This book is the first in a brand new series that follows on from My Great Predecessors and sees chess legend Garry Kasparov reflecting on a pivotal time in chess history. Bobby Fischer's spurt towards the chess summit (1970-1972) marked the approach of a new era affecting all aspects of the game and opening theory in particular. Fischer demonstrated the need for deep preparation with both colours, expanded the range of openings knowledge, and laid the foundations for present-day professional chess. The leader of the new generation, Anatoly Karpov, fully reaped the benefits of the Fischer revolution by mastering the lessons of his great predecessor. Of the players of the older generation, only Victor Korchnoi was able to achieve such a high level of professionalism. Alas, Fischer then left the chess stage. However, the tectonic shifts he had brought about led to the beginning of a genuine revolution in opening theory and a revolution that overturned traditional impressions about many typical positions. Between 1972 and 1975 alone, progress in the field of opening theory was more significant than in the entire preceding decade! Under Fischer's influence chess was radically regenerated, a process which then continued to accelerate. As a result, from the 1972 Fischer-Spassky world championship match to 1984 and the Kasparov-Karpov matches, the overall picture of chess openings changed almost beyond recognition. This fascinating book tells the story of this opening revolution. This story is told not only with the insight of Garry Kasparov, but also as seen through the eyes of the leading players who were at the forefront of the development of chess theory during those key years. The reader will witness at first hand how rapidly and inexorably chess development approached the coming computer era.

Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov: Part III is the final volume in a major three-volume series made unique by the fact that it records the greatest chess battles played by the greatest chessplayer of all-time. Kasparov's series of historical volumes have received great critical and public acclaim for their rigorous analysis and comprehensive detail regarding the developments in chess that occurred both on and off the board. The first two volumes in this series saw Kasparov emerging as a huge talent, toppling his great rival Anatoly Karpov and then defending the World Championship title on three occasions. This third volume focuses on the final 12 years of Kasparov's career up until his retirement from full-time chess in 2005. This period witnessed three further World Championship matches: wins against Short (London 1993) and Anand (New York 1995) before the loss against Kramnik (London 2000) which finally ended Kasparov's 15-year tenure as world champion. This period also saw Kasparov achieve a colossal 2851 rating (1999), a record which stood until 2013. Despite loss of the World Championship, Kasparov continued to be ranked as the world number one and dominated the elite tournament circuit. He won the Linares super-tournament for four consecutive years (1999-2002) with the fourth of these victories in 2002 concluding an unprecedented run of ten straight wins in the world's elite events (Linares 4, Wijk aan Zee 3, Sarajevo 2 and Astana 1). The games in this volume feature many masterpieces of controlled aggression played against the world's absolute best.

Are you struggling with your chess development? While dedicating hours and hours on improving your craft, your rating simply does not want to move upwards? Spending loads of money on chess books and DVDs, but feeling no real improvement at all? No worries - the book that you are holding in your hands might represent a game changer! Years of coaching experience as well as independent research has allowed the author to identify the key skills that will enhance the progress of just about any player rated between 1600 and 2500. Becoming a strong chess thinker is namely not only reserved exclusively for elite players, but actually constitutes the cornerstone of chess training, being no less important than memorizing opening theory, acquiring middlegame knowledge or practicing endgames. By studying this book, you will:- learn how to universally deal with any position you might encounter in your games, even if you happen to see it for the first time in your life, - have the opportunity to solve 90 unique, hand-picked puzzles, extensively annotated and peculiarly organised for the Readers' optimal learning effect, - gain access to more than 300 pages of original grandmaster thoughts and advice, leaving you awestruck and hungry for more afterwards!

This book contains games from every single female World Champion, as well as young up and comers, top seasoned professionals, streamers, and even a section at Beth Harmon from the recent famed Queen's Gambit hit show. This book is not just for girls and women, however. Any chess player can learn from these games and discover female chess history, both from the famous players in the past right up to the present day. How have these games been selected? It is at this point I can mention the real reason- my UK Girls chess project called 'She Plays To Win' (SPTW). This group has officially been going since April 11th 2020. I had the idea even a few years before, but I was not sure how it could be set up. The unfortunate events of worldwide lock-down provided the answer, as the switch to being online allowed me to offer zoom lessons for UK girls as well as weekly girls tournaments on the Lichess server. I do this for free and parents have never paid anything to get involved. Each week I cover a top female player and we analyse the game. Over the past year I have built up a large collection of games and tactics, which I felt could be published. It is the most up to date collection about women's chess covering a variety of ages and levels. After just one year, I have over 360 girls across the UK signed up, and a further 150 beginners in our new beginners program. I hope this is just the beginning.

