Chess is an easy game to learn, but a difficult one to master. A study of tactical play and some practical experience can get a player to a standard where they are skilful enough to prevent both checkmate and material loss. However, to advance from here to a higher level it is necessary to tackle positional play. This can appear daunting. However, once the principal strategic ideas are recognized, then everything becomes clearer and the game becomes simpler. In this book Grandmaster and experienced chess writer John Emms provides the improving player with the fundamental knowledge required to enter very game with confidence.This book offers a complete introduction to chess strategy, important positional ideas and is ideal for club and tournament players. (6 x 9, 144 pages, diagrams)

This book provides a repertoire for Black with the ever-popular Queen's Gambit Declined. Opening expert John Cox covers not one but two key options for Black. The Tartakower Variation is a sophisticated defence used successfully by world champions such as Kasparov, Karpov and Kramnik. The Lasker Variation is an easy-to-learn and reliable option devised by one of the legends of the game. Cox also demonstrates how to play against White's other tries, including the Exchange Variation and Bf4 lines. He explains in detail the typical plans and tactics adopted by both sides, whilst also tackling the tricky subject of move-order possibilities. *A repertoire for Black against the Queen's Gambit *Provides answers to all of White's main options *Ideal for improvers, club players and tournament players

Everyone knows that the queen is the most dominant piece in chess, but few people know that the game existed for five hundred years without her. It wasn't until chess became a popular pastime for European royals during the Middle Ages that the queen was born and was gradually empowered to become the king's fierce warrior and protector.

"Birth of the Chess Queen" examines the five centuries between the chess queen's timid emergence in the early days of the Holy Roman Empire to her elevation during the reign of Isabel of Castile. Marilyn Yalom, inspired by a handful of surviving medieval chess queens, traces their origin and spread from Spain, Italy, and Germany to France, England, Scandinavia, and Russia. In a lively and engaging historical investigation, Yalom draws parallels between the rise of the chess queen and the ascent of female sovereigns in Europe, presenting a layered, fascinating history of medieval courts and internal struggles for power.

How does one determine the "best" chess games? What one may see as brilliant, another may see as simply necessary. Like some art lovers, chess fans claim that they know a good game when they see it, and that they know better from good. But "best"? How is this articulated? This book, itself a work of art, is brought together by the use of five criteria: the overall aesthetics (clever and relentless are insufficient qualities); the originality (e.g., not yet another white knight sacrifice in a Sicilian); the level of opposition (the loser played very well); the soundness (i.e., Are the moves refutable with perfect play?), accuracy (few of the moves are second-best), and difficulty (the winner overcame major obstacles) of the game; and finally the overall breadth and depth (one wants a series of sparkling ideas, with no dry patches). The 100 best games were taken from an initial field of about 7,000 played from 1900 through 1999 that had already gained some attention in magazines, books and periodicals. Three hundred games were then selected that appeared to have features consistent with the criteria. The 300 games were evaluated with scores - points given for each category of criteria. The games were then ranked, one to 100, by the score they received. No attempt was made to balance the selection according to period, nationality of players or opening. Also included is a chapter on the most overrated games of the twentieth century and one on games that would have made the list if...It includes 335 diagrams, an index of players and an index of openings by ECO codes.

Technology can be more than just practicalit can also be fun. And fun is exactly what youll have when you try geocaching. It's a high-tech treasure-seeking game that uses the Global Positioning System (GPS).

Because geocaching combines the outdoors, puzzles, and adventure, everyonefrom kids to kayakers, and retirees to rock climberscan easily become involved. You'll join a rapidly expanding worldwide network of people who hide containers of prizes in the wilderness, suburbs, and even in the middle of cities, then provide clues for others to discover them.

Borrowing from the classic pursuits of orienteering and letterboxing, geocaching can be as easy as a walk in the park or as challenging as scuba diving to a hundred feet. You don't need to be an expert in electronics, navigation, or even hiking to start. With this book, youll soon understand GPS technology, know how to find your way about, and be able to prepare for your next hike-and-seek adventure!

