The very closely linked Slav and Semi-Slav Defences are two of the most popular and combative openings that Black can play against the Queen's Gambit. They have provided the battleground for thousands of exciting encounters between the world's chess elite, including Garry Kasparov, Vishy Anand, Vladimir Kramnik, Alexei Shirov and Alexander Morozevich. Players of all levels are attracted to the Slav and the Semi-Slav because they are solid, dependable defenses that do, however, promise abundant possibilities for dynamic counterplay.
In this easy-to-read guide, Grandmaster and openings expert Glenn Flear goes back to basics, studying the essential principles of the Slav and Semi-Slav Defences and their 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 Slav and Semi-Slav
*Ideal for the improving player

Nimzowitschs ideas about how to play better chess have had a profound influence on modern chess thinking. It is commonly agreed that almost every chess master in the world has studied Nimzowitschs work.

A game as complex as chess can be approached in an infinite number of ways. Nowadays, in the era of computer chess, GMs generally tend to focus their preparation on looking for playable ideas rather than outright refutations. In his second volume of work, Alex Ipatov once again shows his expertise and creative approach in this regard. The reader is presented with an abundance of interesting ideas for White which can pose real practical problems for Black.

Three classic titles from the Everyman Chess Starting Out Series in one volume. Starting Out: Queen's Gambit Accepted by Alexander Raetsky and Maxim Chetverik Starting Out: Queen's Gambit Declined by Neil McDonald Starting: Slav Semi Slav by Glenn Flear 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. The Queen's Gambit Declined is an opening of great historical importance and Black's fundamental answer to 1 d4. From the very first move Black obtains a firm foothold in the centre, something that White finds extremely hard to undermine. Indeed, Black often bases his entire strategy around this control. The soundness of the Queen's Gambit Declined has never been in question, and its supporters at the highest level include a long list of Grandmasters headed by Kasparov, Kramnik, Karpov and Short, as well as many World Champions from the past. The very closely linked Slav and Semi-Slav Defences are two of the most popular and combative openings that Black can play against the Queen's Gambit. They have provided the battleground for thousands of exciting encounters between the world's chess elite, including Garry Kasparov, Vishy Anand, Vladimir Kramnik, Alexei Shirov and Alexander Morozevich. Players of all levels are attracted to the Slav and the Semi-Slav because they are solid, dependable defences that do, however, promise abundant possibilities for dynamic counterplay.

From a theoretical backwater to a fully blown main line opening, the rise of the Scandinavian Defence (1 e4 d5) has been nothing short of meteoric. Over the past fifteen years the Scandinavian has become more and more popular both at club and Grandmaster level. It even managed to obtain an ultimate seal of approval when Vishy Anand employed it in his World Championship match with Garry Kasparov!
In this book Grandmaster John Emms explains the strategies and tactics of this dynamic and fashionable opening. Through the use of model games for both sides, the author provides a thorough grounding in the key ideas, so that players of all standards can quickly and confidently begin to use the Scandinavian in their own games.
This book provides a complete update of Emms's original and best-selling edition of The Scandinavian, published in 1997. Since then there have been many new and important discoveries from both sides of the board, and these are included here.
*Ideal for club and tournament players
*Explains the basic elements, strategies and tactics for both sides
*Written by a leading expert on the Scandinavian
*Provides everything you need to know to start playing the opening straightaway

The Semi-Slav defence has been one of Black's most reliable defences to the queen's pawn since the 1920's. Now, it is fashionable both at grandmaster level and with club and tournament players. Here, Grandmaster Matthew Sadler explains the strategy and tactics of this dynamic opening. Through the use of model games for both sides, the author provides a thorough grounding in the key ideas.

Endgames with kings, bishops, knights, and pawns are generally considered among the most complex and can seem quite bewildering to improving players. This is hardly surprising given that even Grandmasters have been known to struggle in some areas of these endgames, with some examples resulting in embarrassing failure to deliver elementary checkmates In this user-friendly book, Grandmaster and notable endgame authority John Emms begins with the absolute fundamentals of minor piece endings. This slowly but surely arms readers with the essential knowledge and confidence to move onto slightly trickier positions. Using examples from practical play, Emms highlights the correct procedures as well as the typical mistakes made by both attacker and defender. As is normal with the famed Starting Out series, there are an abundance of notes, tips, and warnings throughout the book to help improving players. Starting Out: Minor Piece Endgames is perfect for those who have previously honed their chess skills with the earlier books Starting Out in Chess, Tips for Young Players and Improve Your Endgame Play.
Key features:
*Covers all crucial minor piece endings
*Easy step-by-step guide to better endgame play
*Ideal for improving players
*User-friendly layout to help readers absorb the key ideas

Building on his ever creative ideas, Christian Bauer found a way to take a fresh look at the current status of the Alekhine Defense. It's clear that Christian has a definite weak spot for Knights. Surely you will appreciate his best efforts to bamboozle your opponents into self-destruction by using the Alekhine.

A comprehensive book for players of all ages, Grandmaster Kallai provides a straightforward guide to surviving the maze of chess openings, covering all the popular modern openings starting with 1 d4, 1 c4, and 1 Nf3, as well as some of the lesser known alternatives to 1 e4.Rather than present a mass of bewildering variations, Kallai concentrates on developing solid understanding of the ideas behind each opening.The companion volume to this book, Basic Chess Openings, covers all the openings starting with 1 e4, and is also available from Cadogan.

To achieve success in chess, a little talent is required, but it is even more important to have a thorough grounding in the different aspects of the game. This volume, which has sold well over a hundred thousand copies in its German edition, proceeds from the simple to the difficult, from checkmating with a couple of pieces to strategic planning. It has been used in numerous adult education classes, and is also highly suitable for private study. Rudolf Teschner is an Honorary FIDE International Grandmaster and a popular chess author, who for 38 years was editor of the magazine "Deutsche Schachzeitung".

