Inspired by both Daniel Defoe's 'A Journal of the Plague Year' (1722) and 'The King', an anthology of the witty and provocative chess columns of the Dutch Grandmaster, Jan Hein Donner, Ray Keene here collects his thoughts and writings on the year 2020 - both in chess and the wider world. His reflections include the impact of Covid-19 on the popularity of chess, the remarkable influence of the Netflix series 'The Queen's Gambit', the growing army of teenage Grandmasters, the online pivot of chess competition and the emergence of chess entrepreneurs, such as World Champion Magnus Carlsen and Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura.. Like Donner, Ray uses chess as a metaphor for observations on art, culture and civilisation.

Following on from the long success of one of the most important chess books ever written, Bobby Fischer: My 60 Memorable Games, renowned chess writer Andrew Soltis delivers a book on today's blockbuster chess player Magnus Carlsen. Magnus Carlsen has been the world's number one player for more than a decade, has won more super-tournaments than anyone ever and is still in his prime. He is the only player to repeatedly win the world championships in classical, speed and blitz chess formats. This book details his remarkable rise and how he acquired the crucial skills of 21st-century grandmaster chess He will defend his world championship title this autumn and if he wins, it will set a record of five championship match victories. This book take you through how he wins by analysing 60 of the games that made him who he is, describing the intricacies behind his and his opponent's strategies, the tactical justification of moves and the psychological battle in each one. This book is essential for chess enthusiasts, competitors and professionals of all skill sets.

A deck of 52 cards containing inspirational quotes and statements to remind you that you can think big and keep your cool - no matter what life throws at you. You can do whatever you set your mind to. Whether that's chasing your dreams or changing the world, this colorful deck of inspiring words and motivational quotes will help you conquer any doubts and setbacks, making it the perfect companion on your quest to greater resilience and unshakeable confidence. These eye-catching cards and pocket-size booklet come complete with a beautiful wooden stand so that you can display them anywhere you choose. For a powerful boost of self-belief, use these reminders to brighten up your room, your desk or wherever else you like. Simply pick a card, and let it fill you with inner strength! These stirring thoughts are sure to energize your outlook and set you on your way to achieving your ambitions. Stay fearless - because you got this!

Play Winning Chess is an enthusiastic introduction to chess that will transform you into a veritable gladiator of the chessboard. Seirawan begins by explaining piece movement, chess notation, the rules of play and basic tactics. His examples, question-and-answer sections, psychological hints, and lively sample games help you learn strategies and play aggressively while having fun. Discovering how to engage in clever attacks and subtle defenses will take you beyond the thrill of competition into the realm of creative art. Play Winning Chess is exuberant and conversational, enlivened by personal anecdotes and fascinating historical details.

Improve your chess game the fast and easy way

You never get a second chance to make a first impression?especially in the game of chess! "Chess Openings For Dummies" gives you tips and techniques for analyzing openings and strategies for winning chess games from the very first move you make!

This friendly, helpful guide provides you with easy-to-follow and step-by-step instructions on the top opening chess strategies and gives you the tools you need to develop your own line of attack from the very start.Includes illustrations to help ensure victoryEquips you with the tools and strategies to plan a winning strategyAlso serves as a valuable resource for curriculums that use chess as a learning tool

Whether you?re a veteran or novice chess player, "Chess Openings For Dummies" is the ultimate guide to getting a grip on the openings and variants that will ensure you have all the right moves to open and win any chess game.

Anisa Makhoul brings us this bright and fun graphic of New York City, a sunny reminder of the great city. Anisa is the daughter of a Lebanese beekeeper, and I recently discovered her love for illustration. She lives in sunny Portland, Oregon. 500-piece jigsaw puzzle Durable, compact, 2-piece box Gift box: 152 x 198 x 50 mm Completed puzzle: 482 x 356 mm teNeues NYC Stationery keeps up with fun and games at home with our museum-quality printed 500-Piece Puzzles. Packaged in durable, compact boxes, our 500-Piece Puzzles feature full-colour artwork, expertly-printed with nontoxic inks on sturdy, puzzle greyboard.