Initially things looked gloomy for Bobby Fischer. Because he had refused to participate in the 1969 US Championship, he had missed his chance to qualify for the 1970 Interzonal Tournament in Palma de Mallorca. Only when another American, Pal Benko, withdrew in his favour, and after the officials were willing to bend the rules, could Bobby enter the contest. And begin his phenomenal run that would end with the Match of the Century in Reykjavik against World Champion Boris Spassky. Fischer started out by sweeping the field at the 23-round Palma Interzonal to qualify for the next stage of the cycle. In the Candidates Matches he first faced Mark Taimanov, in Vancouver. Fischer trounced the Soviet ace, effectively ending Taimanovs career. Then, a few months later in Denver, he was up against Bent Larsen, the Great Dane. Fischer annihilated him, too. The surreal score in those two matches, twice 6-0, flabbergasted chess fans all over the world. In the ensuing Candidates Final in Buenos Aires, Fischer also made short shrift of former World Champion Tigran Petrosian, beating the hyper-solid Armenian Tiger 6"-2". Altogether, Fischer had scored an incredible 36 points from 43 games against many of the worlds best players, including a streak of 19 consecutive wins. Bobby Fischer had become not just a national hero in the US, but a household name with pop-star status all over the world. Jan Timman chronicles the full story of Fischers sensational run and takes a fresh look at the games. The annotations are in the authors trademark lucid style, that happy mix of colourful background information and sharp, crystal-clear explanations.

The Ghost Archipelago has returned. A vast island chain, covered in the ruins of ancient civilizations, the Archipelago appears every few centuries, far out in the southern ocean. At such times, pirates, adventurers, wizards, and legendary heroes all descend upon the islands in the hopes of finding lost treasures and powerful artefacts. A few, drawn by the blood of their ancestors, search for the fabled Crystal Pool, whose waters grant abilities far beyond those of normal men. It is only the bravest, however, who venture into the islands, for they are filled with numerous deadly threats. Cannibal tribes, sorcerous snake-men, and poisonous water-beasts all inhabit the island ruins, guarding their treasure hordes and setting traps for the unwary. In this new wargame, set in the world of Frostgrave, players take on the role of Heritors, mighty warriors whose ancestors drank from the Crystal Pool. These Heritors lead their small, handpicked teams of spellcasters, rogues, and treasure hunters into the ever-shifting labyrinth of the Ghost Archipelago. Using the same rules system as Frostgrave, this standalone wargame focuses on heroes who draw on the power in their blood to perform nigh-impossible feats of strength and agility. This game also includes 30 spells drawn from five schools of magic, a host of soldier types, challenging scenarios, treasure tables, and a full bestiary of the most common creatures that inhabit the Lost Isles.

Containing interviews with the developers of 36 of the coolest games in video game history from Deus Ex and Night Trap to Mortal Kombat, Wasteland and NBA Jam, The Minds Behind the Games gives you an inside look at how some of the most influential, iconic, infamous and forgotten games of all-time were created. From the painstaking hours at the computer developing to problems with mega publishers and with the media after release, The Minds Behind the Games gives you unparalleled access to the minds behind some of your favorite games. It will even introduce you to games that you never knew existed, but should.

This book fills an enormous void in chess literature. There are a countless number of players who are very happy to defend the black side of the Queen's Gambit or play the Nimzo-Indian, Queen's Indian, Bogo-Indian or Benoni. However, more often than not they have been forced to muddle their way through a whole variety of annoying sidelines White has at his or her disposal, including the dreaded Trompowsky, the tricky Blackmar-Diemer Gambit and the tiresome Colle Variation. Now finally help is at hand! In this unique book John Cox reveals everything Black players need to know about all of White's offbeat tries, presenting Black with no-nonsense answers to every white option. Read this book and you will be fully armed to deal with anything that White can throw at you. In fact, you'll have all the White players running back to the main lines!
*Covers all of White's options
*Written by an openings expert
*Ideal for club and tournament players

