Learn sure-fire tactics and combinations from one of the world's top chess players
Attack? Defend? Swap pieces? Tactics are the watchdogs of strategy that take advantage of short-term opportunities to trap or ambush your opponent and quite possibly change the course of a game in a single move. Why play in a fog, only hoping that your opponent will blunder when International Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan can show you how to put the tactics of the world's chess legends to work for you. Choose from the double attack, the pin, the skewer, deflection, the decor, x-rays, windmills and many more time-tested tactics.
Using classic board situations arranged in chapters by tactical themes, Seirawan teaches you how to:
Plan your entire game from the very first move
Think ahead, step-by-step, anticipating every obstacle your opponent can throw your way
Position yourself for the smashing combination and endgame you've always dreamed of
Board positions from actual games played by history's great chess tacticians are provided throughout. Review tests for each topic let you track your improvement. In no time you'll be playing better, with more confidence than you ever thought possible.

Details 59 brilliant games from the career of a correspondence world champion with his own notes, and provides insights into the processes of analysis and decision-making, as well as abundant study material. Packed with general chess wisdom and pertinent quotes from the great masters of chess.

A 2-4 player card game of trains, tracks, and tricky decisions designed by the award-winning design duo Brett J. Gilbert and Matthew Dunstan. In the sleepy English countryside, life continues undisturbed as it has for centuries. It is up to you to travel to every corner of this land, bearing the promise of modernisation, accommodating the oddly specific demands of the locals, and ushering in the age of steam. In Village Rails, you will be criss-crossing the fields of England with railway lines, connecting villages together, and navigating the complex and ever-changing demands of rural communities. Connect stations and farmsteads to your local network while placing your railway signals and sidings ever so carefully. Meet the exacting standards of cantankerous locals planning strangely specific trips, and weigh their demands against your limited funding. There is much to balance in this tricky tableau-building card game of locomotives and local motives. Players: 2-4 Playing Time: 45 mins Age: 14+ Contents: 122 mini cards, 50+ tokens, 4 scoring dials

For most chess-players, opening study is sheer hard work. It is hard to know what is important and what is not, and when specific knowledge is vital, or when a more general understanding is sufficient. Tragically often, once the opening is over, a player won't know what plan to follow, or even understand why his pieces are on the squares on which they sit. John Watson seeks to help chess-players achieve a more holistic and insightful view of the openings. In his previous books on chess strategy, he explained vital concepts that had previously been the domain only of top-class players. Here he does likewise for the openings, explaining how flexible thinking and notions such as 'rule-independence' can apply to the opening too. Watson presents a wide-ranging view of the way in which top-class players really handle the opening, rather than an idealized and simplified model. This volume, focusing on queen's pawn openings, is a book that will make chess-players think hard about how they begin their games. It also offers both entertainment and challenging study material in openings such as the Nimzo-Indian, King's Indian and the entire Queen's Gambit complex.

A bumper edition of puzzles from the home of cryptic crosswords... the Telegraph. In 1925, the Telegraph was the first quality daily to publish a crossword; here is the latest collection. Utterly addictive and entertaining, these fiendish puzzles are perfect for those who wish to pit their wits against the nation's best cryptic setters.

The Know the Game series is firmly established as the leading introduction to a huge range of sports and games. For 50 years they have been the first step into a new sport or game for many people, children and adults alike. The series has now been relaunched in a new format with a modern design - making the best even better. The aim has been to make the books more accessible, and they are now packed with colour photos and illustrations, top tips and interesting facts. Each book contains everything you need to know about the sport or game, including equipment, rules, techniques and training tips. There's even information on how to find a club and meet new people to play the sport or game with. And having been written and endorsed by the game's professional body, you can be sure that you are getting the best information available.

Learn how to play chess – the world’s most popular board game! Jessica E Martin helps you improve your skills through 35 fun activities – this isn’t just a textbook about the rules! Why not have a game of Face Off, all you need are two rooks and bishops of each colour, then battle it out to capture all of your opponent’s pieces, or try Rookie Cookie, where the rook can go as far as it wants and move in any direction? With Create-a-Mate you will learn the vital skill of following activity and working pieces as pairs. All the activities have clear, easy-to-follow instructions and colourful artworks so you can see exactly where pieces should be on the chessboard. There are also helpful hints and tips throughout, as well as a Starting Out section if you ever need reminding of a rule or have forgotten how a piece can move.

