This book is the first in a series examining the cutting edge of opening theory. The idea is to identify the most important theoretical battlegrounds of the moment and then analyse as deeply as possible in search of improvements. Thus the reader will be ahead of the current state-of-the-art, rather than lagging behind trying to memorise old games.

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

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.

The Four Knights has the distinction of being one of the oldest openings in the history of chess. In a kings pawn opening, both players bring out their knights before contemplating further development. Despite its deceptively peaceful appearance, the Four Knights can lead to wild gambit play as well as calmer positional waters, while adherents include the renowned tactician from Latvia, Alexei Shirov.
In this new book, International Master Jan Pinski delves into the secrets of the Four Knights for the first time, studying the tactical and strategic ideas for both white and black players. Pinski covers both the fashionable main lines and the tricky sidelines, bringing the reader right up to date with the expanding theory.
This book is written by a leading openings expert and covers both Whites and Blacks main options. It is a popular choice for club and tournament players

Many players, of all levels, use their chess study time to concentrate almost exclusively on the openings. Very few players spend much time at all studying endgames and this is almost certainly a mistake. Making a poor move in the opening might leave you with a slightly uncomfortable position. Making a poor move in the endgame can easily transform a win into a draw or even a loss. ----- If you want to make any sort of serious progress at chess it is vital to understand fundamental endgame play. Having an instinctive understanding of which positions are winning, drawing and losing is essential as it enables you to plan your endgame strategies with great confidence, knowing that you are heading for positions that are favourable to you. ----- In this book, Cyrus Lakdawala analyses all the fundamental endgame positions and carefully explains the methods needed to win the favourable ones and draw the unfavourable ones. ----- First Steps is a new series and is ideal for improving players who want simple and straightforward explanations. First Steps emphasizes: -----* the basic principles --- * the basic strategies --- * the key tricks and traps

The ChessCafe World Chess Champions Series Emanuel Lasker was a great chess fighter, thinker and researcher. He was possessed of gigantic playing strength, retaining the title of Worlds Number One Chessplayer for 27(!) years. Even after losing his crown, he kept his ability for a long time, as shown by his victories and prize-winning finishes in immensely powerful international tournaments when he was 54 (Moravska-Ostrava 1923), 55 (New York 1924), 56 (Moscow 1925), and even at 66 (Moscow 1935)! One of the chief postulates of the Second World Champion was the battle of honor. On the chessboard, lies and dishonesty have no place. These words of Lasker could serve, even today, as an example to every young chessplayer of how to relate to the Great Game. Emanuel Lasker was the first in history to achieve a universal style. This was a Style of the Future, which is why the Second World Champion would not be understood by many of his contemporaries, who believed that he had no style at all. Laskers games of chess, like his entire chess legacy, will live forever! Join Russian chess historians Isaak and Vladimir Linder as they take you on a journey exploring the life and games of the great world champion Emanuel Lasker.

Modern classic offers thorough, systematic analysis of the use of the queen, active king, exchanges, seven different uses of pawns, minority attackk, dynamic elements, much more. Analyses of 129 great games featuring Capablanca, Alekhine, Lasker, Botvinnik, Reshevsky, Bronstein, Smyslov, Spassky, other masters. Indexes of games and openings. 298 diagrams.

Tired of playing the same old openings? Bored with stuffy opening theory? A Ferocious Opening Repertoire provides a welcome antidote! Former American Open Champion Cyrus Lakdawala presents a range of vicious weapons for White in a repertoire which is perfect for those who have little time for study, but enjoy taking opponents out of their comfort zones and causing them problems from the very beginning. The repertoire's backbone is provided by the aggressive Veresov Opening (1 d4, 2 Nc3 and 3 Bg5) and this weapon is accompanied by equally hostile options against other Black tries such as the French, Caro-Kann, Dutch, Benoni, Pirc and Philidor. These weapons are ideal choices for those who revel in forcing opponents into chaotic, uncomfortable positions. 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 Play 1..Nc6, a complete chess opening repertoire for Black, Christof Scheerer, 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, Scheerer uncovers the secrets behind 1...Nc6 and divulges his findings to the reader.

Following on from the enduring success of one of the most important chess books ever written, Bobby Fischer: My 60 Memorable Games, and the recently released Magnus Carlsen: 50 Memorable Games, celebrated chess writer Andrew Soltis delivers a book on Fabiano Caruana, the Grandmaster set to rival current world champion Magnus Carlsen. This book details Caruana's remarkable rise from chess prodigy to one of the best chess player in the world, exploring how he acquired the skills of 21st-century grandmaster chess over such a short period of time. This book dives into how he wins by analysing 60 of the games that made him who he is, describing the intricacies behind his and his opponent's strategies, the tactical justification of moves and the psychological battle in each one.

