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Sielecki has created a reliable set of opening lines for chess players of almost all levels. The major objective is to dominate Black from the opening, by simple means. You don’t need to sacrifice anything or memorize long tactical lines. His main concept is for White to play 1.d4, 2.Nf3, 3.g3, 4.Bg2, 5.0-0 and in most cases 6.c4. Sielecki developed this repertoire while working with students who were looking for something that was easy to understand and easy to learn. This new 1.d4 repertoire may be even easier to master than his 1.e4 recommendations, because it is such a coherent system. Sielecki always clearly explains the plans and counterplans and keeps you focussed on what the position requires. Ambitious players rated 1500 or higher will get great value out of studying this extremely accessible book.

A mastery of tactics is essential to a competitive chess player, and the original Advanced Chess Tactics became an instant classic in this field. “This book is absolutely superb. For serious players... this volume will provide a wonderful breadth of study material and act as a workbook to advance your skills and understanding of this important topic...” was Carsten Hansen’s comment when awarding the book 6/6 stars. This new edition benefits from various analytical tweaks, plus an entirely new chapter dedicated to attacking in the French Defence, an opening which the author knows better than almost anyone, having played it for most of his career. Readers are sure to find this an invaluable addition to the original chapters, which remain usefully categorized by opening or common pawn structure.

Greek grandmaster Vassilios Kotronias is well-known for his excellent analytical work and writing style which presents the material in a way that is comprehensive and easy to understand. In this book – his first for Russell Enterprises – he offers a thorough system for Black against 1.d4. That includes responses to other systems such as the Colle, Trompowsky, London, etc. So, are you ready to stake your claim as Black, fighting from the first move? The Tarrasch may be just what you are looking for!

Pawn play is a fundamental aspect of chess strategy, yet often neglected in chess literature. In this, his second book on pawn play, Super-GM Sam Shankland sheds light on the vital topic of Passed Pawns.

Passed pawns – whether connected, lone or protected – are common occurrences in middlegames and endgames, and your effectiveness in playing with or against them will make the difference between victory and defeat. Just like in his previous book, Shankland breaks down each topic into a series of crystal-clear guidelines to aid the reader.

This ebook is a part of Bundle: Pawn Play Bundle

Levenfish describes in vivid detail the atmosphere of pre- and post-revolutionary Russia, giving first-hand impressions of some of the most famous names in early-twentieth-century chess, such as Lasker, Rubinstein, Alekhine and Capablanca – all of whom were personally known to him. Some of the stories stay long in the memory: descriptions of the hardships endured by players in the first USSR Championship that took place in the difficult years of the Civil War; of idyllic trips to the Caucasus and Crimea; of grim struggles for survival in the winter of 1941.

Soviet Outcast comprises Levenfish’s annotations to 79 of his finest games, translated from his Russian autobiography, plus extensive bonus material including several games compiled from other sources, mostly with annotations by Levenfish himself, as well as a 30-page Afterword by GM Jacob Aagaard. This is the first time Levenfish’s memoir has been published in English.

In spite of its long history however, for most of its life the Scotch did not enjoy great popularity. It was a recognized answer to 1...e5, for sure, but it never seriously challenged the Ruy Lopez as the most “objective” way to fight for an opening advantage. The general opinion was that Black had enough resources to achieve equality. The turning point for the fortunes of the Scotch was the world title match between Kasparov and Karpov in 1990, the first time that the opening had been tested at such an elite level. Unsurprisingly, Kasparov’s decision to employ this old opening meant that its appearances in tournaments soared. The popularity of the Scotch generated by this match remains today, and I would say it is perhaps more popular than ever before. That begs the obvious question – why? Well, due to the nature of the positions that tend to arise it is ideal for engine analysis, and so it lends itself perfectly to the tools of the current day. It is a nice paradox that the Romantic foundations of this opening merge so well with the computerized modern era. Credit can mostly be given to Kasparov for reviving this old opening, but there are many others who have contributed to exploring new ideas and forging new paths. A lot of discoveries have been made by some young grandmasters who don’t shy away from analysing deep tactical solutions with the aid of the silicon beast. The only other book written on the Scotch that I used whilst searching for material is the excellent work by the English GM Peter Wells, The Scotch Game. Wells’ book comes from an older, classical style of opening literature which is helpful in developing the reader’s understanding and certainly still has its merits today. Since its publication in 1998, however, many new lines have been introduced and our general approach to the Scotch has changed dramatically. Nevertheless, it served me well as guidance as I wrote this work. This book is going to be a big one, so my introduction will be a little different to my usual approach. I will try to present the most important features in the book so that readers can immediately see what kind of material they will find.

