The vast majority of chess games witness familiar strategies and well known tactical motifs. These are the games that you will find in the anthologies and opening repertoires. Sometimes however, games appear that seem to have been played on a different planet. Conventional strategies go out of the window. Familiar tactical themes are nowhere to be seen. Chaos has broken out. The pieces appear to be in open rebellion and are steadfastly refusing to do the natural jobs that they were designed for. Having to navigate a path in such a game can be a nightmare. Do you rely purely on calculation? Is it better to trust your instincts? Can you assess the position using "normal" criteria? In order to answer these questions, prolific chess author and coach Cyrus Lakdawala has assembled a collection of brilliantly unconventional and irrational games. The positions in these games appear almost random. Kings have gone walkabout, pieces are on bizarre squares, huge pawn rollers are sweeping all before them. Irrational chess is like nothing you've seen before. As well as being highly instructive this is a hugely entertainging book. Do not adjust your set. It's chess, Jim, but not as we know it.

Magnus Carlsen is arguably the strongest player of all time. His dominance is such that every loss comes as a shock. They remind us that even he has his weak moments. In fact, identifying the root causes of his losses holds valuable lessons for all players. Cyrus Lakdawalas search starts with a series of Magnus wins and draws to give the reader a feel for how incredibly difficult it is to beat him. The World Champions arsenal is awesome: a superlative ability to calculate, near-perfect intuition, probably the best endgame technique ever, a wide and creative opening repertoire, a willingness to unbalance the position almost anytime, and last but not least: his unparalleled will to win. How to Beat Magnus Carlsen has a thematic structure, which, together with Lakdawalas uniquely accessible style, makes its lessons easy to digest. Sometimes even Magnus gets outplayed, sometimes he over-presses and goes over the cliffs edge, and sometimes he fails to find the correct plan. And yes, even Magnus Carlsen commits straightforward blunders. Lakdawala explains the how and the why. Its wonderful to have a World Champion who is not just incredibly strong, but who is also happy to experiment and take risks. Thats what makes Magnus Carlsen such a fascinating chess player. And thats why he is the hero of this book. There is no doubt that Carlsen has examined all his losses under a microscope. If he benefits from this process, then so will we.

This series provides an ideal platform to study chess openings. By continually challenging the reader to answer probing questions throughout the book, the Move by Move format greatly encourages the learning and practising of vital skills just as much as the traditional assimilation of opening knowledge. Carefully selected questions and answers are designed to keep you actively involved and allow you to monitor your progress as you learn. This is an excellent way to study any chess opening and at the same time improve your general chess skills and knowledge. The Tarrasch is an ambitious defence to the Queen's Gambit. Black's concept is an aggressive one - he willingly accepts an isolated queen's pawn but in return seizes space in the centre and gains freedom of development for all his pieces. In this book, International Master and Tarrasch expert Sam Collins takes an in-depth look at this popular opening and its many variations. Using illustrative games, Collins highlights the typical plans and tactics for both sides, presents repertoire options for Black and provides answers to all the key questions. *Essential guidance and training in the Tarrasch Defence *Utilizes an ideal approach to chess study *Includes repertoire options for Black

The Queen's Gambit Accepted (QGA) is Black's simplest way of dealing with one of White's most fashionable openings, the Queen's Gambit. Black grabs the gambit pawn and thus refuses to succumb to the passive positions so typical of the Queen's Gambit Declined. This direct and uncompromising way of playing gives rise to dynamic positions where both sides have excellent chances to play for the win. It's no surprise that the QGA has attracted many high-class advocates, including Garry Kasparov and Vishy Anand. In "Starting Out: Queen's Gambit Accepted" Alexander Raetsky and Maxim Chetverik take a fresh look at this famous opening. The early moves and ideas are introduced and care is taken to explain the reasoning behind them - something that is often neglected or taken for granted. As with previous works in the popular "Everyman Chess Starting Out" series, the reader is helped throughout with a plethora of notes, tips and warnings highlighting the vital characteristics of the QGA and of opening play in general. Written by opening experts, this book covers the all the main lines and is ideal for the improving player.