For many chess players, opening study is sheer hard work. In this highly acclaimed series, Watson helps players achieve a more holistic and insightful view of the openings by explaining not only the ideas and strategies, but also the interconnections of chess openings in general.

Grandmaster Daniel King explains the basic elements, strategies and tactics of the popular English Defence, on which he is a renowned expert. This book, the first on the English Defence for many years, provides everything you need to know to start playing the opening straightaway. It focuses on explaining the key themes and provides a backbone of essential theoretical knowledge. This is an ideal battle manual for club and tournament players. (6 1/8' x 9 1/8', 144 pages, illustrations)

This book provides readers with all the essential information they need to learn chess and to start winning-quickly! The contents-tested and proven to work-leave little to chance. The reader learns the rules, how to apply them efficiently, the principles of winning chess, and how to visualize the board and pieces-all prerequisites for success. This is the first volume (Fifth Edition; time-tested for twenty-five years!) of the Comprehensive Chess Course Series: From Beginner to Master and Beyond. Each of its fourteen volumes stands on its own; together, they create a truly unique, and very practical, work.

Unhappy reaching passive or difficult positions with Black? Fed up with having to learn many different defences to all of White's attacks? Then these two books are the answer to the player's problems Together they provide Black with a complete repertoire against all White opening systems. Lines that are suggested in these books are sound, fun to play, and promise Black dynamic counterplay. All-in-one solutions that are easy to master, these books are especially useful for players who have neither the time nor inclination to learn reams and reams of the latest opening theory.
-- Complete defences to all White openings
-- Easy-to-learn lines are recommended
-- Written by battle-hardened experts

International Master Jacob Aagaard provides an all-in-one solution to the popular opening move 1 d4 and other White systems that do not involve 1 e4. Throughout this work, Aagaard delves into the strategies, ideas, and tactics for Black, while also showing the possible traps and pitfalls.

Matthew Sadler is one of the UK's strongest ever players. He became a grandmaster at 19, won the British Championship twice and, amongst other amazing achievements, made a gold medal winning score of 101/2/13 on board four for England in the 1996 chess Olympiad. In 2000 Matthew quite full-time chess. However, he re-emerged ten years later in 2010 to play a rapidplay tournament in Wageningen, Holland which he promptly won with 7/7. In 2011 he played in strong international events at Barcelona and Oslo and won them with the Fischer-like scores of 81/2/10 and 8/9 respectively. After a decade away from the game, these results are simply astounding. Matthew's extraordinary ability at chess stems not simply from natural talent but is based on a brilliant aptitude for studying the game. He understands exactly what needs to be studied and how to go about it. In this book he recounts how he organised his preparation for his 'comeback' and from his results the success of his method is self-evident. In this book Matthew shares his secrets and reveals how to: * Incorporate unorthodox openings into your repertoire * Study middlegame situations * Understand what is important in the endgame As well as being an exceptional player Matthew is also a fine writer who conveys his ideas with ease. He has previously written four books for Everyman with his book on the Queen's Gambit Declined winning the British Chess Federation Book of the Year award in 2000. Matthew currently lives and works in Holland.

Alekhine's Defence is a sharp and often underrated counter to 1 e4. Black immediately challenges the white e-pawn and tries to lure White into constructing a big central position. Black's hope is that White's central installations will become unwieldy and vulnerable to a middlegame counterattack. However, Alekhine enthusiasts must always be careful -- get it wrong and White will come crashing through Whether you want to play the Alekhine, or want to know what to do against it as White, this book will be an essential addition to your armory.
-- Up-to-date coverage of a dynamic counterattacking opening
-- Written by one of England's leading chess coaches
-- An ideal battle manual for club and tournament players

This handbook collects, for the first time, the state of research on role-playing games (RPGs) across disciplines, cultures, and media in a single, accessible volume. Collaboratively authored by more than 50 key scholars, it traces the history of RPGs, from wargaming precursors to tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons to the rise of live action role-play and contemporary computer RPG and massively multiplayer online RPG franchises, like Fallout and World of Warcraft. Individual chapters survey the perspectives, concepts, and findings on RPGs from key disciplines, like performance studies, sociology, psychology, education, economics, game design, literary studies, and more. Other chapters integrate insights from RPG studies around broadly significant topics, like transmedia worldbuilding, immersion, transgressive play, or player-character relations. Each chapter includes definitions of key terms and recommended readings to help fans, students, and scholars new to RPG studies find their way into this new interdisciplinary field.