Play Cards and Learn to Identify Birds in the Northeastern United States! Anyone who enjoys nature, wildlife, and the great outdoors will love these cards for playing your favorite games or to use as flash cards. Inspired by Stan Tekiela's popular Bird Identification Guides, this gorgeous deck of playing cards features stylized photographs of 54 of the most fascinating bird species in the Northeastern states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont, as well as Washington, DC. Each card depicts stylized photographs of such birds as the Northern Cardinal, Indigo Bunting, Bald Eagle, and more--so you can begin to learn what 54 different species look like. Card Features 54 of the most notable bird species Stylized photograph on every card Ideal for card games or as flash cards Play games like blackjack, poker, rummy, and solitaire while learning more about birding. Get Birds of the Northeast Playing Cards for yourself, and you can also give this deck of cards as a fun and thoughtful gift.

The Richter-Veresov Attack is characterized by the moves 1 d4, 2 Nc3 and 3 Bg5. It is a great system for players who want to take their opponents away from well-known theory, force them into unfamiliar situations and make them fight on their own resources. There are various modern interpretations of the Richter-Veresov Attack which usual involve White playing f3 at some point. However, in this book, the highly experienced chess author and coach Cyrus Lakdawala focuses on the traditional treatment which generally eschews f3 in favour of more classical development with moves such as Nf3, e3 or even Qf3. In Opening Repertoire: Richter-Veresov Attack, Lakdawala guides the reader through the complexities and carves out a repertoire for White. He examines all aspects of this highly complex opening and provides the reader with well-researched, fresh, and innovative analysis. Each annotated game has valuable lessons on how to play the opening and contains instructive commentary on typical middlegame plans. * A complete repertoire for White to counter all replies. * The question and answer approach provides an excellent study method.

Are you tired of playing the same old openings again and again? Perhaps it's time for a change. This book features three opening experts who get together to take a look at the Dutch Defense, one of Black's most ambitious answers to 1 d4. It presents the Dutch defense in a different light.

This beautifully illustrated deck of playing cards is perfect for round after round of gin or Gin Rummy – or any other card game. Featuring illustrations of 40 gins from around the world, plus 12 gin-based cocktails, the deck is accompanied by a booklet giving detailed background to the world's favourite juniper-based spirit, the 40 gins themselves and recipes for all the cocktails. Perfect for a hand of cards or a handy refresher on how to mix a Tom Collins or Twisted Gin Fizz.

The subject of the book and movie Searching for Bobby Fischer, Josh Waitzkin has long been the top-ranked player for his age in the United States and a role model for chess-playing kids everywhere. Now, for the first time, Waitzkin reveals the aggressive tactics and psychological techniques that have propelled him to the forefront of the chess world. His unique introduction to the game combines solid instruction with stories about his personal experiences that capture all the excitement and tension of playing chess at the championship level.

Josh Waitzkin's Attacking Chess presents nineteen different offensive strategies, progressing from the most elementary, including forks, pins, skewers, and double threats, to the more advanced and sophisticated moves used by the world's best players. Chapters such as Minor Traps, The Seventh Rank and the Pig, Mating Nets, and Quiet Moves in Attack show how anyone can develop a more aggressive and creative style of play. Each strategy is illustrated with examples taken from actual games Waitzkin has played, described with all the gusto and competitive intensity this young master brings to his craft. You can feel the heat of battle throughout this action-packed manual -- it's guaranteed to entertain and inspire all students of chess who want to learn how to emerge victorious from the black and white jungle.

Smolen makes getting siblings, cousins, or neighborhood children of different ages together an easy task, providing a collection of outdoor and indoor games and arts and crafts projects adapted to satisfy the interests and skills of children of various ages simultaneously.

Leading expert Paul Booth explores the growth in popularity of board games today, and unpacks what it means to read a board game. What does a game communicate? How do games play us? And how do we decide which games to play and which are just wastes of cardboard? With little scholarly research in this still-emerging field, Board Games as Media underscores the importance of board games in the ever-evolving world of media.