From the first edition: "Just the right combination of fascination and brio"--Chess Life; "a real browsers delight"--San Francisco Chronicle; "arguably the best chess writer on the American scene...opulent"--Washington Times; "a wonderfully readable book...fascinating"--Boston Herald; "enjoyable"--British Chess Magazine. "[The author] is one of the most accomplished American chess players as well as a prolific chess writer and journalist"--James Henri. The best, the worst, the shortest, the oddest, the longest, the most deceitful, the most memorable, the most brilliant, the dumbest--of players, games, matches, tournaments, books, ideas, etc. The lists are replete with background detail and exact facts--this second edition of Soltiss classic 1984 book is altogether an essential part of any chess collection and a browsers delight. The new edition contains 25 percent more lists, games, diagrams and annotations. The majority of lists from the first edition have been updated or expanded--or both.

Poker players are always told that to be successful, you have to play aggressively. What is not usually explained is just exactly how you are supposed to play aggressively. On the Final Table of the 2016 WSOP Main Event, Qui Nguyen destroyed the opposition with an absolute masterclass in aggressive play and walked away with the coveted gold bracelet as well as $8 million. If you want to understand what this mythical "playing aggressively" means in practical terms, then From Vietnam to Vegas will give you the answer. ----- Many of the experienced professionals commentating for TV simply couldn't understand Qui's play. Antonio Esfandiari, who has won over $27 million in live play, commented, "I couldn't get a read on Qui Nguyen if my life depended on it." ----- From Vietnam to Vegas tells the complete story behind Qui's magnificent achievement. In this book Qui: --- * reviews 176 key hands from his historic victory at the WSOP Final Table --- * provides an in-depth analysis of his thought process on each hand --- * relates the story of his life, from his early struggles in Vietnam through to his transition to a poker professional in Las Vegas. ----- The book also includes commentary from Steve Blay, founder of AdvancedPokerTraining.com and Qui Nguyen's personal poker advisor at the final table. Blay's commentary often analyzes the mathematical basis behind Qui's decisions, and discusses practical ways to apply it to your own poker game.

Answering a call for help from a neighboring group of settlers, the heroes embark on a rescue mission that takes them to a hidden jungle valley, where alien dinosaurs prowl among ancient elven ruins. The trail leads through a magical portal to an abandoned Azlanti base on the world's moon. There, survivors from a scouting mission gone awry huddle in the darkness, hiding from a terrifying, malevolent creature from another plane! "Whispers of the Eclipse" is a Starfinder Roleplaying Game adventure for four 5th-level characters by Kate Baker. This adventure continues the Horizons of the Vast Adventure Path, a six-part, bimonthly campaign in which the heroes are at the forefront of exploring and charting a newly discovered world filled with mystery. This volume also includes a history of the diaspora of the elves, gear from an ancient spacefaring civilization, and a selection of diverse alien creatures. Each bi-monthly full-color softcover Starfinder Adventure Path volume contains a new installment of a series of interconnected science-fantasy quests that together create a fully developed plot of sweeping scale and epic challenges. Each 64-page volume of the Starfinder Adventure Path also contains in-depth articles that detail and expand the Starfinder campaign setting and provide new rules, a host of exciting new monsters and alien races, a new planet to explore and starship to pilot, and more!