All chess players are dazzled by the idea of gambit play, whereby one side sacrifices material in the opening to gain certain advantages. But do you have the nerve to gamble when it comes to practical play? Do you know when it's right to sacrifice and when it's better to err on the side of caution? In this book, Angus Dunnington aims to answer these questions and many more as he takes an in-depth look at gambits in the modern game. By using illustrative examples, Dunnington explores the key aspects of successful gambit play, whilst also underlining the reasons why some gambits work while others flounder. The book is a must for those wishing to sharpen up their opening weapons.
This book is a thorough education on gambit play and contains wild and aggressive chess. It is written by one of Britain's leading chess coaches

The hero has no advantage whatsoever but somehow manages to keep setting the opponent problems. Their opponent goes slightly astray and suddenly hero has a tiny advantage. It's not much but now that they have a little something to work with, they are in their element. They play accurately and remorselessly and make life incredibly difficult for their opponent. Suddenly, and almost imperceptibly, their advantage increases. Further tiny inaccuracies follow, hero turns the screw and bags the full point. Their opponent is left shaking their head, wondering where on earth they went wrong. This is the squeeze and the great champions have been capable of squeezing opponents to death. Jose Capablanca, Tigran Petrosian, Anatoly Karpov and, in the current era, Magnus Carlsen are legendary in this respect. How do they do it? How do they set problems in apparently sterile positions? How can they continuously manage to defeat world class opposition from positions that others would simply give up as drawn? In this book, Cyrus Lakdawala explains the mechanisms commonly used in squeeze plays. Using examples from the world's greatest strategic masters he unpicks the secrets of the squeeze.

This series provides an ideal platform to study chess openings. By continually challenging the reader to answer probing questions throughout the book, the Move by Move format greatly encourages the learning and practicing of vital skills just as much as the traditional assimilation of opening knowledge. Carefully selected questions and answers are designed to keep you actively involved and allow you to monitor your progress as you learn. This is an excellent way to study any chess opening and at the same time improve your general chess skills and knowledge. The Pirc Defense is a dynamic counter-attacking option for Black. The initial strategy is to allow White to construct an impressive-looking pawn center, but the plan is to attack this center later on with both pieces and pawns, with the ultimate aim of destroying it completely. This ambitious and provocative approach by Black carries some risk but it can often lead to rich rewards, and the Pirc has always been popular among players who are aiming for more than just dry equality. In this book, Grandmaster Nigel Davies invites you to join him in a study of the Pirc Defense and its many variations. He shares his experience and knowledge with the opening, provides repertoire options for Black, offers answers to all the key questions and tells you everything you need to know about playing the Pirc Defense. *Essential guidance and training in the Pirc *Written by a renowned Pirc expert *Utilizes an ideal approach to chess study

This series provides an ideal platform to study chess openings. By continually challenging the reader to answer probing questions throughout the book, the Move by Move format greatly encourages the learning and practising of vital skills just as much as the traditional assimilation of opening knowledge. Carefully selected questions and answers are designed to keep you actively involved and allow you to monitor your progress as you learn. This is an excellent way to study any chess opening and at the same time improve your general chess skills and knowledge. In this book, International Master Cyrus Lakdawala invites you to join him in studying the Scandinavian Defence. In recent years this opening has become a very popular choice for club and tournament players. Lakdawala focuses on the modern lines with 3...Qd6 - an approach championed by grandmasters and Scandinavian experts such as Sergei Tiviakov. Lakdawala outlines a reliable repertoire for Black, examines the major positional and tactical ideas, answers all the key questions and tells you everything you need to know about playing the Scandinavian. *Essential guidance and training in the Scandinavian *Important ideas absorbed by continued practice *Utilizes an ideal approach to chess study

"That is part of what I like in chess: it is psychological warfare at the board." Magnus Carlsen during an interview with the BBC, March 2013 In chess, more than in any other game, battles are won and lost in the mind. US National Master William Stewart is convinced that a positive attitude is crucial if you want to develop and achieve success as a chess player, and in this book he focuses on the vital subject of chess psychology. All the key areas of chess are covered here. Stewart highlights the principles of successful opening play and outlines an easy-to-learn starting repertoire. He also examines positional play, defensive resilience, typical mistakes and how to avoid them, tournament strategy, clock management, how to study chess and much more besides. This book is packed with tips and practical advice for beginners and intermediate players, and anyone wishing to improve their mental approach to chess. *An essential guide to chess psychology *Covers opening, middlegame and endgame play *Ideal for beginners and intermediate players

"Three Moves Ahead" shows how classic chess strategies address the #1 problem of Information Age executives: how to move quickly in the face of incalculable complexities and unexpected change. This witty and novel guide, written for non-players, is packed with scores of real-world examples showing how top CEOs use Grandmaster techniques to win on Wall Street. Readers will see how a "strong square" strategy drove Adobe's rise from niche player to industry giant, as well as Western Union's success through a hundred years of technology changes. They'll learn how AOL has played a crucial "exchange sacrifice" to revive its fortunes, and how Google is taking turf from Microsoft with a "minority attack." Most importantly these days, they'll find out "what to do when you don't know what to do," and avoid the fate of companies like Polaroid, Gateway, and our dearly departed Ma Bell.

