The book presents new results of computer-chess research in the areas of selective forward pruning, the efficient application of game-theoretical knowledge, and the behavior of the search at increasing depths. It shows how to make sophisticated game-tree searchers more scalable at ever higher depths. Throughout the whole book, the high-speed and master-strength chess program "DarkThought" serves as a realistic test vehicle to conduct numerous experiments at unprecedented search depths. The extensive experimental evaluations provide convincing empirical evidence for the practical usefulness of the presented techniques.

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."

A book for chess players who want to build their skills on solid foundations. Yusupov guides the reader towards a higher level of chess understanding using carefully selected positions and advice. This new understanding is then tested by a series of puzzles.

Part of Starting Out series, this book revisits the fundamentals of the Reti, examining the key moves and plans for both sides. It explains the reasoning behind key moves and ideas. It is suitable for improvers, club players and tournament players.

A multinational array of top grandmasters explain the difference in thinking between professional and amateur chess players, and how the amateur can bridge the gap. It usually takes at least a decade of sustained effort for even the most talented player to reach the grandmaster level this book cannot guarantee to make the reader a chess grandmaster, but it is certainly a healthy nudge in the right direction. The editors, ex-British Champion GM Jacob Aagaard and three-time Scottish Champion GM John Shaw, have recruited a line-up of strong grandmasters to share their wisdom.

Wizards tend to be secretive and solitary, rarely sharing their knowledge, and associating with only a select few apprentices, followers, and henchmen. It is rare that they spend time in the company of other spellcasters, and rarer still that they work together. Now, however, something is about to take place that has not occurred since the great days of Felstad – a gathering of wizards.

In this new supplement for Frostgrave, some of the biggest names in gaming turn their creative powers towards the Frozen City, each contributing a scenario and adding their own flair to the game. Featuring scenarios by Alessio Cavatore, Alex Buchel, Andy Chambers, Gav Thorpe, Chris Pramas, Daniel Mersey, Andrea Sfiligoi, and many more, this tome provides a collection of adventures that will pit players against unimaginable foes and challenges, pushing their wizards and warbands to new limits.

Schach: das Spiel der KAnige, der GroA meister, der Superklugen. Aber auch ein Spiel mit eigentlich ganz enfachen Regeln. "Schach fA1/4r Dummies" ist mehr als eine bloA e EinfA1/4hrung in die Grundregeln. Lassen Sie sich zeigen, wie Sie die verschiedenen Spielphasen ErAffnung, Mittel- und Endspiel erfolgreich gestalten. Erfahren Sie Wissenswertes A1/4ber Computer- und Turnierschach. Lassen Sie sich von legendAren Partien und berA1/4hmten Spieler faszinieren. Dieses Buch begleitet Sie vom blutigen AnfAnger bis zum ausgebufften Turnierspieler.

A classic in its field, this is the essential, all-inclusive guide to today's card games, including poker, bridge, baccarat, solitaire, and dozens of others, as well as histories and variations in the games, odds, and tips on how to detect cheating.

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.

No opening in recent times has captured the imagination of the chess public more than the Sicilian Sveshnikov. Initially popularized in the 1970s, the Sveshnikov has exploded onto the chess scene at the highest levels and is now regarded by many experts as one of Black's most promising answers to 1 e4. One of its major attractions is that more often than not the opening leads to incredibly sharp and complex play. In such situations both sides must play with extreme accuracy just to stay on the board as a single slip may lead to disaster! This uncompromising and modern approach with the black pieces has found favour with many of today's leading Grandmasters, including Peter Leko and World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, while Garry Kasparov also began playing it towards the end of his career.
This book is a further addition to Everyman's best-selling "Starting Out" series, which has been acclaimed for its original approach to tackling chess openings. International Master John Cox revisits the fundamentals of the Sveshnikov, elaborating on the crucial early moves and ideas for both sides in a way that is often neglected in other texts. The reader is helped throughout with a plethora of notes, tips and warnings highlighting the vital characteristics of the Sicilian Sveshnikov and of opening play in general. "Starting Out: Sicilian Sveshnikov" is a perfect guide for improving players and those new to this opening.
*Learn how to play an ambitious opening
*Includes coverage of the fashionable Anti-Sveshnikov
*Written by an renowned opening expert

