This second and final volume of my Anti-Sicilian series covers our approach for all alternatives to 2...Nc6. The choice against 2...d6 was obvious. The Moscow variation is the only critical alternative to 3.d4 that has caused any concerns for Black – by developing with a tempo, we force Black to make an immediate decision on move 3 and wait for the right moment to open the position.
Whilst in the Rossolimo book I tried to achieve an objective advantage against every line, my choices in the Moscow were mainly selected by their ability to create practical difficulties for the opponent. Naturally, it is not possible to find an advantage in every variation but I have ensured to add many detailed explanations to guide plans and aid understanding in the various positions we’ll encounter.
Against 3...Nd7, I analyse two distinct options – either castling immediately with the aim of breaking in the centre with c2-c3 and d2-d4, or first playing 4.a4 and denying Black their typical counterplay on the queenside. Against the solid 3...Bd7, I offer two choices of achieving central control. 5.c4 aims for a more positional Maroczy structure, whereas the alternative 5.0-0 transforms the position into a French advanced-type structure, where we develop interesting chances on the kingside. We already discussed 3...Nc6 in the first volume from the move order 2...Nc6 3.Bb5 d6, but I’ve analysed a second option – 6.h3 instead of 6.c3. The point is to limit Black’s piece activity by suppressing the scope of the c8-bishop.
It was a bit harder to choose between 3.c3 or 3.g3 against 2...e6 – so I analysed both! The former transposes to an Alapin where my recommendations generally revolve around generating an attack against Black’s king – this is even attempted in the more ‘positional’ lines after 3...d5 4.exd5 Qxd5. The latter aims for a slower build-up before striking in the centre with d2-d4. Particular attention is given to Black’s attempts to generate immediate activity with a ...d7-d5 push, and I think my analysis here makes Black’s path to equality extremely narrow.
Finally, I thought it was important to also consider the less popular second moves (2...g6, 2...a6, and 2...Nf6). In particular, I examined both 3.c3 and 3.c4 against 2...g6. The latter transposes to an Accelerated Dragon, which I can justify including in an Anti-Sicilian book as I believe it’s correct to enter an ‘Open-Sicilian’ type position if it benefits us. This approach has been emphasised across both volumes and it is made especially clear in the chapter against 2...g6.
The Pirc Defence and the Modern Defence are two naturally entwined chess openings that are both flexible and rich in strategic and tactical ideas. They feature in the repertoire of great players like Grischuk, Ivanchuk, Nakamura and Carlsen.
In The Perfect Pirc-Modern, Viktor Moskalenko, a renowned propagator of dynamic chess who has championed the Pirc-Modern for many years, explains:
- the ideas and plans that matter
- the various pawn structures and how to handle them
- tricky transpositions: opportunities and risks
- a wealth of new resources for both Black and White.
In this updated version of Moskalenko’s 2013 book of the same name, 33 of the 42 games are new, the structure has been updated in places, and there are fresh ideas on every page.
Moskalenko expertly guides you through this ground-breaking opening book with the enthusiasm, ease and humour that characterize his style.
Viktor Moskalenko (1960) is an International Grandmaster and a well-known chess coach. The former Ukraine champion has won many tournaments in Spain, his current home country. For New In Chess, he wrote, among others, The Fabulous Budapest Gambit (2007), Revolutionize Your Chess (2009), The Diamond Dutch (2014), Training with Moska (2017), The Fully-Fledged French (2021) and Trompowsky Attack & London System (2022).
The Classical Slav provides a sound and active chess opening repertoire for Black based on 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4. White’s early deviations from move 3 onwards are also covered. Boris Avrukh has had the Slav in his repertoire throughout his career and has never lost a serious game with it.
This ebook is a part of Bundle: Avrukh Grandmaster Repertoire
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.
This ebook is a part of Bundle: Kotronias KID
I have chosen 1.e4 for various reasons. First and foremost, it is the move I have played for the entirety of my chess-playing life. In the database, I have recorded approximately 400 white games, of which 350 began with 1.e4! I have also heavily researched the openings covered in this volume, through my column ‘1.e4’ for ChessPublishing. Secondly, I believe that Black has a wider margin of error in the closed games than in the open games. Even if they do not know all the details of a certain line in the former case, they will end up with only a slight disadvantage in the majority of cases. The same cannot be said about the defenses to 1.e4. In this book you will find that Black must tread carefully if they play an offbeat system, as I have discovered several refutations to the most popular and widely accepted lines within them. For every opening, I have adopted the same method of research. Firstly I undertake a detailed examination of human games, alongside correspondence/email games, with particular regard to the highest percentage of White wins and the number of games played. The human games allowed me to gain a natural feelings for the practical elements of the opening in question, while the correspondence games (essentially human-assisted engine games) covered the necessary element of objectivity. The next stage consisted of my own engine analysis, using the Chessbase Engine Cloud to examine critical but unexplored positions. Finally, I engage as critically as possible with the existing literature, as I hope others will do with my work in the future. At the beginning of every chapter is an overview of the opening, which serves to give the reader some basic foundations and highlights the general concepts, extracted from the analysis section. If the reader is in need of a brief summary of a particular opening, I suggest you focus on the overviews. The analysis section contains the main body of work. The reader is not expected to memorize everything by heart; in fact, that is probably not a productive exercise. When going through a variation, it is best to stop at a point you think is appropriate, and that should always be the point at which you find that you have fully understood the position. Each subchapter ends with a model game, which gives the reader a simplified picture of the variation at hand. Similar to the overview chapter, this section is largely illustrative.