"A fun ride from Apprentice to Business Grandmaster. Grab it "--Donald Trump

Bob Rice (Short Hills, NJ) was a long-time partner at Wall Street's prestigious Milbank, Tweed, Hadley, and McCloy. He left to start a software venture that was purchased by Viewpoint, a NASDAQ company of which he later became CEO. He is currently a Managing Partner of Tangent Capital, which structures financial products for hedge funds, and a member of the "New York Angels" venture finance group. Along the way, Bob served as Commissioner of the Professional Chess Association, founded the Wall Street Chess Club, ran numerous international chess events and produced a successful "Speedchess" series for ESPN.

Arthur Du Fuss, bitter, alone, and ignored by his neighbours, has two secrets: one dies with him when he commits suicide; the other is the vast wealth he amassed through the creation of a cult board game. Now his erstwhile neighbours receive a post-mortem invitation to the offices of a charismatic City lawyer to play a final version of the game; the prize - Arthur's fortune. As they dice with the devil, the game first exposes the fragility of their relationships, and then tears them apart, with tragic and horrifying consequences. But Arthur, too, must pay for his revenge. The old man learns that outstanding debts can still be called in, even when you are dead.

What separates the best chess players from the rest? What gives them the edge over their rivals? Chess legend Vladimir Kramnik believes it's their fighting skills and the ability to continuously find ways to keep a game alive. Colin Crouch agrees, and is fascinated that the world's strongest players seem almost unbeatable, even when games appear sharp and double-edged. In this book Crouch examines the tremendous fighting qualities of today's top grandmasters. Analysing key games from 2012, Crouch demonstrates how they give nothing away to opponents but are always alert to punish any slight errors, and crucially, how we can apply these lessons to help us in our own games. Move by Move provides an ideal platform to study chess. By continually challenging the reader to answer probing questions throughout the book, the Move by Move format greatly encourages the learning and practising of vital skills just as much as the traditional assimilation of knowledge. Carefully selected questions and answers are designed to keep you actively involved and allow you to monitor your progress as you learn. This is an excellent way to improve your chess skills and knowledge.

Half a century ago I left a country, the red color of which dominated a large portion of the world map. One way or another, the fate of almost every single person described in this book is forever linked with that now none-existent empire. Many of them ended up beyond its borders too. Cultures and traditions, and certainly not least of all a Soviet mentality, couldn't have just left them without a trace. Having been transplanted into a different environment, they had to play the role of themselves apart from certain corrections with regard to the tastes and customs of a new society. Nevertheless, every one of them, both those who left the Soviet Union, and those who stayed behind, were forever linked by one common united phenomenon: they all belonged to the Soviet school of chess. This school of chess was born in the 20's, but only began to count its true years starting in 1945, when the representatives of the Soviet Union dominated an American squad in a team match. Led by Mikhail Botvinnik, Soviet Grandmasters conquered and ruled the world, save for a short Fischer period, over the course of that same half century. In chess as well as ballet, or music, the word "Soviet" was actually a synonym for the highest quality interpretation of the discipline. The Soviet Union provided unheard of conditions for their players, which were the sort of which their colleagues in the West dare not even dream. Grandmasters and even Masters received a regular salary just for their professional qualifications, thereby raising the prestige of a chess player to what were unbelievable heights. It was a time when any finish in an international tournament, aside from first, was almost considered a failure when it came to Soviet players, and upon their return to Moscow they had to write an official explanation to the Chess Federation or the Sports Committee. The isolation of the country, separated from the rest of the world by an Iron Curtain, was another reason why, talent and energy often manifested themselves in relatively neutral fields. Still if with music, cinematography, philosophy, or history, the Soviet people were raised on a strict diet, that contained multiple restrictions, this did not apply to chess. Grandmasters, and Masters, all varied in terms of their upbringing, education, and mentality and were judged solely on their talent and mastery at the end of the day. Maybe that's why the Soviet school of chess was full of such improbable variety not only in terms of the style of play of its representatives, but also their different personality types. Built was a gigantic chess pyramid, at the base of which were school championships, which were closely followed by district ones. Later city championships, regions, republics, and finally-the ultimate cherry on top-the national event itself. The Championships of the Soviet Union were in no way inferior to the strongest international tournaments, and collections of the games played there came out as separate publications in the West. That huge brotherhood of chess contained its very own hierarchy within. Among the millions, and multitudes of parishioners-fans of the game-there were the priests-candidate masters. Highly respected were the cardinals-masters. As for Grandmasters though well...they were true Gods. Every person in the USSR knew their names, and those names sounded with just as much adoration, and admiration as those of the nation's other darlings-the country's best hockey players. In those days the coming of the American genius only served to strengthen the interest and attention of society towards chess, never mind the fact that by that point it had already been fully saturated by it. The presence of tons of spectators at a chess tournament in Moscow as shown in the series "The Queen's Gambit" is in no way an exaggeration. That there truly was the golden age of chess. Under the constant eye, and control of the government, chess in the USSR was closely interwoven with politics, much like everything else in that vanished country. Concurrently, the closed, and isolated society in which it was born only served to enable its development, creating its very own type of culture-the giant world of Soviet chess. I was never indifferent to the past. Today, when there is that much more of it then the future, this feeling has become all the sharper. The faster the twentieth century sprints away from us, and the thicker the grass of forgetting grows, soon enough, and under the verified power of the most powerful engines that world of chess will be gone as well. It was an intriguing, and colorful world, and I saw it as my duty to not let it disappear into that empty abyss. Genna Sosonko, May 2021.

