A century ago Emanuel Lasker argued that improving amateurs should spend roughly 5% of their study time on openings. Today’s club players are closer to 80% — often memorising the very lines top grandmasters need only because they must extract every last drop from the opening. This book argues that for everyone else, that effort is largely wasted.
Gerard Welling and Steve Giddins offer an alternative: a single, low-maintenance system you can play with both colours. Built around the Old Indian and Hanham Philidor set-ups, the repertoire uses similar plans and structures whether you are White or Black, so the amount you must learn — and keep updating — shrinks dramatically.
The book is organised around understanding rather than memorisation. Each chapter leads with the strategy and typical ideas — the central breaks, the standard manoeuvres, the recurring endgames — before reaching the move orders and illustrative games, and a closing set of summary tables makes the whole repertoire easy to revise.
The promise is practical: rock-solid positions you genuinely know how to handle, and far more time freed up for what actually decides amateur games — tactics, positional judgement, and endgame technique. Ideal for busy club players who would rather improve than memorise.
Part two features the play of champions Max Euwe (1935-1937) Mikhail Botvinnik (1946-1957, 1958-1961 and 1961-1963), Vassily Smyslov (1957-1958) and Mikhail Tal (1960-1961).
These books are more than just a compilation of the games of these champions. Kasparov's biographies place them in a fascinating historical, political and cultural context. Kasparov explains how each champion brought his own distinctive style to the chessboard and enriched the theory of the game with new ideas.
All these games have been thoroughly reassessed with the aid of modern software technology and the new light this sheds on these classic masterpieces is fascinating.
This ebook is a part of Bundle: My Great Predecessors
A Guide to Chess Improvement features the very best of Dan Heisman's multi-award winning chess column Novice Nook, which ran for over ten years at the popular website ChessCafe.com. This book is full of valuable instruction, insight and practical advice on a wide range of key subjects: general improvement, thought processes, planning and strategy, tactics, endgame play, technique, time management and much more besides.
Heisman has thoroughly revised, expanded and updated his work to produce an easy-to-navigate guide. He has also included brand new and exclusive columns. Any player from beginner to expert who is serious about improving their chess should read this book!
This ebook is a part of Bundle: Dan Heisman's Books
This magnificent compilation of chess form the basis of the first part of Garry Kasparov's definitive history of the World Chess Championship. Garry Kasparov, who is universally acclaimed as the greatest chessplayer ever, subjects the play of his predecessors to a rigorous analysis.
Part one features the play of champions Wilhelm Steinitz (1886-1894), Emanuel Lasker (1894-1921), Jose Capablanca (1921-1927) and Alexander Alekhine (1927-1935 and 1937-1946).
In this book, International Master Jovanka Houska presents the reader with a complete Caro-Kann repertoire, which is based primarily on her own repertoire she has used with success over many years at international level. Houska provides a comprehensive update on her popular 2007 book Play the Caro-Kann and focuses on key new developments since then. She offers solutions against all of White's main options and efficient methods to deal with tricky sidelines. She examines important tactical and strategic plans for both sides and deals with key move order issues. This book tells you everything you need to know about playing the Caro-Kann.
The repertoire is based around two main themes: 1. The suggested variations for White are ones that rely far more on a generic understanding of strategic ideas rather than the memorisation of reams of opening theory. This explains the choice of the Bishop’s Opening (handled “Lopez-style”) against 1...e5 and the Bb5 variations against the Sicilian Defence. Both these lines are designed to create dynamic and interesting middlegame positions rather than attempting to score a quick knockout victory – a generally overambitious aim that often backfires 2. The variations are chosen so that White can gain space whenever possible. Therefore the Advance Variation is recommended against the French Defence (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5) and also the Caro-Kann Defence (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5). The fact that these lines often create similar middlegame structures is helpful for general comprehension of White’s plans.
The Scotch Game is the most “open” of all the Open Games. In fact this is the only really Open Game, in its essence, which matches the traditional terminology. The move 3.d2-d4 breaks immediately the symmetry. White tries to occupy the centre and gain additional space. Rapid contact between the opposing forces takes place, in fact much quicker than in the other open (and not only open...) games, which increases the value of every move and requires from both sides tremendous accuracy at a very early stage of the game. Positions with opposite castles arise much more often in the Scotch than in all the other Open Games put together.
The book has a unique concept of teaching middlegame strategies as the reader needs to solve practical exercises throughout the entire book in a testing format, and according to the collected points after the solutions, he will also be able evaluate his current knowledge.
This ebook is a part of Bundle: Monster Your Planning
The second volume of the book follows the unique concept of the first one. The reader needs to solve practical exercises throughout the entire book in various important middlegame strategical topics in a testing format. According to the collected points after the solutions, he will also be able evaluate his current knowledge.
In this book, renowned author Cyrus Lakdawala creates a repertoire for Black and navigates through the main lines of the French, providing 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 middle-game plans. Carefully selected questions and answers are designed to keep you actively involved and allow you to monitor your progress as you learn.
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