Grandmaster Insides takes you into the inner world of the American Grandmaster Maxim Dlugy, a former World Junior Champion.
The correct handling of pawns is one of the hardest things to teach in chess, because the guidelines are rarely spelled out. In this book, American grandmaster and former US Champion Sam Shankland sets out to do exactly that — reduce pawn play to a set of clear, memorable principles any player can actually apply.
The structure follows the simple truths that make pawns unique. The four parts are built around the facts that pawns cannot move backwards, can be compelled forwards, seldom move sideways, and can be forced to do so — and each principle is developed through themed chapters with names like “Protecting Your Children,” “Driving on Open Roads,” and “Keeping Your Door Locked.”
Shankland begins with strikingly simple positions and then raises the level steadily, repeatedly showing how even grandmasters could have made better decisions had they applied the book’s guidelines. Each chapter ends with exercises so you can test the idea before moving on.
The approach is practical rather than encyclopaedic: instead of cataloguing every structure, Shankland teaches a way of thinking about pawns that transfers to your own games. Suitable for club players and above who want their positional understanding to rest on principles they can state out loud.
This ebook is a part of Bundle: Pawn Play Bundle
Strategic Chess Exercises
Almost every chess puzzle book trains tactics — find the forced win. But in most of the positions you actually face in a game, there is no combination to find. What you are really doing, move after move, is trying to improve your position or worsen your opponent’s by applying strategic judgement. This book trains that neglected skill directly.
Experienced trainer Emmanuel Bricard has assembled a manual of carefully selected and tested positions where the task is not to calculate a tactic but to find the right plan: which piece to improve, which structure to aim for, where to create a weakness, when to exchange. Each exercise asks you to think the way you must in a real game when no forcing solution exists.
The positions are split into middlegame and endgame exercises and indexed by strategic theme, with detailed solutions that explain the reasoning rather than just giving the move. The benefits are practical: better strategic understanding, the ability to apply principles in concrete positions, and even time saved on the clock when you know what you are trying to do.
A rare and valuable training resource for club players and above who want to sharpen the part of their game that decides most non-tactical positions.
How Ulf Beats Black
In his prime in the 1970s and 80s, the Swedish grandmaster Ulf Andersson was a world top-ten player with an instantly recognisable style: he almost never lost, and he kept grinding out wins from positions that looked utterly quiet. This book reveals the secret — those positions only looked quiet.
Cyrus Lakdawala, who has played Andersson’s lines for decades, presents them as a complete White repertoire and explains the deep strategic understanding behind them. Andersson detected and exploited hidden chances better than almost anyone, and his openings glide smoothly from opening to middlegame and often straight into a favourable endgame — so this is far more than an opening manual; it is a course in positional squeezing.
The repertoire is built on the flexible 1.Nf3/1.c4/2.c4 move orders and covers everything Black can try: the King’s Indian, the Queen’s Indian and Hedgehog, the Catalan and Tarrasch structures, the Symmetrical English, the Modern and Pirc, the Dutch, and the Exchange Slav. The recommendations rest on understanding rather than memorised theory, so opponents can’t catch you with a novelty.
Lakdawala’s lucid, entertaining explanations make it ideal for club players who want to win the way Andersson did — quietly, positionally, and relentlessly.
Sergei Tkachenko has written a fascinating account of Alexander Alekhine’s time spent in Odessa during World War I, the Russian Revolution and Civil War, as well as of the impact of Odessa on his later life. The book includes 24 complete games (some handicapped) with annotations from Alekhine, Sergei Tkachenko and Sergei Voronkov (co-author with David Bronstein of Secret Notes), as well as five puzzles and one fragment. Alekhine played in 22 of these games and the fragment and set three of the puzzles.
In the first full book to examine 2.b3 against the Sicilian, French and Caro-Kann, mainlines, interesting sidelines and current theory are reviewed. In addition, what actually happens in modern practice is surveyed. The authors are optimistic for White, and concentrate on the best continuations while trying to be objective. It is in that spirit that they conclude that 2.b3 is sound against the Sicilian, fun against the French, and curious against the Caro-Kann. In all three cases, the objective is to sabotage Black’s play, to take him out of his comfort zone.
After 1.e4 e5, the early bishop move to c4 has quietly become one of the most fashionable choices at every level — the modern elite has rediscovered the slow Italian and the Bishop’s Opening as a way to sidestep heavy theory and simply play good chess. This book turns that approach into a complete White repertoire.
The recommendation is built around the Giuoco Pianissimo and Bishop’s Opening structures, reaching them by various move orders (2.Bc4 and 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4) with a flexible d3 set-up. White delays committing the centre, develops harmoniously, and aims for a small, durable edge and a rich middlegame rather than a forced theoretical duel.
Coverage runs through the main set-ups Black can choose — early ...c6 and ...d5 breaks, the ...h6 and ...a6 systems, plans with Bg5, and the lines after 5.0-0 0-0 6.c3 d5 — in the Chess Stars three-part format of Main Ideas, Step by Step, and annotated games.
A practical, modern repertoire for club players who want a sound, low-maintenance way to meet 1...e5 and outplay opponents from a quiet position.
Despite the Najdorf’s great popularity and reputation as a theoretical labyrinth, Bryan Smith believes it is possible to play it “by the light of nature,” with experience providing a guide. The play is concrete and sharp, but original positions can be obtained fairly early. The twenty-nine annotated games in this book were carefully selected for their instructional value, their theoretical relevance, and – most of all – their esthetic appeal. Designed both for players of the Najdorf and for those facing it, The Najdorf in Black and White is a collection of creative and unique battles that you can use to learn the ins and outs of this opening.
The King’s Indian Defense and the Grünfeld are two of Black's most ambitious and dynamic responses to 1.d4. Sharp, deeply studied, and rich with counterattacking resources, meeting them well requires more than preparation!
In Grandmaster Repertoire: Volume 2A, Grandmaster Boris Avrukh presents a complete repertoire based on the Fianchetto System — a weapon he has refined and trusted throughout his career at the highest level.
Key Features:
- Complete Fianchetto-based repertoire against the King's Indian and Grünfeld — coherent, deeply analysed, and built for serious tournament play.
- Extensive coverage of the King's Indian across 11 chapters, addressing every major variation Black can employ.
- Original analysis developed in collaboration with GM Boris Gelfand, including fresh ideas in the Grünfeld and critical King's Indian lines
- Fully updated treatment of the 6...Nc6 complex, the Reluctant Benoni, and a tricky 3...c5 move order overlooked in previous coverage
About the Author:
Grandmaster Boris Avrukh is one of the world's leading opening theoreticians, with decades of experience competing and coaching at the highest level. His Grandmaster Repertoire series established him as one of the most trusted voices in opening preparation for serious players worldwide.
In this volume, he distills his decades of experience as a top-tier coach and player to help you navigate the complex trenches of 1.d4 with absolute precision.
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