Chess Secrets is a series of books which uncover the mysteries of the most important aspects of chess, such as strategy, attack, defence, opening play, endgames, off-board preparation and mental attitude. In each book the author studies a number of great players who have excelled in such aspects of the game, greatly influenced their peers and inspired all of us. In Great Chess Romantics, Craig Pritchett selects five players, whose artistic spirit expresses a personal commitment to the discovery and revelation of great new truths and beauty on the chessboard. Anderssen defined romanticism's inherently dramatic and correct combinational core. Chigorin championed this essence in splendid opposition to an emerging new classical consensus. Reti revealed the extraordinary power of new flank openings. Larsen confounded the overly sober, scientific Soviet school at innumerable turns. In the computer age, Morozevich constantly discovers new depths to chess, while simply oozing exquisite strokes in his best games.

From America's foremost chess coach and game strategist for Netflix's The Queen's Gambit comes the best chess drill book for beginners of all ages. From ever-popular chess instructor Bruce Pandolfini comes this entertaining, interactive, and effective book for teaching young chess players and other newcomers to the game. Filled with hundreds of questions and answers, fill-in-the-blanks, and true-or-false posers, Square One combines traditional chess drills with diverting games and problems to stimulate the analytical skills of beginners of all ages. Besides covering the basics-the board, moves, rules, and notation-Square One goes on to include information on attacks, checkmate, draws, and special rules, giving the beginner a broad overview of the game. With more than 200 instructional diagrams, and answers to all questions and problems, it is a complete workbook for chess players starting at square one.

First published in 1942, the late B.H. Wood's classic Easy Guide to Chess has been successfully used by thousands of chess players around the world. Topics covered include: the men, their moves, starting the game, the importance of pawns, how to record the moves, standard openings, and much more. This introductory book has been substantially revised for the first algebraic edition, which will bring the game to a new generation of young players.

How has a game brought together Americans and defined separate ethnic communities? This book tells the first history of mahjong and its meaning in American culture. Click-click-click. The sound of mahjong tiles connects American expatriates in Shanghai, Jazz Age white Americans, urban Chinese Americans in the 1930s, incarcerated Japanese Americans in wartime, Jewish American suburban mothers, and Air Force officers' wives in the postwar era. Mahjong: A Chinese Game and the Making of Modern American Culture illustrates how the spaces between tiles and the moments between games have fostered distinct social cultures in the United States. This mass-produced game crossed the Pacific, creating waves of popularity over the twentieth century. Annelise Heinz narrates the history of this game to show how it has created a variety of meanings, among them American modernity, Chinese American heritage, and Jewish American women's culture. As it traveled from China to the United States and caught on with Hollywood starlets, high society, middle-class housewives, and immigrants alike, mahjong became a quintessentially American game. Heinz also reveals the ways in which women leveraged a game to gain access to respectable leisure. The result was the forging of friendships within ethnic groups that lasted decades and the creation of organizations that raised funds for the war effort and philanthropy. No other game has signified both belonging and standing apart in American culture. Drawing on photographs, advertising, popular media, and dozens of oral histories, Heinz's rich and colorful account offers the first history of the wildly popular game of mahjong.

Attacking your opponents king is not just a shortcut to victory, its also one of the most enjoyable and gratifying experiences in chess. If you want to win more games you should become a better attacker. Studying typical attacking motifs and ideas easily brings dividends while you are having a good time. Michael Prusikin presents the prerequisites and the rules for a King attack in a lucid and attractive manner. In 15 thematic chapters he teaches you how to assess the nature of the position, identify the appropriate offensive patterns, find the preliminary moves and conduct your attack in a clear and effective way. Battering rams, obstructive sacrifices, pawn storms, striking at the castled position, sacrificing a knight on f5, Prusikin demonstrates the most important patterns of attack with lots of clear and well-chosen examples. Next, Prusikin tests your newly acquired insights and your attacking intuition with exercises covering all the themes and motifs. You will find that studying ATTACKING STRATEGIES FOR CLUB PLAYERS is both entertaining and rewarding.