The Grünfeld Defence is well known to be one of Black’s best and most challenging responses to 1.d4, and has long been a favourite choice of elite players including Kasparov, Svidler, Caruana, Vachier-Lagrave and many more. As with many openings, however, it can be difficult to navigate the ever-expanding jungle of games and theory. Playing the Grünfeld offers an ideal solution for practical players. Alexey Kovalchuk is a young Russian talent with expert knowledge of the Grünfeld, and in this book he shares his best ideas to form a complete, coherent and combative repertoire for Black. In addition to theoretical soundness, efforts have been made to avoid variations leading to early forced draws, as well as those in which Black allows his king to be attacked at an early stage.
The Sicilian Najdorf is one of Black’s best and most combative responses to 1.e4. The Najdorf was championed by Fischer and Kasparov during their respective periods of dominance over the world chess scene, and has been used extensively by many other World Champions and elite GMs, including Anand, Gelfand, Topalov and Vachier-Lagrave to name but a few. Despite the Najdorf’s obvious pedigree, many players are intimidated by the highly tactical and theoretical nature of some of its main lines. In Playing the Najdorf, IM David Vigorito shows that this need not be a problem, as he offers a complete repertoire for Black based on positional principles, offering sound recommendations which lead to a fighting game without turning the battle into a memory contest.
The Petroff Defence is well known to be one of Black’s soundest and theoretically robust responses to 1.e4, having been tried and tested by a host of World Champions and other elite players. This book shows how you too can harness the power of this top-class opening. Playing the Petroff offers an ideal solution for practical players. Swapnil Dhopade is a young Indian GM and theoretician, who presents a compact yet bulletproof repertoire for Black, drawing on the games of leading Petroff specialists such as Gelfand, Caruana and Kramnik. This book also provides plenty of guidance on how to deal with 1.e4 e5 games where White avoids 2.Nf3, with particular focus on ‘Anti-Petroff’ lines such as 2.Bc4.
In this book, IM Richard Pert shares his own complete repertoire for Black after 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6. The main subject is the Ragozin, which occurs after 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bb4, but the author also provides thoughtful recommendations in the related 3.Nc3 Bb4 variation, as well as against the Catalan (3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3) and all other popular White options.
The Dutch Defence is one of Black’s most combative responses to 1.d4, and the Stonewall is the boldest version of this opening. Black immediately seizes space in the centre and clamps down on the e4-square, laying the foundations for a complicated strategic battle. Many players believe the Stonewall to be a substandard opening, naively assuming that the e5-outpost and bad light-squared bishop must give White the advantage. GM Nikola Sedlak disagrees, and in Playing the Stonewall Dutch he shares the insights that have helped him to rack up a healthy plus score from Black’s side. In addition to providing a complete repertoire in the main lines of the Stonewall, this book also offers useful guidance on dealing with Anti-Dutch variations and various move-order subtleties.
Richard Pert is an English international master.
In Positional Decision Making in Chess, the main focus will be on the squeeze, space advantage, the transformation of pawn structures and the transformation of advantages. Based on examples from his own games and those of his hero, Akiba Rubinstein, Gelfand explains how he thinks during a game.
Solving studies is well established as an effective method of chess improvement. In Practical Chess Beauty one of the world’s greatest study composers, Yochanan Afek, shares his finest creations.
Any man in the street knows how to increase his physical strength, but among most chess players confusion reigns when it comes to improving their playing strength.
In this, the fifth and final volume of the epic Kotronias on the King’s Indian series, Grandmaster Vassilios Kotronias completes his masterpiece by tackling all major variations after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 which were not covered in the previous volumes. The book starts with 3.f3 and works through numerous set-ups including the Smyslov, Sokolov and Seirawan Systems, followed by the Four Pawns Attack and culminates in the mighty Sämisch System.
Endgames often give rise to the most difficult and pivotal moments of a chess game. In <em>Sharp Endgames</em>, International Master Esben Lund tackles this crucial topic in a unique and innovative way, focusing on the 16 Parameters involved in this type of decision-making.
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.