Brought together in one volume as part of Everyman Chess's series of compilation books: Play the Najdorf: Scheveningen Style by John Emms and Play the King's Indian: A complete Repertoire for Black in this most dynamic of openings by Joe Gallagher. The Najdorf Sicilian is one of the most sharp, dynamic and popular openings that Black can play and is a firm favourite amongst the world's elite players, including world number one Garry Kasparov. From very early on, Black unbalances the game to a reach a position in which one can play for the win without exceptional risk. The soundness of the Najdorf has never been questioned, but some players can be put off by the ever-spiralling amount of theory amassed on this great opening. In Play the Najdorf, however, Grandmaster and openings expert John Emms condenses this mountain to produce a workable black repertoire against all of White's possible options. The King's Indian has always been one of the sharpest, most complex and popular openings that Black can play; it still provides the setting for many encounters at the elite level of Grandmaster chess. Straight from the start, Black fights for the initiative and in many variations, while White pursues material gains, it is Black who has the psychological advantage of trying to checkmate the opponent's king. Despite its many advantages, some prospective Kings Indian players are put off by the seemingly endless amount of theory one is supposed to learn. In Play the Kings Indian, however, Grandmaster and life-long Kings Indian devotee Joe Gallagher has produced a comprehensive and yet workable black repertoire against all of Whites most dangerous possibilities.

The Ruy Lopez (also known as the Spanish Game) is an extremely popular opening and one of the oldest in the history of chess. It has been played by virtually all the greats of the game, providing the battle scene for many world championship clashes involving the likes of Fischer, Karpov, Kasparov and Kramnik. Now, for the first time in many years, Grandmaster Glenn Flear investigates the main line of the Lopez, outlining the crucial ideas and tactics for both White and Black. Using illustrative games, Flear studies the fashionable and theoretical variations, plus the tricky sidelines. This book is perfect for those wishing to play the positions with either color.
*Written by a Ruy Lopez expert
*Up-to-date theory on the sharpest lines
*Ideal for club and tournament players

Many players are serious about their chess but become stuck at a certain playing strength. It's rarely a lack of talent or practice or opening knowledge that holds them back. Usually they get left behind because they don't know how to make best use of the time they have available to study chess. ----- This book addresses this problem and is your self-improvement plan. It shows you how to work on your own games to root out mistakes. It will sharpen your calculation of variations. You will be challenged to find the best middlegame strategy. Endgame technique is also covered in detail. All topics are discussed with numerous examples and puzzles from the games of modern players such as Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana and Viswanathan Anand. If you want your chess to leap forward it's time to Coach Yourself! ----- * A complete self-improvement programme. --- *All aspects of the game included. ---* Utilizes a structured approach, making the most of your study time.

This book in front of you assists all players in their efforts to improve, and along their way, our young chess guns provided fresh insights how to trap and trick your opponent in the opening and early middlegame. With the many computer-assisted learning tools available, the player's capacity to improve is limitless. This book offers the reader an insider's candid view of how to unbalance the game in the modern age of chess.

This volume helps beginners to develop a solid understanding of fundamental opening ideas, gives casual players the ability to choose the opening that suits their style and taste, is a tool for club players to test and review their opening repertoire, as well as a reference book to which advanced players keep returning. The authors do not propagate forcing tactical variations to be memorized mechanically, but explain what you should actually be trying to achieve when playing the opening of your choice. By highlihting important moves and key positions in color, Chess Opening Essentials helps you to get out of any opening in good shape and gives you a foundation on which to build your repertoire.

The Sveshnikov Variation of the Sicilian Defence provides a battleground for one of the key conflicts in chess: structure versus activity. Black voluntarily accepts a weak pawn formation but in return obtains easy development and excellent piece activity. This is a line that finds favour with aggressive, attacking players who are confident in their tactical ability. The idea of playing ...e5 in the Sicilian is an old one but the modern Sveshnikov treatment was developed in the 1970s, since when it has featured in the repertoires of numerous elite players. It is currently experiencing great popularity due to the fact that it was Magnus Carlsen's choice in his World Championship Match against Fabiano Caruana in London 2018. Carlsen's success with the line was a significant factor in his eventual victory in the match. Since then he has continued to use the Sveshnikov with great success. In Opening Repertoire: The Sveshnikov leading chess author Cyrus Lakdawala guides the reader through the complexities of this dynamic variation and carves out a repertoire for Black. He examines all aspects of this highly complex opening and provides the reader with well-researched, fresh, and innovative analysis. Each annotated game has valuable lessons on how to play the opening and contains instructive commentary on typical middlegame plans. * A complete repertoire for Black in the Sicilian Sveshnikov. * A question and answer approach provides an excellent study method.

