about the endgame in the middlegame. Today’s masters begin their opening strategy based on the arising endgames! Knowing the arising endings may give you some advantage even if the opponent obtained some initiative as was Petrosian’s manner. By studying this book you should discover many properties regarding the combat between the bishop and knight which will open new horizons in your chess understanding. In this book (Volume 1) I will present direct combat between the bishop and the knight. You may consider this a prelude to Volume 2 where the story will develop with more complex battles as other pieces will be added. There will be sections with rooks and queens added where either the knight or bishop will be superior. I have no doubts that if you carefully analyze the material in both volumes, you will master both the basic and advanced endgames where one of the key factors will be the material imbalance between having either the bishop or the knight.
In Black is Back!, the Hungarian grandmaster Andras Adorjan continues his crusade against this negative mindset. He shows that White’s advantage is far from obvious and that winning with Black starts with having the right attitude.
The Ultimate Fischer Collection
Victor Bologan presents a complete Caro-Kann repertoire for Black that is much more than just a lucidly explained and highly playable set of responses. In many lines Bologan provides two options to handle the Black position.
Victor Bologan presents a complete King’s Indian repertoire for Black, and in many lines he presents two different ways to handle the Black position. During his research, he has found many new ideas and resources. Bologan’s explanations are accessible for a wide range of players and he provides the reader with a thorough grounding in the strategic and tactical motifs.
In this book Victor Bologan covers all relevant lines with a well laid-out, clearly explained and eminently playable set of responses. He presents TWO different options against every main line: a common sense approach and an aggressive weapon.
The Ruy Lopez remains one of the most popular chess openings, both at club level and among top players. In this book, Victor Bologan presents a cutting-edge repertoire for Black based on the favorite lines of Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian.
Original articles written by numerous Grandmasters and International Masters