Initially things looked gloomy for Bobby Fischer. Because he had refused to participate in the 1969 US Championship, he had missed his chance to qualify for the 1970 Interzonal Tournament in Palma de Mallorca. Only when another American, Pal Benko, withdrew in his favour, and after the officials were willing to bend the rules, could Bobby enter the contest. And begin his phenomenal run that would end with the Match of the Century in Reykjavik against World Champion Boris Spassky. Fischer started out by sweeping the field at the 23-round Palma Interzonal to qualify for the next stage of the cycle. In the Candidates Matches he first faced Mark Taimanov, in Vancouver. Fischer trounced the Soviet ace, effectively ending Taimanov’s career. Then, a few months later in Denver, he was up against Bent Larsen, the Great Dane. Fischer annihilated him, too. The surreal score in those two matches, twice 6-0, flabbergasted chess fans all over the world. In the ensuing Candidates Final in Buenos Aires, Fischer also made short shrift of former World Champion Tigran Petrosian, beating the hyper-solid ‘Armenian Tiger’ 6½-2½. Altogether, Fischer had scored an incredible 36 points from 43 games against many of the world’s best players, including a streak of 19 consecutive wins. Bobby Fischer had become not just a national hero in the US, but a household name with pop-star status all over the world. Jan Timman chronicles the full story of Fischer’s sensational run and takes a fresh look at the games. The annotations are in the author’s trademark lucid style, that happy mix of colourful background information and sharp, crystal-clear explanations.
Invisible Chess Moves with its many unique examples, instructive explanations and illuminating tests, will teach how to discover your blind spots and see the moves which remain invisible for others. Your results at the board will improve dramatically because your brain will stop blocking winning ideas..
Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov, part 1 is the first book in a major new three-volume series. This series will be unique by the fact that it will record the greatest chess battles played by the greatest chessplayer of all-time. The series in itself is a continuation of Kasparov's mammoth history of chess, comprising My Great Predecessors and Modern Chess. Kasparov's historical volumes have received great critical and public acclaim for their rigorous analysis and comprehensive detail regarding the developments in chess that occurred both on and off the board.. This new volume and series continues in this vein with Kasparov scrutinising his most fascinating encounters from the period 1973-1985 whilst also charting his development away from the board.
Far from a dusty relic once played by great masters such as Rubinstein, Pillsbury and Bogolyubov, the Zukertort System now enjoys new life.
Daniel "Danny" Gormally (1976) became an International Master in 1997 and a Grandmaster in 2005. He was born in South Shields and was brought into the game of chess by his father at the age of 7. Besides distinguished tournament results he played for the England national team in European Championships and Chess Olympiad. Danny Gormally is also an acclaimed chess author and analyst.
Danny Gormally is a Chess Grandmaster stuck in a fugue state. He has forgotten how to analyse - blinded by the brilliance of chess engines, every time he gets stuck he turns on the machine. In this book he attempts to discover his love of analysis and the game of chess by attempting different methods of analysis and calculation. He asks what separates the analysis methods of an amateur player with a Grandmaster, and further still what separates the very best players from super computers. It all culminates in the mind-bogglingly complex "Impossible quiz" where some of the most skilled players in chess are confronted by extremely complex positions.
If that sounds off-putting it shouldn't be - Gormally breaks down the material in a way that is comprehensible to any amateur player.
Bent Larsen is one of the most celebrated chess players of the twentieth century. Larsen is the man who pushed Bobby Fischer down to Board 2 on the Rest of the World team in 1970. The Danish grandmaster had spectacular results, but chess fans appreciated even more his creativity and fighting spirit. For Larsen, a drawish-looking position was no reason to halt a game, as he had the ability to create magic out of thin air.
Learn from Bent Larsen is a labour of love by award-winning author Mihail Marin. This project was originally planned as one chapter in a book about several players, but as ever more gems emerged, it became clear that Bent Larsen deserved a book of his own.
Mihail Marin is a grandmaster from Romania. His books for Quality Chess have established him as one of the world’s finest chess authors.