The Queen's Gambit Declined is one of the central pillars of chess opening theory. Virtually every world champion has played the opening with both the white and black pieces and it is a great favourite at all levels in chess. The reason for its enduring popularity is that it is rich in the classic strategic themes. Either side can end up with an isolated d-pawn, White can pursue a queenside initiative while Black counters on the other wing or White can attempt to build a powerful centre that Black hopes to undermine. The Move by Move series provides an ideal format for the keen chessplayer 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. This is an excellent way to study chess while providing the best possible chance to retain what has been learnt.

Both players are gunning for each other's kings. Whose attack will break through first? This is a typical scenario in chess games. In such tense battles where one slip can be fatal, often it's a case of 'who dares wins'. But it's not enough to throw your pieces up the board and hope for the best. To succeed you need to acquire sophisticated attacking and defensive skills. The good news is that they can easily be learned, remembered and put into practice. In this book, Lorin D'Costa presents a comprehensive study of opposite-side castling and the crucial techniques needed both in attack and defence. He tackles all the key subjects, including sacrificing, speed of attack, strong and weak defensive formations, when to delay or avoid castling, and much more. Studying this book will allow you to approach these frequent situations with confidence.

Combinations are the central element in chess; they make the game so magical and captivating. The beautiful point of sacrificing a queen, the strongest piece, in order to checkmate with a lowly pawn brings a smile of joy to all chess lovers. Virtually all chess games possess a combination, either one hidden in the shadows of analysis carefully avoided or one that provides a decisive blow. Winning Chess Combinations is a unique work that doesn't merely repeat the wonderfully rich and vast numbers of combinations, asking readers to solve a particular diagrammed position; it is a work that is far more realistic. A combination involves a sacrifice upsetting the balance of forces, but will it work or tragically boomerang? The reader is invited to solve this critical question by identifying the advantages that a specific position holds which might make the combination successful.

The two greatest challenges for beginning chess players are not only to survive the openings phase, but also to choose appropriate attack and defense formations in the process. Winning Chess Openings shows you how to do both. In Yasser Seirawan's entertaining, easy-to-follow style, you're shown formations that can be used with other White or Black pieces. Winning Chess Openings will help you develop a solid understanding of opening principles that you can apply to every game you play without having to memorise a dizzying array of tedious and lengthy opening lines.

Gain the advantage over your opponent with easy-to-remember strategies from one of the worlds top chess players! Strategy is the ultimate secret weapon for championship players around the world. Drawing on his considerable experience in tournament play, International Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan shows you how to apply flexible strategic principles to every part of your game. Using Seirawan's simple and effective planning and analysis techniques, you'll enter each game with confidence and energy, ready to play forcefully and intelligently the way you need to play so you can win every time! Learn to: Knock your opponent off balance with bold opening moves; Formulate an overall game strategy before the middle game; Interpret the motivation behind your opponents every move; Position yourself for a winning endgame; Diagrams throughout the book illustrate game positions, and you'll meet historys greatest chess strategieslearning from them move by move! Whether for reference during practice games or simply for pleasure reading, Winning Chess Strategies is an information packed resource you'll turn to again and again.

Learn sure-fire tactics and combinations from one of the worlds top chess players. Attack? Defend? Swap pieces? Tactics are the watchdogs of strategy that take advantage of short-term opportunities to trap or ambush your opponent and quite possiblychange the course of a game in a single move. Why play in a fog, only hoping that your opponent will blunder when International Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan can show you how to put the tactics of the worlds chess legends to work for you. Choose from the double attack, the pin, the skewer, deflection, the cor, x-rays, windmills and many more time-tested tactics.Using classic board situations arranged in chapters by tactical themes, Seirawan teaches you how to: Plan your entire game from the very first move.Think ahead, step-by-step, anticipating every obstacle your opponent can throw your way; Position yourself for the smashing combination and endgame you've always dreamed of. Board positions from actual games played by historys great chess tacticians are provided throughout. Review tests for each topic let you track your improvement. In no time you'll be playing better, with more confidence than you ever thought possible.

One of the most challenging tasks in a chess game is to find the correct strategy. It is far easy to attack too randomly, to miss a vital opportunity, or even choose the wrong plan altogether. These are all mistakes frequently seen by even quite strong players. Your Chess Battle Plan focuses on how Magnus Carlsen and other great masters decide on the best strategy in a position and then find the right ways to implement it. Clear advice shows you how to hone in on the most relevant features of a position in order to decide what your general plan needs to be. Factors that are addressed include when to exchange pieces, when to make long-range manoeuvres, when to offer sacrifices and how to identify and focus on key squares. Your Chess Battle Plan will get you thinking along the right strategic lines and using your pieces and pawns in a much more efficient and skilful manner.