Brought together in one volume as part of Everyman Chess's new series of compilation books: Play the Caro-Kann and Play the Slav. ----- In Play the Caro-Kann, International Master Jovanka Houska presents the reader with a concise and trustworthy repertoire within this move, providing a solution against all of White's main options, and efficient methods to deal with tricky sidelines. Houska examines the important tactical and strategic plans for both sides, arming the reader with enough information to begin playing the Caro-Kann with confidence in his or her own games. ----- The Slav has a well-deserved reputation as one of Black's strongest answers to 1 d4, and it's no coincidence that it has been used by almost all the World Champions in chess history. Put simply, the Slav is a classy opening, one which combines reliability with the promise of dynamic counterplay. ----- In Play the Slav, James Vigus presents a comprehensive and trustworthy repertoire for Black. He outlines the main ideas for both sides and highlights the tactics to watch out for. This book will provide you with enough knowledge and skill to play the Slav with confidence in your own games.

Everyman Chess present three new books in their highly praised and best-selling Starting Out series. The series continues with coverage of two very popular openings among club and tournament players: the Trompowsky Attack and the Torre Attack. Added to this, there's an updated and largely expanded edition of Starting Out: The Sicilian, the much acclaimed guide to the most popular opening in chess. The Starting Out series has firmly established itself as the leading guide to studying openings for up-and-coming chess players. These books are ideal for enthusiastic players who have little experience of the openings in question and who wish to appreciate the essential principles behind them.

For most chess-players, opening study is sheer hard work. It is hard to know what is important and what is not, and when specific knowledge is vital, or when a more general understanding is sufficient. Tragically often, once the opening is over, a player won't know what plan to follow, or even understand why his pieces are on the squares on which they sit. John Watson seeks to help chess-players achieve a more holistic and insightful view of the openings. In his previous books on chess strategy, he explained vital concepts that had previously been the domain only of top-class players. Here he does likewise for the openings, explaining how flexible thinking and notions such as 'rule-independence' can apply to the opening too. Watson presents a wide-ranging view of the way in which top-class players really handle the opening, rather than an idealized and simplified model. This volume, focusing on queen's pawn openings, is a book that will make chess-players think hard about how they begin their games. It also offers both entertainment and challenging study material in openings such as the Nimzo-Indian, King's Indian and the entire Queen's Gambit complex.

All 210 games from the greatest tournament since World War II. Smyslov, Bronstein, Keres, Reshevsky, Petrosian, 10 others; perceptive annotations by Bronstein. Algebraic notation. 352 diagrams. First authoritative English translation from the Russian.

No opening in recent times has captured the imagination of the chess public more than the Sicilian Sveshnikov. Initially popularized in the 1970s, the Sveshnikov has exploded onto the chess scene at the highest levels and is now regarded by many experts as one of Black's most promising answers to 1 e4. One of its major attractions is that more often than not the opening leads to incredibly sharp and complex play. In such situations both sides must play with extreme accuracy just to stay on the board as a single slip may lead to disaster! This uncompromising and modern approach with the black pieces has found favour with many of today's leading Grandmasters, including Peter Leko and World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, while Garry Kasparov also began playing it towards the end of his career.
This book is a further addition to Everyman's best-selling "Starting Out" series, which has been acclaimed for its original approach to tackling chess openings. International Master John Cox revisits the fundamentals of the Sveshnikov, elaborating on the crucial early moves and ideas for both sides in a way that is often neglected in other texts. The reader is helped throughout with a plethora of notes, tips and warnings highlighting the vital characteristics of the Sicilian Sveshnikov and of opening play in general. "Starting Out: Sicilian Sveshnikov" is a perfect guide for improving players and those new to this opening.
*Learn how to play an ambitious opening
*Includes coverage of the fashionable Anti-Sveshnikov
*Written by an renowned opening expert

