A real mirror of 20th century creation, Chess Design presents an exceptional documentation on chess games made by artists, designers, architects, and craftsmen: chessboards themselves, but also artist's drawings, execution plans and photographs of archives. By presenting nearly 300 of these chessboards chronologically, the author offers a new perspective on the history of art and its evolution. Art Nouveau, Secession, Surrealism, Fluxus, Pop Art, most of the great movements that are born and follow one another in the Fine Arts find an echo with these chessboards and the 16 pieces that animate them. These chess games also reflect the evolution of techniques and materials used during this period: wood, glass, ceramics will give way, from the 1950s, to steel, plastic and composite materials. At the border between the plastic arts and the decorative arts, these chessboards are made by big names in the art scene, design or architecture - Alexandre Rodchenko, Jean-Michel Frank, Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, Alexander Calder, or, more recently, Yoko Ono, Robert Filliou, Yayo Kusama, Victor Vasarely, Zaha Hadid, Frank Gehry or Damien Hirst - as by anonymous people. The synthesis offered by the author constitutes a valuable and innovative historian's work, supported by iconography that is both rich and mostly unpublished. Text in English and French.

The Budapest Gambit is an ambitious and adventurous opening for Black, who offers a pawn as early as the second move in return for active and rapid development. It has always been a particular favourite at club level, where it still provides a surprise weapon, but it has also been utilized with success by top-class Grandmasters. In this book Timothy Taylor offers an in-depth study of the Budapest Gambit. He presents up-to-date analysis, makes recommendations for Black and White, and covers the typical plans for both sides. This book provides everything you need to know about this fascinating opening.

The Ruy Lopez is an incredibly popular opening at all levels of chess; this is perhaps unsurprising given that it's recognized by most experts as White's greatest chance of obtaining a lasting advantage after the moves 1 e4 e5. Also known as the Spanish Opening, the Lopez is steeped in rich tradition, having provided the battleground for countless clashes between World Champions of past and present: Kasparov, Fischer, Karpov, Topalov, Kramnik, Anand - the list is endless!
Given its immense popularity, one issue a prospective Lopez player has to face up to is the mountain of theory that has gradually developed over the years. In this book, however, Andrew Greet circumvents this potential problem by advocating a comprehensive and yet concise repertoire for White, one that can be assimilated into an opening armoury with relative ease. He also covers thoroughly the typical tactical ideas and strategies for both White and Black, arming the reader with enough knowledge to begin playing the Ruy Lopez with confidence in his or her own games.
*Written by a Ruy Lopez expert
*All black defences are covered
*Ideal for improvers, as well as club and tournament players
Andrew Greet is a young International Master, a former British Junior Champion, and is one of the UK's most rapidly improving players. In 2005 he scored a perfect 11/11 in the British National League, the first time any player had achieved this remarkable feat. He is also an experienced coach and writes regular articles for "CHESS,"

There's no denying that the opening is one of the most daunting phases of the game for newcomers to chess. There are literally hundreds of different opening lines, many with unusual sounding names, and some of these go up to twenty or so moves of theory. What is a chess player supposed to do: memorise countless variations? Don't panic In Discovering Chess Openings, John Emms argues that studying openings doesn't have to be hard work at all - indeed, it can be both enjoyable and enlightening. The key to successful opening play is not simply learning lines off by heart; instead it's the understanding of the basic principles, and here the reader is guided through the vital themes: swift development, central control and king safety. An appreciation of these principles and their many offshoots will actually allow readers to recreate and discover opening theory, giving them the opportunity to choose the most suitable lines to play in their 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 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

Two great books from the Everyman Chess Library, Starting Out: The King's Indian by Joe Gallagher and Starting Out: The Sicilian Dragon by Andrew Martin, brought together in one volume. ----- The King's Indian is one of the most exciting defences in chess and is favoured by ambitious and aggressive players. At the highest level it has been a major weapon for World Champions Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov. In this easy-to-read guide, Grandmaster Joe Gallagher goes back to the basics of the King's Indian, studying the key principles of its many variations. Throughout the book there are an abundance of notes, tips, warnings and exercises to help the improving player, while important strategies, ideas and tactics for both sides are clearly illustrated. ----- In Starting Out: The Sicilian Dragon Andrew Martin studies this famous opening in a simplistic way, introducing the crucial initial moves and ideas and taking care to explain the reasoning behind them, something that has sometimes been neglected or taken for grantedFew would disagree that the Sicilian Dragon is one of the most exciting, high profile and controversial openings in chess history. Right from the very beginning of the game Black chooses to unbalance the position, thus maximising his or her chances of playing for a win. The positions reached are dynamic and of a highly tactical nature, with both players very often going straight for each other's throats in search of a quick-fire knockout blow. In these razor-sharp encounters, it goes without saying that one slip by either side can prove to be fatal. Because of its aggressive nature, the Sicilian Dragon is very popular at all levels of chess, while it received an ultimate seal of approval when Garry Kasparov used it as his main weapon to beat Vishy Anand in a World Championship match.

