In 2018 DeepMind published the shocking results of their chess-playing artificial intelligence software, AlphaZero. Chess players looked in disbelief and immediately wondered how AI would affect the future of chess. Less than a year later, a whole new wave of chess engines emerged that were based on using neural networks to evaluate positions in a completely new way. This book is about the extraordinary impact that AI has had on modern chess.
The games of top chess players since the end of 2018 have reflected the use of these new engines in home analysis. They have significantly developed opening theory as well as the general understanding of middlegame concepts. By analysing these games with the help of neural network engines, FIDE Master Joshua Doknjas discusses numerous exciting ideas and examines areas of chess that had previously been overlooked. With thorough explanations, questions, and exercises, this book provides fascinating material for masters and less experienced players alike.
Joshua Doknjas is a FIDE Master from Canada who has enjoyed success competing internationally. He has won seven national titles for his age and tied for 1st in the 2019 U18 North American Youth Chess Championship.
Vsevolod Rauzer, born in Kiev in 1908, was one of the world’s leading chess opening theoreticians and thinkers in the 1930s. As a player, he was an uncompromising attacker, trying to avoid draws as well as to prove that 1.e4 wins by force. According to Mikhail Botvinnik, “His opening research…with linked middlegame plans, gives us every reason to place V. Rauzer among the founders of the Soviet chess school.”
Awarded the Master of Sport title in 1929, Rauzer’s best tournament performances included joint eighth place in the 1931 Soviet Championship, sixth in 1933 and eighth in 1937. According to Chessmetrics, he was ranked in the world’s top 30 for several years.
He made big contributions to theory in the Sicilian, French and Caro-Kann defenses among others. The book’s introductory articles contain deep dives into Rauzer’s opening laboratory and shed light on the historical development of key variations.
The present work contains 96 games, nearly all of them played by Rauzer. Opponents include Botvinnik, Fine, Levenfish, Lilienthal, Romanovsky, the author and other leading pre-War Soviet players. Many games come with Rauzer’s own annotations together with analysis by Konstantinopolsky, Botvinnik, Levenfish and others. The commentary has been updated by International Master Grigory Bogdanovich using the latest engines.
Ultimately, Rauzer’s story was a sad one. Chess, and especially opening analysis, was an obsession for him: he once told Panov: “Unfortunately, I just can’t make myself work on theory of the game for more than 16 hours a day! My head can’t endure more.” This obsession eventually drove him mentally ill and he spent much of his final period in care. Vsevolod Rauzer lived largely in poverty and tragically died in the Siege of Leningrad.
Alexander Konstantinopolsky (1910-1990), Rauzer’s close friend and collaborator over many years, was a leading Soviet player and coach, also from Ukraine. He trained David Bronstein and was head coach of the Soviet women’s team from 1954 to 1982. His best tournament performance was joint second at the 1937 Soviet Championship.
CHESS INFORMANT’S 150th ADVENTURE
Midwinter Dream
CONTENTS:
FIDE CHESS.COM GRAND SWISS 2021 GM L'ubomír Ftáčnik
SOUTH AMERICAN HIGHLIGHTS GM Rafael Leitão
US CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2021 GM Sabina-Francesca Foişor
EUROPEAN CHESS CLUB CUP 2021 GM Dragoljub Jaćimović
EUROPEAN WOMEN’S TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP WIM Sandra Đukić
MR. FIRE ON BOARD GM Mihail Marin
MELTWATER CHAMPIONS CHESS TOUR FINALS GM Elshan Moradiabadi
THE SEMI-TARRASCH – PART II GM Nigel Davies
NEW IDEAS IN THE ARKHANGELSK RUY LÓPEZ GM Miloš Perunović
KING’S INDIAN, FIANCHETTO – Part I GM Krisztián Szabó
THE ART OF INTUITIVE SACRIFICES GM Michael Prusikin
ROGERS' REMINISCENCES – Asia-Pacific Zonal, Jakarta 1987 GM Ian Rogers
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES GM Marian Petrov
FROM THE CHESS INFORMANT ARCHIVES Douglas Griffin
Traditional sections: games, combinations, endings, Tournament reviews, the best game from the preceding volume and the most important theoretical novelty from the preceding volume.
The periodical that pros use with pleasure is at the same time a must have publication for all serious chess students!
Originally published at the beginning of the 20th century as part of a series for chess improvers on all phases of the chess game, this little book contains examples of pawn play in endgames that inexperienced and club players will greatly benefit from studying.
With more than 100 well-chosen positions, the author illustrates the types of chess endgames that players should master once they understand and master the fundamentals.
The material has been reexamined, reanalyzed, and edited by FIDE Master Carsten Hansen.
This is the first time this book has been published in algebraic notation.
The Tarrasch Variation of the Queen’s Gambit Declined is a fierce counter-attacking line arising after 1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 c5. In this variation Black gains free and easy piece play but in return usually has to accept the structural weakness of an Isolated Queen’s Pawn (IQP). In the early development of chess theory this line was somewhat frowned upon due to the vulnerability of the IQP. However, Siegbert Tarrasch, after whom the opening is named, famously declared that, “he who fears an Isolated Queen’s Pawn should give up chess”.