1...e5 enjoys an excellent reputation as a reliable defense against White's most popular opening choice, 1 e4. However, anyone who is primed to face the Ruy Lopez must also be prepared to face a number of White alternatives. This collection of variations make up the Open Games and include not only popular choices such as the Italian Game, Scotch Game, Bishop's Opening, King's Gambit, Vienna Game and Four Knights, but also many tricky sidelines and some wild and wacky gambits. Many of these might not be theoretically strong but can be both daunting and dangerous for the uninformed player. In this book, FIDE Master Martin Lokander tackles all these lines head on and presents a practical repertoire for Black in the Open Games. This book tells you everything you need to know about facing the Open Games when White avoids the Ruy Lopez. *Essential reading for 1...e5 players *Every opening bar the Ruy Lopez is covered *Packed with new ideas and critical analysis

In this book, International Master Byron Jacobs explains the basic elements, strategies, and tactics of the Advance variation of the Caro-Kann Defense. Although this variation has always been popular with competitive players, it has lately received revived attention following its recent adoption by Vishy Anand, Alexei Shirov, and Veselin Topalov, who have used it to win several brilliant games. Inspired by their example, several other leading players have added the variation to their repertoires, and it is now perhaps the most fashionable way of meeting the Caro-Kann at all levels of play.

The Sicilian Defence is Blacks most ambitious and popular defence to 1 e4. Finding a suitable weapon against it has taxed many a grandmasters brain. Should White dive into the labyrinth of mountainous theory and complications, in which the player who knows the latest theoretical wrinkle is likely to prevail, or should White abstain and instead head for the more tranquil waters of the various Anti-Sicilians on offer? Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in-between! In this book, Grandmaster Nigel Davies tackles the Open Sicilian head on, but still develops an easy-to-use system for White based upon the fianchetto of the kings bishop. Davies arms the readers with an impressive repertoire which enables them to face the Sicilian Defence with renewed confidence.
*Covers all Blacks possible Sicilian defences
*Ideal for club and tournament players
*Written by an experienced openings expert

Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe." - Abraham Lincoln There's no escaping the fact: if you want to win chess games, you have to attack at some point. Many players are happy solving combinations in winning positions, when the hard work is already done, but the key to a successful attack undoubtedly comes much earlier. No-one can attack effectively if they haven't prepared properly, and yet planning in chess can be a difficult technique to master, even for experienced players. This book provides a solution. Using an abundance of illustrative games and examples, Gary Lane answers the questions which constantly puzzle players of all levels. Where are my opponent's weaknesses? Do I have enough pieces in the attack? When should I strike? Do I need to sacrifice? Should I cash in or continue to attack? Read this book, discover the answers and attack with confidence! *An essential guide to attacking chess*Introduces easy-to-learn techniques*Focuses on planning and strategy

Unhappy reaching passive or difficult positions with Black? Fed up with having to learn many different defences to all of White's attacks? Then these two books are the answer to the player's problems Together they provide Black with a complete repertoire against all White opening systems. Lines that are suggested in these books are sound, fun to play, and promise Black dynamic counterplay. All-in-one solutions that are easy to master, these books are especially useful for players who have neither the time nor inclination to learn reams and reams of the latest opening theory.
-- Complete defences to all White openings
-- Easy-to-learn lines are recommended
-- Written by battle-hardened experts

International Master Jacob Aagaard provides an all-in-one solution to the popular opening move 1 d4 and other White systems that do not involve 1 e4. Throughout this work, Aagaard delves into the strategies, ideas, and tactics for Black, while also showing the possible traps and pitfalls.

Once a chess player has figured out how all the chess pieces move, what is the next step on the chess ladder? This helpful and entertaining book provides players with the complete answer. In this easy-to-follow guide, renowned chess teacher Chris Ward explains all the crucial checkmating patterns, plus how to catch out opponents with an assortment of tricks and traps, commonly known as chess tactics. There is something for everyone in this book: improving players can benefit from learning the basic checkmates and the key tactics such as attacking and defending pieces, forks, pins, and skewers, while more experienced players can discover the delights of advanced checkmates and sneaky tricks, ones that can flummox even the world's best players!
Learning chess tactics is fun and one of the quickest ways of improving in chess, and it's even more enjoyable when opponents begin falling for these tricks! Read this book and, with the help of a Grandmaster, any chess player will be ready to unleash the weapons in their chess battles, whoever their opponent is.
>An ideal chess tactics and checkmates guide for the improving player
>Written by a distinguished chess author
>Full of notes, tips, and warnings to help the reader