Dread Trident examines the rise of imaginary worlds in tabletop role-playing games (TRPGs), such as Dungeons and Dragons. With the combination of analog and digital mechanisms, from traditional books to the internet, new ways of engaging the fantastic have become increasingly realized in recent years, and this book seeks an understanding of this phenomenon within the discourses of trans- and posthumanism, as well as within a gameist mode. The book explores a number of case studies of foundational TRPGs. Dungeons and Dragons provides an illustration of pulp-driven fantasy, particularly in the way it harmonizes its many campaign settings into a functional multiverse. It also acts as a supreme example of depth within its archive of official and unofficial published material, stretching back four decades. Warhammer 40k and the Worlds of Darkness present an interesting dialogue between Gothic and science-fantasy elements. The Mythos of HP Lovecraft also features prominently in the book as an example of a realized world that spans the literary and gameist modes. Realized fantasy worlds are becoming ever more popular as a way of experiencing a touch of the magical within modern life. Reworking Northrop Frye's definition of irony, Dread Trident theorizes an ironic understanding of this process and in particular of its embodied forms.

From early classics like Contact to marvels like High Speed, gaming publisher Williams dazzled arcade goers with its diverse range of quality pinball games. The age of video games catapulted the company into legend with blockbusters like Defender and Joust, and by the end of the 1980s it was the largest coin-op publisher in North America. Its acquisition of Bally/Midway began a period of hits that included Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam, as well as the best-selling pinball machine of all time, The Addams Family. The history of Williams spans nearly six decades and is filled with great games, huge gambles and technical innovations that impacted every aspect of pinball and arcade video games. With interviews from over 40 former designers and executives from Williams/Bally/Midway, as well as information from hundreds of contemporaneous news reports and documents, this book presents a never-before-seen chronology of how the small company became a coin-op juggernaut. Thirty pinball and 26 video game classics are examined in depth with direct input from the people who made them, along with the story of the events that made and shaped one of gaming's greatest publishing houses.

Jacob Aagaard digs deep into the most complex area of chess thinking. The games and exercises in this book transcend regular chess skills, such as pattern recognition, calculation and positional analysis. Building on the two previous books in the Grandmaster Preparation series, this book challenges the reader to explore the complexities of chess, offering clarity and understanding through Aagaards straightforward approach.

Learn how to play mah-jong with this beautifully illustrated mah-jong set! Animal Mah-jong takes the traditional Chinese tile game and updates it for a new audience in this affordable card format. Rather than the traditional line drawings of bamboo and Chinese characters, it features Ryuto Miyake's beautiful animal illustrations - each suit features Asian animals from the land, sea and air. Get ready to pong, chow and kong like you never have before! Stunning illustrations by Ryuto Miyake Affordable new card format Screen-free fun - a high quality non-digital game for all ages Suitable for children and familes to play together

Rediscover the wonder of travel, wherever you find yourself. See the world with fresh eyes with these exciting and unusual suggestions. Whether you're heading halfway around the globe or just stepping out your front door, Ways of Travelling will take you somewhere new.

Everything you need for fabulous roleplaying adventure is contained in a single volume that has been designed foranygenre of fantasy. The game retains all the key concepts and hallmarks of its earlier versions, but requires no familiarity with the previous editions.In Mythras your characters are defined by their culture, career, community, background, comrades, skills, magic and cults. Progression is through skill advancement - not levels or similarly abstract concepts. As your characters adventure and quest, their capabilities improve and their relationships deepen and strengthen. Players and Games Masters have complete flexibility over what can be achieved, and the way characters develop is entirely dependent on choices players make, depending on their characters' aspirations and motivations.Games Masters receive a huge amount of support through the Mythras rules. All the concepts and game mechanics are explained clearly with options and considerations explored and presented for ease of use. You need only this rulebook for many years of exciting and imaginative play.

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!

The computer has changed the way top players think about chess. The silicon mind has no psychological barriers. It is "willing" to check moves that most humans, including top players, consider absurd and reject instantly. Thus this brave, new computer era inevitably leads to a reassessment of old axioms, principles and evaluations. In this book the reader will discover the incredible power unconventional moves can have. These moves contradict the most fundamental principles of the "old chess", and yet most of them played by leading grandmasters. At first sight these moves look so strange that the reader can not avoid asking, "Was this grandmaster was inspired or drunk?" The answer will definitely surprise you.

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.