Matthew Sadler is one of the UK's strongest ever players. He became a grandmaster at 19, won the British Championship twice and, amongst other amazing achievements, made a gold medal winning score of 101/2/13 on board four for England in the 1996 chess Olympiad. In 2000 Matthew quite full-time chess. However, he re-emerged ten years later in 2010 to play a rapidplay tournament in Wageningen, Holland which he promptly won with 7/7. In 2011 he played in strong international events at Barcelona and Oslo and won them with the Fischer-like scores of 81/2/10 and 8/9 respectively. After a decade away from the game, these results are simply astounding. Matthew's extraordinary ability at chess stems not simply from natural talent but is based on a brilliant aptitude for studying the game. He understands exactly what needs to be studied and how to go about it. In this book he recounts how he organised his preparation for his 'comeback' and from his results the success of his method is self-evident. In this book Matthew shares his secrets and reveals how to: * Incorporate unorthodox openings into your repertoire * Study middlegame situations * Understand what is important in the endgame As well as being an exceptional player Matthew is also a fine writer who conveys his ideas with ease. He has previously written four books for Everyman with his book on the Queen's Gambit Declined winning the British Chess Federation Book of the Year award in 2000. Matthew currently lives and works in Holland.

The revolutionary Wilhelm Steinitz (1836-1900) considered himself to be in the vanguard of an emerging, late-19th century 'Modern' school, which embraced a new, essentially scientific vitality in its methods of research, analysis, evaluation, planning, experiment and even belligerent fight. Steinitz, who dominated the chess world in the shadow of a more directly attacking, openly tactical and combinative, so-called 'romantic' age, established a much firmer positional basis to chess. A pivotal change! This book follows that story, both before and beyond Steinitz's early 'modern' era, focusing closely on the subtly varied ways in which the world's greatest players in the last two centuries have thought about and played the game, moving it forward. The author reflects on all sixteen 'classical' world champions and others, notably: C-L. M. de la Bourdonnais, Adolf Anderssen, Paul Morphy, Siegbert Tarrasch, Aron Nimzowitsch, Richard Reti, Judit Polgar and the contemporary Artificial Intelligence phenomenon, AlphaZero. Be inspired by this exploration of the 'modern' game's roots and trajectory!

* Jan Boekelman has produced you with a playable repertoire out of a somewhat sideline Opening, which nobody dared to touch to make it into an entire repertoire. * Try to expand your knowledge in the 3.c3 variation and go beyond the book's content * Deepen your knowledge in 3.c4 variation and do not play it before you know it well * Finally, follow the very strong GM Vladislav Artemiev, who has had a relatively successful run with this opening in rapid online events.

Study brings wisdom. Practice brings perfection. This book is the eagerly awaited follow-up to Johan Hellsten's acclaimed Mastering Chess Strategy. In this new book Hellsten focuses exclusively on opening play. He examines a wide variety of key subjects, including development, the centre, gambit play and punishing opponents' mistakes, providing the reader with a vital foundation in opening strategy. Just like his previous book, Mastering Chess Openings is a product of Hellsten's many years' work as a full-time chess teacher, and is specifically designed as part of a structured training programme to improve strategic thinking. In addition to the many examples there's an abundance of carefully selected exercises which allow readers to monitor their progress and put into practice what they have just learned. Following such a course is an ideal way for players of all standards to improve. Although designed mainly for students, this book is also an excellent resource for chess teachers and trainers. *An essential course in opening strategy *Includes many exercise games *Ideal for both chess study and practice