Video Games in Psychotherapy provides the reader with a practical session-by-session framework for using video games, interactive media, and gaming metaphors to help make the process of psychotherapy more engaging for today's youth. Using concepts from narrative, collaborative, cognitive behavioral, and other evidenced-based approaches to psychotherapy, the book gives examples of possible therapist questions, responses, and activities involving language and concepts that are appealing to young gamers. Addressing issues with psychophysiological self-regulation, anxiety disorders, and autism spectrum disorders, among others, this book uses multiple case examples to demonstrate each idea and is written in a way that is understandable for all mental health providers, regardless of their own familiarity with gaming. A review of over 40 popular video games with specific ideas for their use in psychotherapy is provided, allowing mental health providers to easily individualize therapy based on client goals and gaming preferences. Concepts for individual and group psychotherapy using games and interactive media, ranging from Pac Man to virtual reality, are also covered. Providing the reader with useful templates, worksheets, and other therapy resources, this book is a must-have for mental health providers working with children, adolescents, and transition-age youth.

In this fast-paced card game for 3-6 players, good dogs compete to be the very best! Players choose their favorite puppet to compete in a dog show, with ratings based on six categories: Floof, Sass, Boopability, Zoom, Ears, Wag. Play action cards to knock your opponents’ dogs down in the ranks, improve your own dog's ratings, and be named the goodest dog, but not to worry: no dog will ever be less than a 10/10!

This beautifully illustrated bingo game features 64 species of bugs from around the world. Identify all kinds of insects from the Giant Hawker Dragonfly to the Kissing Bug and the Orchid Bee to the Sacred Scarab mark them off on your card and bingo! Bug Bingo brings a fun and educational twist to the traditional game as players learn the names and colourings of both favourite species like the Honey Bee and more exotic bugs like the Vampire Moth. Contains one masterboard, 64 superbly illustrated bug tokens, 12 bingo cards and brightly coloured counters for you to mark up your card, as well as a leaflet containing basic information and a few quirky traits for all of the bugs featured. (Carries EU Toy Safety Directive 'CE' logo).

Play Cards and Learn About the Most Welcomed Garden Visitors! Anyone who enjoys nature, gardening, and bugs will love these striking cards for playing your favorite games or to use as flash cards. Inspired by Adventure Publications' popular guides to insects and bugs, this gorgeous deck features full-color photographs that showcase 54 of North America's most common and important pollinators to know. Bumblebees, honeybees, monarchs, tiger swallowtails, and more, the Bees & Butterflies Playing Cards help you begin to learn what each type of species looks like. Play card games like blackjack, poker, rummy, and solitaire while learning more about bees, butterflies, and even a couple of moths (jokers). The deck is a fun and thoughtful gift.

Noteable Black Women features 13 African-American women and explores their significant historical and cultural contributions.

The ancient city of Merv. A gateway between the East and the West. A hub of scholarship and trade. The greatest city in the world. In Merv: The Heart of the Silk Road players are vying to amass power and wealth in the prosperous city at the centre of the land. Through careful court intrigue, timely donations to the grand mosque, and securing favourable trade deals, players attempt to redirect as much of that prosperity as possible into their own pockets. Meanwhile, beyond the city walls Mongol hordes approach. If you help construct the city walls you give up on precious opportunities to build up your own stature, but leave it unprotected and you will burn with the city. Every decision is weighty and the consequences of each misstep are dire. Will you rise to prominence or fade into oblivion? Number of players: 1-4 Ages: 14+ Play time: 90 - 120 minutes Components: Board, 25 tiles, 48 cards, 100+ wooden pieces, 100+ tokens

32 cards with exclusive islands. Get to know the most beautiful private islands in the world with this special edition of Quartet. This fast, fun card game is filled with facts and stats, with cool categories such size, elevation, accessibility, average temperature, number of beaches and price. Filled with beautiful photos of private islands from all four corners of the globe, it's the perfect present for armchair travellers and luxury lovers alike

A complete refresher course for bridge players returning to the game in middle age, summarising the key changes to the game that have occurred over the last thirty years. Bridge is a game that people often decide to learn as empty-nesters. There are also those who learned the game when they were younger -- but while they would like to start playing again, they are nervous about how much the game may have changed. There are new ways of bidding, new conventions, and other things they will need to know before they are confident about playing even with friends. That's exactly the audience for this book -- those who are 'coming back to bridge'. It summarizes the key changes that someone who has not played for twenty to thirty years will encounter, and explains simply and clearly what they will need to know to be comfortable in the modern game. Skill level: Intermediate