Seven years after his acclaimed and bestselling The Kaufman Repertoire for Black and White, Grandmaster Larry Kaufman is back and presents a completely new White repertoire with 1.e4 aiming for an objective advantage in the simplest practical manner. The Black repertoire from his previous book has been thoroughly revised and updated, with some crucial chapters replaced. This is the first opening book that is primarily based on Monte Carlo Search, a revolutionary algorithm that has made chess engines much stronger and more geared towards practical, human chess. The highly original analysis has resulted in many improvements on existing theory.

An old Soviet quip has it that Western amateurs “play the opening like grandmasters, the middlegame like experts, and the endgame like beginners.” Soviet-trained players would fearlessly steer the game toward the final phase, confident of their superior endgame skill. Ilya Rabinovich’s Russian Endgame Manual is a major reason for this. Rabinovich raises the beginner’s understanding of the endgame to a sophisticated level, starting with elementary checkmates and then moving on to the principles for handling complex endgames and advanced concepts in king-and-pawn endings, such as the theory of corresponding squares. The author pays special attention to frequently neglected endgame themes such as rook vs. pawns, rook vs. a minor piece, and queen vs. rook. First published in 1927 and updated in 1938, this classic work – featuring more than four hundred instructive endings and over three hundred exercises for self-study – served a generation of players at the height of the Soviet School’s dominance. Mongoose Press now makes it available to the English-speaking public for the first time.

Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov, part 1 is the first book in a major new three-volume series. This series will be unique by the fact that it will record the greatest chess battles played by the greatest chessplayer of all-time. The series in itself is a continuation of Kasparov's mammoth history of chess, comprising My Great Predecessors and Modern Chess. Kasparov's historical volumes have received great critical and public acclaim for their rigorous analysis and comprehensive detail regarding the developments in chess that occurred both on and off the board.. This new volume and series continues in this vein with Kasparov scrutinising his most fascinating encounters from the period 1973-1985 whilst also charting his development away from the board.

The emphasis of the repertoire is to gain space as quickly as possible and set Black the task of finding quick counterplay or face the risk of being overrun. Lakdawala recommends lines with f2-f3 against the Nimzo-Indian, the Petrosian System against the King’s Indian and the Flick Knife (f4 with Bb5+) against the Benoni. With thorough explanations on pawn structures and piece placement, this book provides insight to both strong masters and less experienced players alike. The format is ideal for the chessplayer keen to improve their game. While reading you are continually challenged to answer probing questions – a method that greatly encourages the learning and practising of vital skills just as much as the traditional assimilation of chess knowledge. Carefully selected questions and answers are designed to keep you actively involved and allow you to monitor your progress as you learn.

In Coaching Kasparov, Year by Year and Move by Move Garry Kasparov's long-term coach, second and mentor Alexander Nikitin tells the story of how he trained Kasparov from a brilliant but raw junior into becoming and then remaining the world champion. Volume I, the present work, covers the period 1973-1981, until Kasparov reached the age of 18. The author goes to great lengths to describe his educational approach during the early period to raise Kasparov's theoretical knowledge and practical performance, covering both play and psychological training. The present volume contains 46 games fully annotated by Nikitin, including all 14 games of a blitz match played between the 15-year old Kasparov and ex-world champion Mikhail Tal on 26 December 1978 in Tbilisi that have never before been published and which are provided specially for the 2019 edition of this book. Most of the other games are well known, but Nikitin explains many of Kasparov's decisions in those games from the point of view of the future world champion's coach, providing the context of his young pupil's thought process and mistakes and tracing his progress. He also uses these games to illustrate and expand upon his coaching advice. This makes his commentary quite unique and instructive, of formidable practical use to budding players, coaches and parents.

TACTICS TRAINER AVAILABLE!

Chess Tests

Mark Dvoretsky (1947–2016) is widely regarded as the greatest chess trainer of the modern era, and this is one of the manuscripts he completed shortly before his death — a distilled course of training material, framed by a foreword from his long-time collaborator Artur Yusupov.

True to its title, the book is built for active work rather than passive reading. It is organised by the core skills a serious player must drill: training combinational vision, generating and choosing between candidate moves, calculating variations accurately (including attention to the opponent’s resources and the role of intermediate moves), attack and defence, positional play and prophylactic thinking, the technique of realising an advantage, and a substantial set of endgame tests.

Each section presents carefully chosen positions to solve, with the deep, honest solutions Dvoretsky was famous for — laying bare the logic of how a strong player reaches the right decision at the board. This is the same material he used with the elite students who passed through his school.

Demanding and high-quality, it is best suited to strong club players, experts, and aspiring masters who want to train rigorously. A fitting part of the legacy of a master teacher.