The Caro-Kann has always been one of the most widely played openings among club and tournament players. This handy battle manual deals with the critical main line positions after 1 e4 c6 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 Nxe4. Highly regarded author Grandmaster Neil McDonald offers a comprehensive survey of the state of current theory for both White and Black players, explaining the basic elements, strategies and tactics for both sides. This guide covers one of the most fashionable chess openings in current practice. It is ideal for club and tournament players and it provides everything you need to know to start playing the main line Caro-Kann straightaway. (6 1/4 x 9 1/4, 144 pages, diagrams)

When should we exchange a piece in the endgame and when should we keep it? Why is it so important? How to make a right choice? Different types of endings and guidance on how to make the correct decision were the subject of my book The Correct Exchange in the Endgame. Two editions were very well accepted by chess players of different levels. I am especially happy that many chess coaches and teachers found it useful for their training programs. The book was announced as a silver winner of the Boleslavsky Award 2016 by the FIDE Trainer's Commission. Many readers and coaches expressed a wish to see more instructive exercises, so together with Thinkers Publishing we decided to make an exercise book. It can be widely used by chess teachers in schools, coaches in chess clubs and all chess players. Trying to solve 120 instructive exercises and then going through the correct solutions, you will certainly improve your decision-making ability and analyzing skills, as well as enrich your knowledge and understanding of the final stage of the chess game.

Bent Larsen was one of the most influential chess players of the 20th century. He was a four-time Candidate for the World Championship and the first westerner to seriously challenge the Soviet Union's post-war dominance of the game. Larsen was admired by fans for his creative and combative style. He was a risk-taker who always sought complex positions. He felt completely at home in defense and was an opportunistic attacker. While other grandmasters would shy away from offbeat openings, Larsen would embrace and develop them. In this book, former American Open Champion Cyrus Lakdawala studies his favourite Larsen games and examines Larsen's skills in the key areas of attack and defense, initiative, exploiting imbalances, accumulating advantages and endgame play. He demonstrates clearly how we can all improve by learning from Larsen's play. 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 practicing 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. *Learn from the games of a chess legend*Important ideas absorbed by continued practice*Utilizes an ideal approach to chess study

THE ideal chess book for the beginner THE ideal chess book for the improving player THE ideal chess book for the teacher. Absolute beginners can learn everything they need to know in order to play chess competitively. More experienced players will encounter deeper concepts and be able to approach chess from a new perspective, enabling them to take their play to the next level. Award-winning chess coach Erik Czerwin's unique training method begins by studying the simplest chess positions with very few pieces - and then moves on, step by step, adding more pieces to the board. Complex ideas are always built up from simpler situations, ensuring that the learning curve stays flat. With helpful exercises throughout, Fundamental Chess is the perfect book for every chess enthusiast.

What exactly makes the greatest players of all time, such as Magnus Carlsen, Bobby Fischer, and Garry Kasparov stand out from the rest? The basic aspects of chess (calculation, study of opening theory, and technical endgame ability) are of course of great importance. However, the more mysterious part of chess ability lies within the thought process. In particular: * How does one evaluate certain moves to be better than others? * How does one improve their feel of the game? This book will tackle this woefully underexplored aspect of chess: the logic behind the game. It will explain how chess works at a fundamental level. Topics include: * What to think about when evaluating a position. * How to formulate and execute plans. * How to generate and make use of the initiative. The reader also has plenty of opportunities to test their decision-making by attempting 270 practical exercises. These are mostly designed to develop understanding, as the justification of the moves is more important than the actual correct answer.

The Grandmaster Battle Manual explains how to be a more competitive chess player. Chess grandmaster Vassilios Kotronias has been a professional player for two decades and now he explains the secrets of his success. As a writer, Kotronias has the skill to explain in words what other top players can only express in long lists of chess moves. Improve your chess with a grandmaster guide.

The most complete collection of chess problems ever published, including 5,334 instructional situations, presented by the world's leading chess teacher

Chess analyzes more than 5,000 unique instructional situations, many taken from real matches, including 306 problems for checkmate in one move, 3,412 mates in two moves, 744 mates in three moves, 600 miniature games, 144 simple endgames, and 128 tournament game combinations. Chapters are organized by problem type. Each problem, combination, and game is keyed to an easy-to-follow solution at the back of the book, so readers can learn as they go. More than 6,000 illustrations make it easy to see the possibilities any position may hold. The book also includes the basic rules of the game and an international bibliography.

Chess is the ultimate book on winning the game."

An instructional book about the crucial questions that masters ask themselves before committing to a move - a checklist for all players to ask themselves before making their own moves.Beginners learn to ask themselves the key questions. As they improve, they ask more sophisticated questions: 'What did my opponent's last move allow me to do?", 'Where is his position weakest?", 'Should I take an irrevocable step now or wait?', 'What does my opponent want me to do?'. For chess master players these are almost subconscious checklist. Andy Soltis runs through the checklist of things to ask before making a move with fascinating and illuminating examples of real chess games, from Karpov to Judith Polgar, from Magnus Carlsen to Fabiano Caruana. A key to improving is to ask all of these questions and find the right answers, for players looking to improve. The advice of Chess Masters is good advice for all chess players and the best way to take your play to the next level.