The French Defence is one of the most popular and reliable responses to 1.e4. This book covers the most critical variation of the Winawer, which occurs after the opening moves 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Qg4. This volume presents three contrasting ways of meeting Whites aggressive opening system: 7...cxd4 leading to the notorious Winawer Poisoned Pawn; 7...00 8.Bd3 f5, a solid yet strategically complex system; and 7...00 8.Bd3 Nbc6, which leads to a tense, full-blooded battle.

Meet Alex and Bobbie, who both like to play poker. Alex is a professional poker player who plays for a living and is a solid long-term winner. Bobbie is a recreational player who plays a decent enough game but mainly wants to have a good time. If you play poker regularly you will meet thousands of players like Bobbie in your games and very few like Alex. Of course one would expect that, in the long run, Alex will perform better than Bobbie. But have you ever wondered EXACTLY what it is that Alex understands better and does differently to Bobbie? This is a rather complex question that does not have a simple answer. In this book, UCLA maths professor Duncan Palamourdas addresses this question via a journey through human psychology, game theory, easy-to-understand mathematics and even philosophy. Topics include: Understanding the instinctive but unprofitable tendencies of inexperienced players. How to identify what a mistake actually is in poker - and how to exploit it. Why poker does not revolve around bluffing. The great impact of variance in poker and how to account for it. How to develop a consistent approach that allows you to play like Alex and not Bobbie. Duncan Palamourdas specializes in the mathematics of poker and poker education. His poker classes at UCLA always fill up early and have long waiting lists. He is also an author at Upswing Poker, Poker News, Card Player and Winning Network. Despite his impressive academic credentials, Duncan's popularity is a product of his love for simple language and metaphors. Profitable poker play essentially revolves around correct risk-reward optimization. This is a complex topic and Duncan's great strength is that he explains it in simple terms without resorting to technical jargon.

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.

This is the 5th in the American Contract Bridge League's series of bridge books for beginning and advancing players. Successfully used for over 20 years, this edition has been updated to reflect modern theory. Lessons include Negative Doubles, Other Doubles, Overcalls, Two-Suited Overcalls, Blackwood and Gerber, Finding Key Cards, Leads and Signals, and Two-Over-One.

Very few chess books are able to make an original contribution about the strategic side of chess, but that is the aim of this remarkable book. The dogmas of chess, which have been established for over a century, are rarely questioned despite the clear evolution in the style of top-class chess. Chess grandmaster Lluis Comas Fabrego takes on the challenging task of separating the truth from the lies in traditional advice on how to play better chess. By taking an irreverent look at the supposed absolute truths of chess, Comas Fabrego judges the validity of established rules and strategic concepts. Accompanied by many practical examples and good advice, readers learn how to reduce the complexity of chess towards the essential features of each position, and so improve their play.

In "Champions of the New Millennium" three accomplished authors present the eighteen best chess players in the world today. Each player is introduced with an illuminating profile, and then four of his or her finest games are explained in depth. These players are: The current top ten: Anand, Kramnik, Topalov, Morozevich, Svidler, Mamedyarov, Shirov, Leko, Ivanchuk, Aronian. The stars likely to dominate the next decade: Karjakin, Carlsen, Radjabov, Wang Yue, Ponomariov and Grischuk. The best female player ever, Judit Polgar. And finally, World Championship finalist and comeback kid, American star Gata Kamsky. This is the ideal guide to who's who in modern chess.

The definitive work on practical endgame tactics

Wet weekend? Home for half-term? Great Family Days In has got you covered with over 75 tried and tested activities that make the most of spending quality time together.

From Achievable Art and Whizzy Easy Science to Screen-Free Game Time, chapters are organized to help you easily find inspiration for activities that will fill your day with fun. Whether you’re creating your very own melted-crayon masterpiece or blizzard bottle, or conducting your first FamFest or mini Olympics, Great Family Days In is a one-stop shop for ideas, showing that you don’t need fancy plans or money to keep your family entertained at home.

These beautifully illustrated activities do not require any specific skills or hard to get resources. From thirty-minute time-fillers to ideas to last the whole afternoon, activities can easily be adapted to suit any age, interest or timescale, making it easy to enjoy and relax into the process of creating and building memories together, whatever the outcome.

In March 2020, Claire Balkind, also known as The What Now Mum, founded of the hugely popular Family Lockdown Tips & Ideas Facebook page which quickly amassed an engaged following of more than a million people. There, she and the community she helped build share fuss-free games, crafts, challenges and more that will keep children and adults of all ages entertained.

Learn how to play bridge with this simple step-by-step guide. While good bridge classes are, of course, of great value, this book is itself the complete tutorial. It will help you to learn properly without other help and give you a solid foundation on which to start playing this absorbing game. Work at your own pace Understand the key basic principles Learn about the Acol system of bidding Discover how to play a hand, both as declarer and in defence

This is a new series which provides an ideal platform to study chess openings. By continually challenging the reader to answer probing questions throughout the book, Move by Move 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 skills and knowledge. In this book, Grandmaster John Emms examines his favourite Sicilian variation, the Taimanov, which is one of Black's most reliable answers to 1 e4. He shares his experience and knowledge grown from over 15 years playing the opening at grandmaster level, and offers answers to the all the key questions. *Essential guidance and training in the Sicilian Taimanov *Written by a renowned Sicilian Taimanov expert *Utilizes an ideal approach to opening study

Part magical university, part museum, part tourist attraction, the great Collegium of Artistry had flourished in Felstad's final days. Under the leadership of the seemingly immortal Malcor the Mad, the vast complex expanded, with new wings being built wherever they would fit, including up and down the rock face, and even buried within the mountain itself. Visitors called it one of the architectural wonders of the world; the students, who often got lost in its endless tunnels, simply called it 'The Maze'.

