Street Smart Chess is an expert guide to scoring more points at the chessboard. When does it pay off to play hard for a win? Or safe for a draw? And how do you adapt your playing style accordingly? GM Axel Smith answers these questions, and more, by using a world-class player as a model for each chapter. Learn how Magnus Carlsen grinds out wins from level positions; how David Navara beats lower-rated opponents, and how Baskaran Adhiban beats higher-rated ones! Or serve-and-volley in the opening like Peter Heine Nielsen. Playing well is a good start in chess, but you also need to be Street Smart.

This book covers the final two decades of Tal’s life and games, from 1972 until his death in 1992.

In Technical Decision Making in Chess former World Championship Challenger Boris Gelfand discusses his path to decision making in endgames and positions where one side possesses a structural or material advantage. This investigation into a top Grandmaster’s technical understanding will illuminate difficult parts of the game that many players find elusive. Concepts like the “Zone of one mistake” are certain to be a revelation to many.

The Dragon is one of the most thrilling chess openings and a favorite of attacking players. This volume deals with the 9.Bc4 and 9.g4 variations of the Yugoslav Attack.

The Dragon is one of the most thrilling chess openings and a favorite of attacking players. This volume deals with the 9.0–0–0 variation of the Yugoslav Attack, along with the Classical and White’s various other tries.

The Elephant Gambit is perhaps the boldest opening in all of chess theory. By meeting 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 with 2...d5!?, Black takes the fight to his opponent and aims to seize the initiative as early as possible. The Exhilarating Elephant Gambit offers a complete repertoire for Black, based on 3.exd5 Bd6 or 3.Nxe5 Bd6 4.d4 dxe4. In return for the sacrificed pawn, Black ensures himself of quick and active development with most of his pieces pointing menacingly towards the enemy kingside. Attacking and other tactical resources abound, with a future ...e4-e3 advance often mauling White’s position like an Elephant’s tusk. With original analysis of all variations and improvements against all published “refutations”, this book contains everything you need to shock, surprise and stampede your opponents.

Grandmaster Repertoire 16 – The French Defence 3 concludes this ambitious three-volume series by offering a comprehensive repertoire against the Advance, Tarrasch, and other alternatives to 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3.

The French Defence is one of the most popular and reliable responses to 1.e4. Grandmaster Repertoire 15 – The French Defence 2 covers the most critical variation of the Winawer, which occurs after the opening moves 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3† 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Qg4. This volume presents three contrasting ways of meeting White’s aggressive opening system: 7...cxd4 leading to the notorious Winawer Poisoned Pawn; 7...0–0 8.Bd3 f5, a solid yet strategically complex system; and 7...0–0 8.Bd3 Nbc6, which leads to a tense, full-blooded battle

Grandmaster Repertoire 14 – The French Defence 1 introduces the Winawer Variation after the opening moves 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4, and provides expert recommendations against all of White’s major possibilities, with the exception of the most critical 7.Qg4 line which receives special coverage in Volume Two of the series. Volume Three will deal with the Tarrasch, Advance and all of White’s other options.

With the seemingly bulletproof Berlin Wall and Marshall Attack continuing to thwart White’s best efforts to find an advantage in the Ruy Lopez, many top players have incorporated the Italian Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4) along with the related Bishop’s Opening (2.Bc4) into their repertoires. In this two-volume work, GM Martyn Kravtsiv shares his insights on this Italian Renaissance from White’s perspective. Before reaching the Italian, White must be ready to deal with the Petroff Defence (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6). In the first part of this, the first volume, Kravtsiv advocates the well-regarded 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 variation, offering an array of weapons to cause problems for Black, including a large number of untested yet dangerous ideas. The next topic is the Bishop’s Opening, which can be used as an optional Anti-Petroff move order as well as a weapon in its own right. 2.Bc4 may or may not transpose to the main Italian lines, and it is useful to be able to play both move orders in order to choose the most effective sequence against each opponent. By combining this book with its companion volume, you too can be a part of The Italian Renaissance. Martyn Kravtsiv is a Ukrainian Grandmaster with a peak rating of 2685, with expert knowledge and experience of 1.e4.

In this, the second book in his two-volume work, GM Martyn Kravtsiv shines the spotlight on the Italian Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4). Most chess players learn the basics of this opening as beginners, yet it contains enough depth and complexity to provide the world’s best players with a rich and ever-evolving battleground. Though written unmistakably from White’s perspective, this work takes a different approach from that of a typical repertoire book. Rather than filling valuable pages analysing rare, inferior and generally irrelevant options, the author delves deep into the most important main lines, explaining the key move-order details and providing White with a series of well-researched ideas which will force your opponents to solve difficult problems at the board. Join The Italian Renaissance and create your own masterpieces! Martyn Kravtsiv is a Ukrainian Grandmaster with a peak rating of 2685, with expert knowledge and experience of 1.e4.

Mikhail Tal is one of the most celebrated chess players of all time. The eighth World Champion not only won the title at a record young age,but did so using a ferocious, high-risk attacking style