Study brings wisdom. Practice brings perfection. Following the highly acclaimed Mastering Chess Strategy and Mastering Opening Strategy, this book completes a trilogy of strategy books by Grandmaster and renowned chess teacher Johan Hellsten. In his new work Hellsten focuses exclusively on endgame play and covers every type of endgame: pawn, rook, minor piece and queen endgames. He examines not only the many fundamental positions that everyone needs to know, but also the key themes and characteristics of successful endgame play, including activity, creating and exploiting weaknesses, active and passive defence, fortresses and technique. Just like his previous two books, Mastering Endgame Strategy 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 endgame strategy *Includes 500 examples and 240 exercises *Ideal for both chess study and practice

A book by stalwart chess writer on an aspect of chess that is quite common, but little is written about, swindling in chess. In chess, a swindle is a ruse by which a player in a losing position tricks his opponent, and thereby achieves a win or draw instead of the expected loss. Renown chess writers Horowitz and Reinfeld observe that swindles, "though ignored in virtually all chess books", "play an enormously important role in over-the-board chess, and decide the fate of countless games". Andrew Soltis, American chess journalist, says swindles are not accidental or a matter of luck. Swindling is a skill. But there has been almost nothing written about how to do it, how to make yourself lucky in chess. Swindling means setting traps that exploit an opponent's over-confidence. It means choosing the move that has the greatest chance of winning, rather than the move that has the least chance of losing. Soltis' new proposal will explain to players of all levels how to do just that with plenty of examples to explain along the way.

Chess Developments is a brand new series providing state-of-the-art coverage of chess openings. Chess Developments focuses on critical lines, current trends, powerful new ideas and cutting-edge theory. It offers players of all levels the opportunity to increase their opening knowledge and understanding, and to expand and enhance their opening repertoires. The Sicilian Dragon is unquestionably one of the most popular and eagerly discussed chess openings. The main lines often lead to extremely complicated positions in which both sides attack freely, one slip could be fatal, and a deep knowledge of the opening theory and nuances could prove to be a decisive advantage. In this book, David Vigorito examines the most important and instructive Sicilian Dragon games in recent years. Vigorito is well-known for his opening expertise, and his work is always full of innovative ideas. In addition, his lucid explanations of the key plans and tactics will benefit all players. *Up-to-date coverage of the Sicilian Dragon *Packed with key new ideas and critical analysis *Written by a renowned opening expert

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 highlighting 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.

In the modern classic" Secrets of Spectacular Chess," Jonathan Levitt and David Friedgood shared their joy and appreciation of chess beauty, engulfing readers with a wealth of amazing and magnificent examples from the aesthetic side of the game. Moreover, they also showed how this fascinating subject could actually be analysed, and how this could help players to improve the practical side of their game.Now the authors have produced a much awaited and largely expanded second edition, in which they present further ideas and opinions, provide many new mesmerizing examples of games, studies and problems, and revisit previous material to explain how the theory has developed over recent years. This book really captures the imagination; read it and become hypnotized by the power and beauty of chess! *A new expanded edition, with 50% new material*An enthralling guide to the artistry of chess*Ideal for players of all levels

Everyman Chess are delighted to present two further offerings from their original and best-selling Starting Out opening series. The Classical Sicilian is one of Black's most popular and highly regarded opening choices against 1 e4, and it's been a favourite of such greats as Vladimir Kramnik, Alexei Shirov and Vishy Anand. White has a number of aggressive ways to battle against the Classical: the fashionable Richter-Rauzer Attack; Bobby Fischer's favourite, the Sozin Attack; and finally the wild Velimirovic Attack, and no work on the Classical would be complete without a study of these fascinating variations. The Grand Prix Attack is one of White's most aggressive ways of fighting the Sicilian. It leads to a sharp, complex battle from the very beginning, and White's play is characterized by its lightning attacks against the black king. The opening became a powerful weapon to use in the cut and thrust of weekend tournament chess, where victory is everything and draws are not enough. It steadily became more popular and even gained the seal of approval from some of the world's elite such as the UK's top two Grandmasters, Nigel Short and Michael Adams, who have both utilized it with success. Everyman Chess's Starting Out series has firmly established itself as the leading guide to studying openings for up-and-coming players. These books are distinguished by their easy-to-read layout, the lucid explanations of the fundamentals, and the abundance of notes, tips and warnings to help the reader absorb vital ideas. Starting Out opening books are ideal for enthusiastic chess players who have little experience of the openings in question and who wish to appreciate the essential principles behind them. *User-friendly design to help readers absorb ideas *Concentrates on the fundamental principles of the openings *Ideal for improvers, club players and tournament players

Wurden Sie nicht auch gerne einmal wie ein Weltmeister spielen? Es ist einfacher als Sie denken. Sie brauchen nur zwei Voraussetzungen: Ihr Gegenuber sollte mit 1. d4 eroeffnen und Sie sollten zuvor dieses Buch gelesen haben. Fast alle Weltmeister der Schachgeschichte haben immer wieder mit Erfolg Slawisch gespielt. Slawisch ist eine erstklassige Eroeffnung, denn sie verbindet solide Zuverlassigkeit mit der Aussicht auf dynamisches Gegenspiel. Dem Autor verdanken wir eine ebenso umfassende wie hochaktuelle Studie. Der gesamte Kenntnisstand der Literatur und jahrelange Turniererfahrung finden hier ihren Niederschlag. Alle wichtigen Ideen fur Schwarz und Weiss werden hervorgehoben und in ihren zentralen taktischen Wendungen ausfuhrlich analysiert. Dr. James Vigus ist FIDE-Meister und ehemaliger Britischer Jugendmeister. Er schreibt und rezensiert regelmassig fur das British Chess Magazine. Sein erstes Buch "Pirc fur Schwarz und Weiss" (englische Ausgabe: "The Pirc in Black and White") wurde in der Fachpresse als exzellentes neues Standardwerk gefeiert.

The Scotch Game is one of the oldest openings in chess and has a great history, but more recently it was catapulted back into the limelight due to the enterprise of World number one Garry Kasparov, who completely rejuvenated the opening with an abundance of original ideas for White. He utilized the opening in World Championship matches and other elite events, with very successful results. As a direct result of this, the Scotch Game, a dynamic and sharp opening, has once again become popular at all levels of chess.
In this easy-to-read guide, Grandmaster and openings expert John Emms goes back to basics, studying the essential principles of the Scotch Opening and its numerous variations. Throughout the book there are an abundance of notes, tips, and warnings to guide the improving player, while key strategies, ideas, and tactics for both sides are clearly illustrated.
"User-friendly layout to help readers absorb ideas
"Concentrates on the key principles of the Scotch Opening
"Ideal for the improving player

Inspired by both Daniel Defoe's 'A Journal of the Plague Year' (1722) and 'The King', an anthology of the witty and provocative chess columns of the Dutch Grandmaster, Jan Hein Donner, Ray Keene here collects his thoughts and writings on the year 2020 - both in chess and the wider world. His reflections include the impact of Covid-19 on the popularity of chess, the remarkable influence of the Netflix series 'The Queen's Gambit', the growing army of teenage Grandmasters, the online pivot of chess competition and the emergence of chess entrepreneurs, such as World Champion Magnus Carlsen and Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura.. Like Donner, Ray uses chess as a metaphor for observations on art, culture and civilisation.