Do you relish the prospect of setting your opponent awkward problems from the early start of the game? If so, you should just continue reading, for in the Bg5 Najdorf, it's every man for himself, and only the best informed and most creative resourceful player survive. The Bg5 variation gives White very dangerous attacking ideas, and Blacks really needs to know a precise defense to come out of this variation alive. This book provides weapons that are ideal choices for those who revel in forcing opponents into chaotic and uncomfortable positions. Lukasz Jarmula, a player and writer of international caliber, will be your truthful guide!

There arent many chess players who can say theyve both beaten Garry Kasparov in an official blitz game and crushed Peter Leko in a classical game in 26 moves. And who regularly win blitz tournaments high on marihuana. But then Manuel Bosboom is not an ordinary chess player. The Dutch International Master never made it to the top in chess, but over the course of his swashbuckling career he has produced an astonishing amount of brilliantly creative games. When Manuel Bosboom enters the room, a smile appears on every chess players face. Not only is he an exuberantly colourful player, he also leads an unconventional existence. His enthusiasm for the game and zest for life are highly contagious. This book offers a captivating collection of games and it also describes the adventurous life of the Wizard from Zaanstad, who grew up and still lives in a picturesque shed next to a 17th century windmill on the famous Zaanse Schans. You will be treated to many a stunning chess move, a wealth of hilarious but also touching stories and a vivid impression of the Dutch chess scene in the late 20th and early 21st century.

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.

One of the greatest rivalries in sports history. On 10 September 1984, Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov started their match for the World Chess Championship in Moscow. The clash between the reigning champion and his brazen young challenger was highly anticipated, but no one could have foreseen what was in store. In the next six years they would play five matches for the highest title and create one of the fiercest rivalries in sports history. The matches lasted a staggering total of 14 months, and the two Ks played 5540 moves in 144 games. The first match became front-page news when after five months FIDE President Florencio Campomanes stepped in to stop the match for reasons that still remain mysterious. A new match was staged and 22-year-old Garry Kasparov became the youngest World Chess Champion in history. His win was not only hailed as a triumph of imaginative attacking chess, but also as a political victory. The representative of perestroika had beaten the old champion, a symbol of Soviet stagnation. Kasparov defended his title in three more matches, all of them full of drama. In The Longest Game Jan Timman chronicles the many twists and turns of this fascinating saga. He includes his behind-the scenes impressions and takes a fresh look at the games.

One of the most popular and enduring campaigns of World War II is that of the Western Desert, where Allied armies beat back the hard-pressed German and Italian forces under the gruelling African sun. Covering crucial operations such as Crusader, Lightfoot, and Supercharge, and the great battles of Tobruk, El Alamein, and Gazala, this book brings the unforgiving battlefields of North Africa to the tabletop. In-depth information on the forces involved, linked scenarios, and new Theatre Selectors make this an ideal resource for any Bolt Action player with an interest in the Desert War.

For the past fifty years, Monday afternoons in New Haven have always been the same: Roz, Rhoda, Bea, Jackie and Bette - the Bridge Ladies. A card table with four folding chairs (and one dummy seat). A plate of homemade cookies or brownies on the kitchen counter somewhere, largely untouched. And once they begin the game, hours of silence, punctuated only by the sound of cards being plucked up or snapped down. As a child, Betsy Lerner thought the Bridge Ladies were fascinatingly chic, with their frosted hair-dos and shiny nylons. To the teenage Betsy, they seemed hopelessly square. As an adult, working in New York City, they were a relic of her past. But when her husband accepted a job in New Haven, she found herself right back where she started. Suddenly, the Bridge Ladies came hurtling back, their Monday lunch and Bridge Club still ongoing. They had accepted their lot in life and were, mostly, grateful. They didn't talk about their problems, much less those involving sex, relationships, or their children. On paper, they were unremarkable, even dull. But once Betsy started really looking at them, she realized that they were anything but. Wildly perceptive and, in turns, hilarious and fearlessly vulnerable, Lerner's memoir is required reading for anyone who has ever had a mother. And it teaches us an important lesson: Facebook may connect us across the world, but social media can't deliver a pot roast and it won't dry your tears.