Most players would rather attack than defend , with the result that defensive technique is often the weak est part of their game. This book, translated by Ken Neat, e xplains the basics of defensive play & contains many tests f or readers to practice on '

This book contains 50 elegant, witty chess problems concerned with deducing events in a game's past. Holmes instructs Watson in the intricacies of retrograde analysis, leading to increasingly difficult self-contained mysteries.

Alekhine's Controversial MasterpieceFinally in English For decades, Alexander Alekhine's account of New York 1927 was at the top of the list of works that should have been rendered into English but unaccountably were not. Not only do you have one of the greatest annotators of all time rendering some brilliant analysis, but he melds it with an exceptional agenda, an anti-Capablanca agenda. And since he wrote it after defeating Capablanca in their marathon match, he sounds like a sore loser who became a sore winner. So, this is just a mean-spirited book, right? Nothing of the sort. Alekhine goes beyond elaborate move analysis and offers deep positional insights and psychological observations. Nikolai Grigoriev, in his foreword to the 1930 Russian edition of this book, pointed out how Alekhine broke new ground by underlining the critical moments of each game. Why Alekhine's work was published in German, in Berlin in 1928, and not in English, is unclear. But now, after more than 80 years, it's finally available to the largest audience of chessplayers. It's about time.

Grandmaster Chris Ward explains the important ideas behind every major opening, unraveling among others the secrets of the Sicilian, the mysteries of the Modern and the fundamentals of the French. He emphasizes the need to understand the key elements of each opening rather than simply memorize a series of complicated variations that leave you stranded if the opponent varies from the expected route. This book deals with every important opening, focuses on the application of simple principles and has a revolutionary layout to help readers absorb the key ideas. (6 7/8 x 9 5/8, 144 pages, b&w illustrations)

The idea behind this book is for you to 'play' as in a real game, and it is my job to ensure you have a pleasant time while training. I suggest you take at least an hour and a half for each game and as your coach I will indicate when to guess the moves. Sometimes there will be suggestions - including tricky ones - to measure your concentration level. The ideas behind the moves are always explained. Points are awarded for the 'right answers' as well as for some other moves, and at the end there is a general assessment plus a review of some of the things to be learned from the game. During my coaching period I was able to witness how motivating it is for kids to receive points for the right answers, their 'lives are at stake' when they try to find the answers, and it is a challenge much appreciated by them. Later I also noticed a similar effect with adults although, unlike the kids, the older students try to hide it. The final score is not that important; it is not scientifically based. But of course the more points you get the better you 'would have played'. The effort you put into trying to find the best move every time is what matters most. I firmly believe it really helps to learn a little more about playing chess with every game. The methodology recommended for solving the exercises is the 'old-school' one of using a piece of paper to cover the text and scrolling down the page as you advance.

The Sicilian Kan is one of the most flexible and easy-to-play variations of the entire Sicilian complex. In contrast to opening monsters such as the infamous Dragon and Najdorf Variations, Black players are not forced to memorize massive chunks of opening theory. Success in the Sicilian Kan is more dependent on understanding certain principles and a system of development. Another point in its favor is that even more experienced White players are often flummoxed by Blacks elastic approach. Recently the Kan has received a seal of approval from the highest places, with both Kasparov and Kramnik employing it in the last couple of years.
In this book, Grandmaster John Emms considers both the popular main lines and the tricky sidelines of the Sicilian Kan. Using illustrative games, Emms guides the reader through the positional and tactical intricacies of this modern opening.
*Written by a leading openings expert
*Includes games from world class grandmasters
*An ideal weapon at all levels

An up-to-date and complete coverage of opening systems beginning with 1c4 written by a Soviet grandmaster and acknowledged expert in this line of play. After an apparently modest beginning the game can take either a strategical or tactical path into the middlegame. Whether you are attacking or defending, "The English Opening" is an attractive choice regardless of your individual style of play.

Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

Mikhail Tal, the 'magician from Riga, ' was the greatest attacking World Champion of them all, and this enchanting autobiography chronicles his extraordinary career with charm and humor

Tactimania is a chess puzzle book with a difference. Grandmaster Glenn Flear makes sure the puzzles are unfamiliar to the reader by selecting them only from games played by himself or his wife Christine. The puzzles start at a moderate level then get steadily more difficult. The reader will be challenged by the puzzles and entertained by the manga-style illustrations that feature throughout. Glenn Flear is a respected chess grandmaster, author and coach. Early in his career, Glenn achieved one of the greatest-ever chess surprises when, as a last-minute substitute, he won the London 1986 tournament ahead of a host of famous players. Glenn and Christine married during this event! Christine is a five-time French Women's Champion and their son James, a computer artist, created the illustrations.

Here... at long last... we have it. A new type of endgame book. A book which explains how to handle those positions that frequently occur in practical play but, curiously, are hardly ever the subject of theoretical works.
Most endgame books rely upon recycling established theory on basic positions, or concentrate on fantastical studies. This one is different. Well known Grandmaster and endgame expert Glenn Flear examines in depth all endgames which feature either two pieces for each side, or two pieces against one.
Why is this an important subject? Because these situations arise surprisingly frequently in practical play. For example, an examination of any big database will reveal that the endgame of rook and minor piece versus rook and minor piece arises in nearly 20% of games. That means that if you open with 1 e4, you are more likely to reach one of these endgames than you are to face the French Defence. And overall, every time you sit down to play a game of chess, there is nearly a 50% chance that you will reach one of the endgames covered in this book.
If you can handle such endgames well, your results will inevitably improve. This book will show you how.