For nearly fifty years grandmasters and amateurs alike have been making their annual pilgrimage to the World Open. Legendary organiser Bill Goichberg created the model of this iconic event in American chess: large entry fees, large prizes, and no-frills. Every year around the 4th of July, Philadelphia is the scene of countless epic battles at the board. Joel Benjamin and Harold Scott examined hundreds of games and conducted a series of interviews with what they call the Heroes of the World Open, players who won the tournament on multiple occasions. What they wanted to investigate was: why have some players been so consistent in their efforts, always battling for the top prizes? Benjamin and Scott discovered that many different paths were taken on the road to victory, but that the Heroes definitely had one common factor: their fighting spirit! The authors present the history of the World Open from its humble beginnings to the juggernaut it has become today. There are many entertaining stories and scandals that the reader will enjoy. This rich book holds a fantastic collection of the very best games that were crucial in deciding the outcome of the tournament as well as a selection of exciting tactics. WINNING THE WORLD OPEN is as entertaining as it is instructive. Not only the many thousands of players that participated will find it an irresistible read.

Chess Secrets is a series of books which uncover the mysteries of the most important aspects of chess, such as strategy, attack, defence, opening play, endgames, off-board preparation and mental attitude. In each book the author chooses and deeply studies a number of great players who have excelled in such aspects of the game, greatly influenced their peers and inspired all of us. ----- In Giants of Innovation, Craig Pritchett selects five chess legends whose play exemplifies outstandingly innovative attributes. Wilhelm Steinitz established the essential ground-rules for modern positional chess. Emanuel Lasker pioneered a new kind of total all-out battling chess. Mikhail Botvinnik taught us how to prepare and successfully play an entire range of complex modern opening systems. Viktor Korchnoi set particularly high standards in the art of defence and counter-attack. Vassily Ivanchuk, a modern byword for ingenuity and surprise, excels by constant creation. ----- n Great Chess Romantics, Craig Pritchett selects five players, whose chess artistry expresses a deeply personal commitment to the discovery and revelation of great new truths and beauty on the chessboard. Anderssen defined romanticism's inherently dramatic and correct combinational core. Chigorin championed this essence in splendid opposition to an emerging new classical consensus. Reti revealed the extraordinary power of new flank openings. Larsen confounded the overly sober, scientific Soviet schoolI at innumerable turns. In the computer age, Morozevich constantly discovers new depths to chess, while simply oozing exquisite strokes in his best games.

Reggio Emilia is a famous chess tournament in Italy. This book celebrates the 50th edition of this distinguished event. All the games are analysed, many of them by the players themselves: those sharing their chess wisdom include award-winning author Mihail Marin, rising star David Navara, and the legendary Viktor Korchnoi. Photographs and entertaining stories take the reader behind the scenes at a top-class chess tournament. Written by Mihail Marin and Yuri Garrett. Mihail Marin is a chess grandmaster from Romania. His previous books for Quality Chess have established him as one of the world's finest chess authors. Yuri Garrett is an Italian chess publisher and tournament organizer.

The Queen's Indian is a dynamic and flexible way to meet 1 d4, and it leads to complex and intricate positions rich in ideas both sides. Such is the high regard for the Queen's Indian that virtually all the world's top players have utilized it at one time or another. In this book Andrew Greet presents a complete repertoire for Black. He reveals his secrets, offers answers against all of White's possibilities, and highlights the principal tactical and positional plans. This book tells you everything you need to know to play the Queen's Indian with confidence.

The Advance Variation is a popular and direct way of meeting the ultra-solid French Defence. Very early on in the game White opts to fix the pawn structure and establishes a genuine space advantage, upon which he later hopes to mount a serious attack. This method of playing against the French Defence has become a firm FAVORITE amongst uncompromising Grandmasters such as Alexei Shirov, England's Nigel Short and the rising star in Russia, Alexander Grischuk.
In this book openings expert Sam Collins explains the strategy and tactics of this dynamic opening, studying both the main lines as well as the more offbeat variations. Through the use of model games for both White and Black, he provides a thorough grounding in the key plans and ideas, so that readers can quickly and confidently begin to use the French Advance in their own games.
*Ideal for club and tournament players
*Explains the basic elements, strategies and tactics for both sides
*Provides everything you need to know to start playing the opening straight away
Sam Collins is a former Irish Champion who has represented his country at various team tournaments around the world, winning the individual gold medal at the 2002 Bled Chess Olympiad. Despite his young age, he already has a wealth of writing experience, being a regular columnist for CHESS, Chess Mail and Chess Today, while he has also coached some of Ireland's top junior players. This is his first book for Everyman Chess.