The Tarrasch has had many powerful adherents over the years including the legendary Garry Kasparov who made much use of it in the early part of his career. In this book Cyrus Lakdawala guides the reader through the complexities of the Tarrasch and carves out a repertoire for Black, based on a modern treatment popularised by the Russian grandmaster Daniil Dubov. He examines all aspects of this highly complex opening and provides the reader with well-researched, fresh, and innovative analysis. Each annotated game has valuable lessons on how to play the opening and contains instructive commentary on typical middlegame plans.
– A complete repertoire for Black to counter 1 d4.
– The question and answer approach provides an excellent study method.
The Polgar Way to Better Chess!
Learn Chess the Right Way is a five-volume chess puzzle book series aimed at the novice, beginner and intermediate level player, using the unique methods of the award-winning coach and former world champion Susan Polgar. It introduces the most important checkmate and material-winning tactics, as well as defensive techniques to the new chess player. Each of the five volumes will consist of over 500 puzzles.
Volume 4 is all about exercises where you have to make a “sacrifice” for a material gain or even checkmate.
In each of the first five chapters, a certain piece is being sacrificed to checkmate the enemy King (in chapter 1 – The Queen, in chapter 2 – The Rook, and so on). In chapters 6-10, you will get no hint about which piece should be sacrificed. However, you will know what the target is, to win a Queen, or Rook etc.
In chapter 11, there will be no hints whatsoever. The goal is simple: sacrifice one of your pieces to either checkmate or gain material. Many of the examples are built on skills (such as forks, discoveries or pins) learned in volumes 1 and 2 of this series. In most of the puzzles, you will need to think 2-3 pairs of moves ahead in order to find the correct solution.
With over 40 years of experience as a world-class player and coach, international grandmaster Susan Polgar has developed the most effective way to help young players and beginners – Learn Chess the Right Way. Let her show you the way to understanding the most common and critical patterns and let her show you the way to becoming a better player.
SUSAN POLGAR is a winner of four Women’s World Championships and the top-ranked woman chess player in the United States. She became the #1 woman player in the world at 15 and remained in the top 3 for over 20 years. In 2013, she received the U.S. Coach of the Year Award and the following year, she was named the Chess Trainer of the Year by the International Chess Federation (FIDE). She thus became the first person in history to be accorded both honors. Under her guidance, SPICE chess teams at both Texas Tech University and Webster University have won a combined six consecutive National Division I Collegiate Chess Championships.
The French Defence is a highly reliable response to 1.e4 which is popular at all levels. With the first two moves, Black creates a solid foundation in the centre and seeks to put pressure on White’s position in the early middlegame. In this book, International Master Cyrus Lakdawala explains the basic ideas in the French and examines the important variations. The key ideas are emphasized with notes, tips and warnings and the reader’s understanding is tested with frequent exercises. This book tells you everything you need to know in order to take your first steps with the French Defence.
First Steps books are based around carefully selected instructive games which demonstrate exactly what both sides are trying to achieve. There is enough theory to enable the improving player to get to grips with the opening without feeling overwhelmed. If you want to take up a new opening, First Steps is the ideal place to start.
¿Cada vez te juegan más la Defensa Holandesa cuando juegas peón de dama? ¿Juegas distintos esquemas contra esta defensa y ninguno termina de convencerte?
Si tu respuesta es SI a alguna de estas dos preguntas, este libro es para ti.
En el último año, han salido distintas publicaciones recomendando esta variante para jugadores aficionados. ¿La razón? Es una variante universal contra 1.d4, 1.c4 y 1.Cf3 por parte de las blancas.
Sin embargo, considero que la Defensa Holandesa no es una variante buena y, en caso de que las blancas sepan como jugar, pueden conseguir una gran ventaja.
En este libro ofrezco una forma de jugar innovadora que te permitirá hacerte con ventaja contra jugadores de todos los niveles.
Las variantes han sido revisadas con Stockfish. La apertura está analizada de manera sistemática y organizada de manera que sea cómoda para el lector.
Además, no solamente se analiza la apertura, sino que también me adentro en el medio juego, analizando partidas modelo que nos servirán de guía en el momento que se termine la apertura.
Para terminar, como no podría ser de otra manera, ofrezco ejercicios típicos del medio juego de la Defensa Holandesa, la mejor forma para estar preparados para la partida.
Al terminar este libro, estarás preparado contra esta apertura para toda tu vida y estoy convencido de que podrás conseguir muchas victorias gracias a mis ideas.
CHESS INFORMANT’S 155th ADVENTURE
REJUVENATED
Leitao – Brazilian Champion in Wijk aan Zee (Tournament Review)
Moradiabadi – Tata Steel 2023 Wijk aan Zee (Tournament Review)
Yochanan Afek – Perls from Wijk (Tournament Review)
Perunovic – Instructive positions from Wijk
Foisor – Women FIDE Grand Prix Munich (Tournament Review)
Shyam Sundar – This or that? (Instructive Lesson)
Gormally – 4NCL (Review)
Prusikin – The Uncastled King (Instructive Lesson)
Davies – The Catalan 7.dc5 (Theoretical Survey)
Kotronias – The King’s Indian 5.h3 (Theoretical Survey)
Szabo – The French C11 (Theoretical Survey)
Perelshteyn – The Ruy Lopez Nerwegian Variation (Theoretical)
Petrov – World Championship Game Changers – part 6
Rogers – Belgrade Open 1984 (Roger’s Reminiscences)
Griffin – Ljubojevic – Miles, Olympiad 1980 (From Informant Archives)