Mikhail Tal was simply a chess phenomenon. The 'magician from Riga' stunned the chess world when he became the youngest ever World Champion (at that time) in 1960, and he won countless supporters for his scintillating tactical play and his infectious enthusiasm for the game. Tal's dazzling tactical style would often leave his hapless opponents in a state of shell shock. As former World Champion Vassily Smyslov once noted, 'Tal's appearance in chess had the effect of an exploding bomb, since his style of play was distinguished by extraordinary combinative brilliance.'
In this book Alexander Raetsky and Maxim Chetverik revisit Tal's brilliant victories. The authors have carefully picked his most famous and instructive games and combinations, ones which set the chess world alight with admiration. A study of this tactical genius is sure to entertain and benefit the aspiring chess student.
Includes Tal's most brilliant sacrificial attacks
Ideal for the attacking-minded chess player
Perfect for sharpening your tactical ability

Chess for Kids includes: - A comprehensive introduction to the king, queen, knights, bishops, rooks, and pawns and how each piece moves, attacks, and defends. - Detailed explanations of the basic rules of chess, tactics, strategies, mating patterns, and piece strategies. - Write-in, workbook activities to help kids 'learn by doing,' unlike other chess books which are text heavy and not interactive. - The best offensive and defensive strategies including how to find weak spots in your opponent's defense and how to close games when most of the board's pieces are gone. Learn the pieces, study the strategies, and checkmate all your opponents in this complete guide to mastering the game of chess!

By choosing the Fianchetto System against the Grunfeld, White aims to stifle Black's normal piece play. White avoids presenting Black with a target and instead looks to probe Black's sensitive queenside. White's strategy has been used to good effect by Karpov and Kasparov, reason enough to adopt it in one's own games. This new title offers the first complete coverage of this important chess opening and is ideal for King's Indian players looking for a way to meet the Fianchetto. It also includes up-to-the-minute theory from two top-class theoreticians. Grandmaster Adrian Mikhalchishin is a well-known Ukrainian writer and player, and arguably the worlds' leading expert on the Fianchetto Grunfeld. Alexander Belyavsky is also a Ukrainian grandmaster, who became World Junior Champion in 1973 and won the USSR Championship on many occasions. He has competed regularly and successfully in countless super-grandmaster events.

Together in one volume for the first time are Graeme Buckley's Multiple Choice Chess and Multiple Choice Chess Volume Two. Are you realising your chess potential? Multiple Choice Chess International Master Graeme Buckley helps you to find out. Through a series of instructive games where you must work out the next move and the tactics and strategies surrounding it, you can assess your own chess strength. In his second volume, 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. It's as simple as that!

Your performance at the board does not only depend on your pure chess skills. Being a winner also requires a mindset that is able to cope with lots of stress and setbacks during hours of uninterrupted concentration. Just like technical chess skills, mental toughness can be trained. There are simple steps you can take that will help you to better realize your potential. Professional mental coach and chess player Werner Schweitzer has been working with chess teams and individual players for many years. In this book Schweitzer presents practical tips and tools that will help you to improve your mental power during a game. You will learn how to: increase your concentration and stamina; recognize your own strengths and weaknesses; cope with losses as well as victories; increase your self-discipline when studying; handle disturbing thoughts and feelings during a game; boost your self-confidence; avoid underestimating (and overestimating!) your opponent; make better decisions while under pressure and other mental skills. These lessons and simple mental workouts will help players of all levels to unlock the full power of their brain and win more games.

The Sniper - based on a system of development with 1...g6, ...Bg7 and ...c5! - is a dynamic weapon for Black against both 1 e4 and 1 d4. Black allows White to occupy the centre but, in true hypermodern style, strikes back at once. The Sniper is a fascinating opening that can lead to original or barely-known positions in which White is thrown onto his own resources and Black can strive for the initiative. White also has to negotiate a minefield of transpositions, typically into Sicilian, King's Indian or Benko-type positions. Charlie Storey has spent years refining his favourite opening, testing it out successfully against players of all levels. In this book he reveals all his secrets and provides you with everything you need to know about this fascinating opening.