This hilarious collection of over 300 puns, one-liners, and classic jokes dedicated to the fun of RPGs is perfect for you share with your fellow gaming compatriots! Why don't dragons like to eat paladins? They taste lawful. Laugh out loud at over 300 zingy one-liners and eye-rolling puns with this collection of tabletop-based humor, dedicated to the fun of RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, and more! A Dragon Walks into a Bar gives you hours of funny content that will keep you smiling. Whether you use them as inspiration for your level 20 comedian bard to crack wise during battle or if you just want a giggle in between turns, this book has everything you've been looking for.

Will you survive the game of Mafia? Two teams compete in this delightfully deadly party game. Based on the classic role-playing strategy game, it's kill or be killed as innocent city folk pit their wits against a mob of ruthless international gangsters. Engage in a tangled web of intrigue, subterfuge, wild accusations, protestations of innocence and bluffing. Includes 24 street character cards, crime-scene notepad and definitive game guide with rules, case files, tactical tips and ideas for advanced play.

Fred Reinfeld-his name is known to almost every chess player in the United States. But his accomplishments? These are not so well known. Reinfeld was one of the strongest players of his time, ranking just below Reuben Fine and Sammy Reshevsky (against whom he had a plus score). He was an accomplished author of some of the best chess books of the thirties and forties. Fred Reinfeld was a respected numismatist, still recognized as a pioneer in the field sixty years later. He was an editor or major contributor to almost every major chess magazine of the thirties through the forties-Chess Review, Chess Correspondent, and Chess Life. This book is the first book on this remarkable man whose works have contributed more to chess than any other author. Many of Reinfeld's comments, ideas, and thoughts are quoted in their original context. Known his own time for the strength of his annotations, many are preserved here for the modern reader. Reinfeld lives!]

THE ULTIMATE CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR WANNABE SPIES: AN INTERACTIVE PUZZLE BOOK FROM THE CREATOR OF THE BESTSELLING CULT PHENOMENON, JOURNAL 29! In this brain-bending interactive game, you'll solve puzzles on every page, and obtain keys to move forward by submitting answers online. To solve each puzzle, you'll need to think outside the book. You are an agent of CY.P.H.E.R., the secret international agency working on 'unsolvable' code-based cases. Called upon to investigate cryptic clues discovered in the wake of a series of mysterious disappearances, the clock is ticking to crack the codes before it's too late. To escape this book, you must write, draw, search, fold and cut pages, explore virtual escape rooms and think laterally to identify the perpetrator and solve the mystery. All you need to play is a pencil, a pair of scissors, an internet connection, and a curious mind.

The second title in The Paperboys on Campaign series, some 46 pages of artwork enabling you to make French, British, Portuguese, Spanish, and several other countries' troops which fought for and against the Iron Duke in his epic campaign against Napoleon's forces.

Millennial Loteria took the world by storm with its hilarious and extremely relatable parody of Loteria, the classic "Mexican Bingo" game. Now you can take your obsession to the next level and play with up to 20 of your fave followers with this new expansion pack, which includes: - 10 new Millennial Loteria cards (Including 1 special "Shiny AF" card) - 10 extra playing boards - 80 extra bitcoin tokens OMG IMPORTANT INFO: This expansion pack only works when combined with the full Millennial Loteria game, which is sold separately. If you don't own it yet, add it to your cart ASAP!