Test your 80s knowledge with this awesome trivia card game! Do you know Boy George from your George Michael? Your Tetris from your Rubik's? Or your mullets from your Jheri curls? Then Best of the 80s: The Ultimate Trivia Challenge is the totally radical card game for you, containing 60 quiz cards spanning categories ranging from 1980s heartthrobs and artists to political figures, popular movies, dance moves and more. Challenge your friends and family to reveal their knowledge and discover who's, like, totally bitchin'!

After the success of his award-winning book Keep it Simple 1.e4 International Master Christof Sielecki is back. His new repertoire based on 1.d4 has a similar profile: variations that are straightforward and easy to remember, and require little or no maintenance. Sielecki has created a reliable set of opening lines for chess players of almost all levels. The major objective is to dominate Black from the opening, by simple means. You dont need to sacrifice anything or memorize long tactical lines. His main concept is for White to play 1.d4, 2.Nf3, 3.g3, 4.Bg2, 5.0-0 and in most cases 6.c4. Sielecki developed this repertoire while working with students who were looking for something that was easy to understand and easy to learn. This new 1.d4 repertoire may be even easier to master than his 1.e4 recommendations, because it is such a coherent system. Sielecki always clearly explains the plans and counterplans and keeps you focussed on what the position requires. Ambitious players rated 1500 or higher will get great value out of studying this extremely accessible book.

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. ----- The Catalan is a solid opening system in which White combines the Queen's Gambit with a kingside fianchetto. In recent years it has become an increasingly popular choice at all levels of chess, and elite grandmasters such as Vladimir Kramnik have developed major new ideas for both White and Black. The Catalan can lead to a wide variety of positions, open or closed, tactical or strategic, that will suit players of all styles. In this book, Grandmaster Neil McDonald invites you to join him in studying the Catalan and its many variations. McDonald shares his experience and knowledge of the Catalan, examines the main plans for both sides and provides answers to the key questions. ----- * Essential guidance and training with the Catalan --- * Important ideas absorbed by continued practice --- * Utilizes an ideal approach to chess study

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 Old Indian has a well-deserved reputation as a sound defense to 1 d4. Black employs an easy-to-learn system of development, seizes a firm foothold in the center and aims to create counterplay from a solid platform. In this book, Old Indian expert Junior Tay invites you to join him in studying the opening and its many variations. Using illustrative games, Tay highlights the tactical and positional ideas for both sides, provides repertoire options for Black and offers answers all the key questions. This book will tell you everything you need to know about playing the Old Indian Defense. *Essential guidance and training in the Old Indian *Offers repertoire options for Black *Utilizes an ideal approach to chess study

Enjoy these 40 expertly crafted micro-RPGs that are fast, fun, easy to learn, and come in a variety of genres-from space exploration to jungle dungeon crawlers-everything you need to pick up and play today. Get gaming fast with The Ultimate Micro-RPG Book including brand-new micro-RPGs created by experts across the gaming world. From space exploration to jungle dungeon crawlers this book has everything you need to pick up and play today. With these quick-start games, you can create your own adventures, alone or with friends, without any prep, and with minimal set up and pieces. Whether you're new to RPGs or working towards your level 20 mage, this collection is a great way to try out different games and systems, and test your roleplay skills on different character types and situations.

Chess puzzle books are undoubtedly popular - and with good reason. Solving chess puzzles helps to sharpen a player's tactical and combinational skills. This ability is absolutely fundamental for chess development. You won't get better at tennis until you can consistently hit the ball with accuracy and you won't get better at chess until you improve your ability to calculate. It is that simple and there are no shortcuts. Many puzzle books take a far too simplistic approach and offer endless positions where the solution is nearly always along the lines of: queen takes something check, king takes queen, check, check and a pretty mate. Aesthetically pleasing perhaps but of minimal use for actual improvement as the patterns are so familiar. Practical Chess Puzzles avoids this pitfall. The positions chosen are far more like those that actually appear on the board during the vast majority of games. Furthermore, at all stages, the puzzles are ranked, enabling the student to gauge progress and identify and correct weaknesses. * 600 puzzles featuring instructive, typically "game-like" positions * A ranking system to assess progress.