In this widely acclaimed chess classic, Russian trainer Mikhail Shereshevsky explains how to master the most important endgame principles. Where other endgame manuals focus on the basics and theoretical endgames, this book teaches the ‘big ideas’ that will help you find the most promising and most practical moves in any endgame.
Even in endgames, it helps to think schematically instead of trying to calculate every move. To maximize your winning chances, this invaluable manual will teach you these lessons:
- Do not hurry
- Centralize your king
- Fight for the initiative
- Exploit two weaknesses
- Exchange the right pieces at the right moment
Endgame Strategy is considered to be one of the most important endgame manuals. In comparison with the 1981 publication, this new edition has been thoroughly revised and the author has added dozens of new and inspiring positions.
The book is highly recommended by club players, coaches, and grandmasters alike. ‘I especially read the chapter “Do not hurry!” with pleasure; not just because I agree with what he says, but more importantly because it defines the playing style of Magnus Carlsen,’ said Grandmaster Simen Agdestein, long-time trainer of the Norwegian World Champion.
Vasily Smyslov, the seventh world champion, had a long and illustrious chess career. He played close to 3,000 tournament games over seven decades, from the time of Lasker and Capablanca to the days of Anand and Carlsen. From 1948 to 1958, Smyslov participated in four world championships, becoming world champion in 1957.
Smyslov continued playing at the highest level for many years and made a stunning comeback in the early 1980s, making it to the finals of the candidates’ cycle. Only the indomitable energy of 20-year-old Garry Kasparov stopped Smyslov from qualifying for another world championship match at the ripe old age of 63!
In this first volume of a multi-volume set, Russian FIDE master Andrey Terekhov traces the development of young Vasily from his formative years and becoming the youngest grandmaster in the Soviet Union to finishing second in the world championship match tournament. With access to rare Soviet-era archival material and invaluable family archives, the author complements his account of Smyslov’s growth into an elite player with dozens of fascinating photographs, many never seen before, as well as 49 deeply annotated games. German grandmaster Karsten Müller’s special look at Smyslov’s endgames rounds out this fascinating first volume.
This book presents a full repertoire based on the Gligoric System against the King’s Indian Defence – 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.Be3. The key point of this set-up is that White does not commit his king to any flank, at least for a while. That makes Black’s thematic attack with ...f5-f4, ...g4 pointless and allows White to play chess without having to memorise tons of variations. The authors focus on typical positions and methods of handling them, which is essential for the Gligoric System.
TACTICS TRAINER AVAILABLE! In this guide International Master Vladimir Barsky teaches the method created by his mentor Viktor Khenkin (1923-2010). It’s based on an ingenious classification of the most frequently occurring mating schemes. A wide range of chess players will find it an extremely useful tool to recognize mating patterns and calculate the often narrow path to the kill. All the 1,000 examples (850 of them in exercise format) that Barsky presents are from games played in 21st century. He has carefully selected the most instructive combinations and lucidly explains the typical techniques to corner your opponent’s king. More often than you would expect, positions that look innocent at first sight, turn out to contain a mating pattern. This is not just another book full of chess puzzles. It’s a brilliantly organized course that has proven to be effective. Finding mate isn’t rocket science, but you need to know what to look for. Vladimir Barsky teaches you exactly that.
This volume completes the coverage of the Modern English with a repertoire against 1...c5, 1...Nf6, and 1...e6. It is based on active fight for the centre by e3 and d4. It is written from White’s standpoint, but it should also serve Black players since the authors often discuss several alternatives to the main lines. The book follows the acclaimed Chess Stars structure with three sections in each chapter – “Main Ideas”, “Step by Step”, and “Annotated Games”.
This collection brings together more than 120 of Bent Larsen’s best games, annotated by himself. His comments are lucid, to the point, instructive and humorous.
This book considers a gambit treatment of the Slav and the Semi-Slav. White offers the c4-pawn in order to get a space advantage and a long-term initiative. It also covers the Closed Catalan and the modern line 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.g3 0-0 6.Bg2 dxc4 7.Ne5. The author’s idea is to throw 1...d5 players off their comfort zone by dragging them into sharp unbalanced positions. If you are fed up with all the mainstream Slav/Meran theory out-there, this book will offer you new refreshing approaches for both sides. Grandmaster Kiril Georgiev has been one of the strongest Bulgarian players for many years. He was a Junior World Champion and a bronze medalist in Europe. He has played in 15 Olympiads and also coached Bulgarian national team. His peak rating was in the world's top ten. Kiril wrote the books The Sharpest Sicilian, Squeezing the Gambits, Fighting the London System and The Modern English.
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.