En Garde! is a small-scale skirmish game based on the successful Ronin rules, in which small groups of warriors fight each other for honour or riches. Rather than just rolling a few dice, the rules allow players to make tactical decisions about how the models that they control will fight - offensively, defensively, or by applying special skills and abilities. En Garde! covers the conflicts of the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries, when black-powder weapons started to become common in battle but martial prowess still determined the outcome. Play as Border Reivers, Conquistadors, Landsknechts, Aztecs, French Musketeers, Caribbean Pirates and many more, in scenarios that evoke classic engagements of the genre. Simple campaign rules allow multiple scenarios to be played in sequence and permit warbands to develop over time. An appendix is also included to provide brief rules for supernatural creatures of the period - monsters, demons, revenants and witches - and new abilities and equipment to fight them, making En Garde! the perfect ruleset for gamers who want something a bit different from the norm.

Picture a typical scenario in which both players are gunning for each other's kings. Whose attack will break through first? Often it's a case of 'who dares wins', but it's not enough to throw your pieces up the board and hope for the best! To succeed you need to acquire sophisticated attacking and defensive skills. The good news is that they can easily be learned, remembered and put into practice. In this book, Lorin D'Costa presents a comprehensive study of opposite-side castling and the crucial techniques needed both in attack and defence. Studying this book will allow you to approach these frequent situations with confidence.

"To be passive... is fatal to the beginner or medium player - such players must be aggressive. He must attack, because only in that way can he develop his imagination, which is a very important thing." This quote comes, perhaps surprisingly, from Jose Capablanca, a world champion far better known for his brilliant strategic and positional play than his attacking prowess. This emphasizes the fundamental importance of having a clear understanding of how to build up and execute an attack. Every chess player loves to attack. Directing one's forces towards the enemy king, probing to create weaknesses and ultimately crashing through with a brilliant sacrifice is always a thrilling experience. However, attacking play must always be based on sound principles and carried out in a forceful and logical manner. This is not always a straightforward task. In this book, the highly experienced author and grandmaster Neil McDonald guides the reader through all the complexities of attacking play. Topics include: * Attacking a king trapped in the centre. * Exploiting weaknesses to develop an attack. * Preventing reinforcements from rescuing the king.

2093, Neo York. A dystopian technological marvel, where concrete high-rises brim with holographic neon, as gilded mob bosses, flashy CEOs, and famous vid-stars all strive to consolidate their power over the masses. And while the rain reflects the neon, it never washes away the grime and filth of the streets. Welcome to a world of synth-jazz and cybernetics, where the status quo grinds down the hard-working man and vat-grown clone alike. Whether you're the redemption-seeking gangster, the one good cop in a corrupt system, or the gene-modded musician trying to make it big, you'll be trying to get by in a city that just doesn't care. Epic fight scenes take centre stage in this game of stylised, high-octane bloodshed. Jump straight into the action with a unique ruleset designed to deliver a cinematic, neon-noir experience, as the spotlight focuses on the brutal showdowns that will define you - or leave you face-down in the dirt. So get ready to give them hell, as the sultry notes of the saxophone build into a crescendo of violence.

A poker primer from the hosts and stars of the World Poker Tour, offering basic strategy, trivia, and an inside look at this runaway hit. The World Poker Tour has revolutionized the game of poker by putting cameras under the table and raising awareness and enthusiasm to an international level. The World Poker Tour: Shuffle Up and Deal is aimed at the millions of passionate fans of the WPT, whether they're ambitious up-and-comers on the poker circuit, or casual players hoping to take the pot at their next Wednesday night game. Shuffle Up and Deal will be a solid poker primer, covering set-up, play, and basic poker strategy, along with many of the interactive elements of the WPT TV show: poker trivia, definitions of poker terms using examples from the show, profiles of WPT star players, insights into the world of professional poker, and an inside look at the show.

In this book, David Bronstein describes the chess personalities he has met in various countries over the past decade, and annotates 40 of his best games from this period. He also recalls the most significant events from his earlier career; gives his impressions of contemporaries such as Larsen, Spassky, and Korchnoi including a secret training match against the latter played in 1971; and expresses his outspoken views on modern chess.