I look one move ahead...the best!A", Siegbert Tarrasch Chess is a wonderfully rich and complex game, but ultimately the goal can be simply defined as finding the best move, time after time. If you are able to do this, you will win your games. However, the million dollar question is: how can we give ourselves the very best chance of doing so? Per Ostman is convinced that there are three key elements that we require: first and foremost, a structured move-by-move thinking process; second, the desired skills to execute this process; and finally, traditional chess knowledge we can build upon. Ostman examines these three vital building blocks which form the basis of what we need to master. He describes in detail a clear thinking process he has developed over several years as a chess teacher, a process to guide us in our ultimate search to find the best move. *Improve your chess by structured move selection *Numerous examples to illustrate clear thinking processes *Covers calculation, planning and attacking skills *Includes opening, middlegame and endgame play

The Queen's Gambit Declined is one of the central pillars of chess opening theory. Virtually every world champion has played the opening with both the white and black pieces and it is a great favourite at all levels in chess. The reason for its enduring popularity is that it is rich in the classic strategic themes. Either side can end up with an isolated d-pawn, White can pursue a queenside initiative while Black counters on the other wing or White can attempt to build a powerful centre that Black hopes to undermine. ----- The Move by Move series provides an ideal format for the keen chessplayer to improve their game. While reading you are continually challenged to answer probing questions - a method that greatly encourages the learning and practising of vital skills just as much as the traditional assimilation of chess 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 chess while providing the best possible chance to retain what has been learnt. ----- * Everything you need to know about the Queen's Gambit Declined . --- * The Q and A approach emphasizes plans and strategies. --- * Written by an expert on the opening.

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.

Brought together in one volume, two Everyman Chess classics: Can you be a Positional Chess Genius ? and Can you be a Tactical Chess Genius? Test your tactical chess skills with a quiz book with a difference! Grandmaster James Plaskett, a player of distinguished tactical ability, has carefully assembled an abundance of chess puzzles to test players of all levels. At the beginning of each chapter the puzzles are relatively easy, worth five points for a correct solution. However as you move on they become more and more difficult, soon becoming worth ten points and eventually 15. If you get stuck, do not despair as help is at hand! You can ask a grandmaster to obtain the guidance you need. However, use this option carefully, as it will cost you some of your hard-earned points. You can also obtain points for finding the basic idea of the solution without necessarily working out all the refinements. Either on your own or with friends, this book will provide hours of brain-teasing enjoyment. Test your positional chess expertise with a quiz book with a difference! International Master and experienced chess teacher Angus Dunnington has carefully assembled an abundance of positional chess puzzles to test players of all levels. At the beginning of each chapter the puzzles are relatively easy, worth five points for a correct solution. However as you move on they become more and more difficult, soon becoming worth ten points and eventually 15. If you get stuck, do not despair as help is at hand! You can 'ask a grandmaster' to obtain the guidance you need to help solve the puzzles. However, use this option carefully, as it will cost you some of your hard-earned points. You can also obtain points for finding the basic idea of the solution without necessarily working out all the refinements. Either on your own or with friends, this book will provide hours of brain-teasing enjoyment.

3 Chess classics in one one volume. It's Your Move: This book provides the reader with a selection of puzzles to solve. However, unlike other books of the White to play and mate in three' variety, it simulates real game scenarios, offering readers a choice of tempting alternatives and requiring them to pick the best. It's Your Move Improvers: In this highly original and instructive test yourself book Chris Ward invites readers to solve a selection of carefully chosen puzzles. In this, the second book in the series, the positions are aimed at improving players, specifically the low level club players who are looking to hone their skills in order to climb further up the chess ladder. The reader is given a choice of five plausible plans for each position and has to decide which is the most likely to succeed. The answers then identify the most promising plan and explain why the other choices are less attractive. It's Your Move Tough Puzzles: The puzzles might be a bit more difficult this time but, in the same style of the previous two books, the reader is once again helped by the choice of five plausible plans and has to decide which is the most likely to succeed.

Grandmaster Alexei Shirov's best selling books, Fire on Board and Fire on Board Volume 2 are now brought together in a single volume. ln this collection of his best games from 1983 to 2004, Grandmaster Alexei Shirov shows why he is widely regarded as one of the most aggressive and inventive players of the modern era. lt contains a delightful selection of his favourite games, each of which is explained in detail, together with sections on tactical highlights and endgames. Special attention is devoted to the super-sharp Botvinnik variation, which Shirov has used to remarkable effect against the world's leading players. Since becoming a grandmaster in 1990, Alexei Shirov has firmly established himself amongst the world's leading players. His many tournament successes include first place at Munich in 1993 and equal second with Kasparov behind Karpov at Linares in 1994. His penchant for wild attacking games has made him a great favourite with the chess public, who see him as natural heir to another Latvian, the former world champion Mikhail Tal.