Recruit new soldiers, face new foes, and explore the mysteries of the Carpathian Mountains in two new campaigns, one competitive and one for solo or cooperative play. High in the Carpathian Mountains stands the crumbling Castle Fier. Once home to a powerful warlord, the castle cast a dark shadow across the nearby villages, until crusaders attacked with sword and flame to put an end to its menace. Though history passed into folklore, the ruins of Castle Fier remained shunned by all as a cursed site. Now, horrors have been seen moving at night. An army gathers. Something has awoken in the ruins. With the political situation in the surrounding region becoming increasingly unstable, France, Prussia, Britain, and the other powers have dispatched their best agents to investigate the ruins, eliminate any threats, and acquire any treasures that could prove useful in the ongoing fight against the harvestmen... and each other. The Carpathians: Castle Fier is a supplement for The Silver Bayonet: A Wargame of Napoleonic Gothic Horror, in which the special units must fight their way through the ruins of a menacing haunted castle. It features two campaigns - one competitive and one for solo or cooperative play - as well as new monsters to fight, soldiers to recruit, and treasure to unearth.

Dip in to this pack of 50 illustrated cards to refresh and revitalize your senses. How much of the world's beauty have we become indifferent to, caught up in the bustle and rush of day-to-day life? Take a break from the madness, and from your smartphone, and rediscover the magic of the world around you. Surprising, engaging prompts will help you hone in and focus on the world around you and tune back in to the things that really matter.

____ *THE STRATEGIES BEHIND A SUCCESSFUL LIFE FROM THE LEGENDARY GRANDMASTER AND ADVISOR TO NETFLIX'S THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT, NOW WITH A NEW FOREWORD* 'In this book, chess is a teacher, and I aim to show it is a great one.' For over twenty years, Garry Kasparov dominated the world of chess. As the youngest ever undisputed World Champion, known for confounding his opponents at every move and breaking record after record, Kasparov was asked the same question time and time again: what makes a champion? Drawing on a wealth of revealing and instructive stories, from the most intense moments of his greatest games to the world-changing decisions of history's greatest strategists such as Winston Churchill and Steve Jobs, Kasparov reveals the strategic ways of thinking that always give a player - in the game of life as well as chess - the edge. PRAISE FOR GARRY KASPAROV 'I've never seen someone with such a feel for dynamics in complex positions' - Magnus Carlsen, World Chess Champion 'There is nothing in chess he has been unable to deal with' - Vladimir Kramnik, Chess Grandmaster 'Mr. Kasparov is not only one of the world's smartest men, he is also among its bravest.' - Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch

For over 100 years, the world's leading chess players and teachers have told their students to study the endgame. Now, for the first time, a revolutionary, richly instructive endgame book has been designed for players of all levels. This is the one and only endgame book youll need as you move up the ladder from beginner to tournament player and master. Designed to "speak" to a player in a very personal way, Silman's book teaches the student everything he or she needs to know at his or her current rating level, and builds on that knowledge for each subsequent phase of the players development. Starting at the beginners level, all basic mates are clearly and painstakingly explained. After that, the critical building blocks that form the endgame foundation for all tournament hopefuls and experienced tournament competitors are explored in detail. Finally, advanced endgame secrets, based on concepts rather than memorization, are presented in a way that makes them easy to master. The basic keys to a well-rounded endgame education -- Opposition, the Lucena and Philidor Positions, Cat and Mouse, Trebuchet, Fox in the Chicken Coup, Triangulation, Building a Box, Square of a Pawn, Outflanking, the Principle of Two Weaknesses -- are vital. But equally important is creating a love of the endgame, which is addressed at the end of the book with a look at chess tactics, minor piece domination, and a discussion of the five greatest endgame players of all time -- all things that every fan of chess at every level can enjoy. If you have found the endgame to be a mystery, if you have found that your confidence plummets once you reach an endgame, if you have searched for an instructive endgame book that will turn your weakest link -- your endgame -- into your personal field of power, your search is over. The book is the key to a world of essential ideas, startling beauty, and stunning creativity.

There's something hiding among us: an elusive cryptid is prowling our city streets. The evidence is clear but, without definitive proof, the scientific community will never believe you. There's nothing else to be done - you must track down this cryptid yourself! Play as a determined Scientist manipulating heat, movement, and sonic sensors to scan the city, identify your quarry's true location, and capture them. Or take the role of a Cryptid, snaking your way through the shadows and back alleys of the metropolis that surrounds you, eliminating all evidence of your existence as you go, desperately avoiding capture. Emerging victorious in this high stakes cat-and-mouse chase, played out across a sprawling urban landscape, will require all your ingenuity and foresight. Cryptid: Urban Legends is a tense asymmetric game of competitive deductive reasoning for two players from the creators of Cryptid. Players: 2 Ages: 14+ Playing Time: 20-40 minutes Contents: 41 cards, 10 plastic cubes, 9 plastic discs