If you are aware of endgame patterns, you spot key moves quicker, analyse and calculate better, avoid making errors and memorise what you have studied more fully. Most of the patterns Jesus de la Villa presents in this new book are from the phase of the game just before a theoretical endgame turns up. Knowing these practical endgame fundamentals will enable you to fully reap the benefits of what you learned in De la Villas widely acclaimed classic 100 ENDGAMES YOU MUST KNOW. Studying patterns only makes sense if you are going to encounter them frequently. De la Villa presents those that have the greatest practical importance and explains and illustrates them with carefully selected examples. To show the patterns as clearly as possible, he mainly concentrates on positions in which both sides have just one piece. Presenting positions with more pieces risks blurring the picture and making motifs less straightforward. The fact that players think in patterns has an important side-effect: their endgame errors tend to repeat themselves. Thats why De la Villa has not just included examples from games of elite GMs but also of amateurs. Errors are always instructive and working with this book will seriously reduce the number of typical mistakes you are prone to make. The many practical exercises that De la Villa has selected will help you improve and retain what you have learned.

Anyone who plays 1 e4 as White must be prepared not only for Black's main defences but also an assortment of less popular lines. These, when taken together, represent a significant percentage of the replies you can expect to meet when opening 1 e4. Dealing with these slightly offbeat variations is often a daunting task, especially since your opponents are likely to be specialists in these lines and therefore know them inside out. This book provides the perfect solution. International Master Andrew Greet gets to grips with each of these tricky openings. He identifies how to exploit their weaknesses whilst avoiding their strengths, thus constructing a practical and dependable repertoire for White. This book covers everything a 1 e4 player needs to know about facing these defences. Written by a renowned opening expert, this book features full of original ideas and analysis. It is ideal for improvers, club players and tournament players.

Are you realizing your chess potential?
Are you performing to the best of your capabilities?
Find out in this book! Using instructive chess games, International Master Graeme Buckley repeatedly poses the question "What would you do here?" the reader is invited to step into a Grandmaster's shoes, work out all the relevant tactics and strategies of the game and select a move out of a possible four choices. A scoring system has been devised which can assess your playing strength according to the answers you give.
This book is written by an experienced chess teacher and each instructive game has been carefully selected. It is a sure way to increase your playing strength.

Chess has the rare quality that children love it despite the fact that it is good for them. Playing chess is just like life: you have to make plans, take decisions, be creative, deal with challenges, handle disappointments, interact with others and evaluate your actions. In this guide, psychologist and chess teacher Karel van Delft provides access to the underlying scientific research and presents the best didactical methods. Van Delft has created a dependable toolkit for teachers and scholastic chess organizers. What can teachers do to improve their instruction? How (un)important is talent? How do you support a special needs group? How do you deal with parents? What are the best selling points of a chess program? Boys and girls, does it make a difference? How do chess in schools programs fare in different countries? This is not a book on chess rules and moves, but it points the way to where good technical chess improvement content can be found. Van Delft offers a wealth of practical advice on the most effective didactics in order for kids to build critical life skills through learning chess.

Are you constantly struggling with the black pieces? Can't make up your mind which openings to play? Are you looking for something new: an all-in-one solution to your problems? Look no further!
In this original book, Christoph Wisnewski, who is renowned for his innovative and adventurous opening ideas, provides the reader with an ambitious and all-encompassing repertoire for Black against every main line opening that White can play, based on the initial move 1...Nc6. The principal components of this black repertoire are the uncompromising Chigorin Defence, a long-time favourite of the brilliant Russian Grandmaster Alexander Morozevich, and the equally tricky Nimzowitsch Defence, advocated by Britain's first ever Grandmaster, Tony Miles.
Drawing upon his wealth of practical experience in this opening, which has produced a remarkable success rate and some notable Grandmaster scalps, Wisnewski uncovers the secrets behind 1...Nc6 and divulges his findings to the reader. He examines both the critical main lines and the tricky sidelines, and provides a thorough grounding in the crucial tactical and positional concepts for both White and Black. Reading through this book will allow you to begin playing 1...Nc6 with skill and assurance in your own games.
*Coverage of a dynamic repertoire for Black
*Written by a 1...Nc6 expert
*Deals with all of White's main openings
Christoph Wisnewski is an International Master from Germany with a string of tournament successes to his name, including winning the 2001 Kiel Open. Despite his young age, he's already an experienced coach, having taught at the Internet Chess Club, the World's largest online chess facility, for six years.This is his first book for Everyman Chess.