With a titanic crash, an immense ice shelf tears free from the mountains that that loom above Frostgrave, revealing the lost Collegium, and the race for its secrets begins. The Maze is known to have contained many rare and unique treasures, and who knows what may have survived...

This new, expanded supplement for Frostgrave contains a host of new adventures, treasures, and creatures to challenge players. It also includes its own, unique campaign and experience system, as well as information about several of the mythical lost schools of magic.

This large-format activity book contains a wealth of creative, mindful pursuits and puzzles to soothe the mind and enable you to park any worries and stresses and focus on the moment. Mindfulness is the practice of bringing our attention to the present moment without judgement or evaluation - which sounds as if it might be easy but isn't. Scientifically proven to reduce anxiety and depression, improve concentration, even improve the immune system, enabling us to fight off diseases, training our brain to live in the moment is crucially important to our mental and physical health and wellbeing. In The Mindfulness Activity Book Dr Gareth Moore presents creative challenges that will help you focus on yourself and live in the moment. Featuring over 120 fantastic puzzles, mazes, dot-to-dots, crosswords, spot the difference, hanjie, sudoku and more, as well as colouring pages, this book is perfect for any adult who loves a challenge but also craves a creative outlet that allows them to use their artistic and inventive side too. With the help of this book, you will find that taking time for yourself and concentrating on an activity has real therapeutic, mindful benefits, as it allows you to recharge your batteries and better cope with the stresses we all face every day. Take time for yourself, focus your thoughts and feel the proven benefits of being in the moment.

The Modern Defence is an important opening that can be played by Black against absolutely any White opening system. It is an ambitious, counterattacking weapon, favoured by dynamic players. White is initially allowed to occupy the centre but Black plans to undermine this structure in the middlegame with well-timed blows from the pieces and pawns. If Black gets it right then the white centre can be dramatically swept away. However, when it goes wrong, Black can be overrun. ----- First Steps is a new opening series and is ideal for improving players who want simple and straightforward explanations. First Steps emphasizes: ---- * the basic principles --- * the basic strategies --- * the key tricks and traps ----- First Steps books are based around carefully selected instructive games which demonstrate exactly what both sides are trying to achieve. There is enough theory to enable the improving player to get to grips with the opening without feeling overwhelmed. If you want to take up a new opening, First Steps is the ideal place to start.

What separates the greatest chess players from mere mortals? Grandmaster Danny Gormally believes that understanding, preparation and will to win are three crucial factors. In Play Chess Like the Pros he examines these key aspects and attempts to bridge the gap between the best and the rest. He believes that a player's capacity to improve is limitless, and in this age of computer-assisted learning the opportunity to do so is greater than ever before. But are you prepared to stretch yourself, to take yourself out of the comfort zone? However, this is more than a self-improvement book. Nearly 15 years of experience as a chess professional makes the author ideally placed to tell the stories, not just behind the moves but also the characters who play them, giving the reader an insider's view of professional chess in the modern age.

Here is a new edition of this exhilarating and ingeniously laid out guide to improving both your bidding and play. Sixty hands are presented and you must first find the key bid. Then, as declarer, you have to work out the best way to play the hand. By the time you have completed the sixty problems you will undoubtedly be a much improved player.

Cribbage, Knockout Whist, Rummy and Klondike are among the multitude of games and variations packed into this simple companion to essential entertainment. With scoring systems and tips and tricks to amaze your friends and keep you sharp you'll find this new book an invaluable part of your leisure time, a sociable break from mobiles and TV screens.

This comprehensive reference work presents detailed bibliographical information about chess publications - books, bulletins and programs - covering competitions held around the world from 1971 through 2010. It catalogs 3,895 entries tracked through 5,381 items with many cross-references. Information for each entry includes year and country of publication, sponsors, publisher, editors, language, alternate titles, mergers and source. An index of competitions is included.

You are one of the thirty Knights Templar who awoke on Friday, 13 October 1307, only to find themselves wanted criminals and branded heretics by the King of France. Abandoned by the Vatican and sent away early in the morning, you must leave Paris on a day of reckoning and try to find your way across a dark, mythic Europe to a mystical utopia where you can rebuild! Heirs to Heresy starts as a historical-fantasy roleplaying game, but is heavily influenced by Gnosticism, European Folklore, esotericism, and the myths and legends that surround the Templars. The game will ask you to craft the secrets of the Templar treasure, the enemies, and mysteries they will face, as your Knights undertake a mystical journey to the center of themselves along the road to Avallonis. The mechanics are a blend of narrative, storytelling rules, and classic adventure-gaming inspired roleplaying rules that work to create rich aspect-driven characters. As Templar Knights, your skill at arms is unquestionable, but it is the potential access to gnostic spells, unique powers, or intensely powerful faith sets you apart from your comrades. Can you tap into your potential, guarding the mysterious Templar treasure on this last quest you will take for the order and find the answer to the burning question: are the Templars Heirs to Heresy?

The perfect companion hexagonal graph paper notebook for organic chemistry students and beyond. This hexagonal graph paper notebook is ideal for chemistry notes, practice, and test prep. Printed on high-quality paper with legible yet non-intrusive lines, each 1/4" hexagon offers enough room for note-taking, drawing carbon chains, and more. This durable 8" x 10" notebook features 128 pages to last through the semester and into the next. Book size: 8"x10" 128 pages 1/4" hexagons This notebook can also be used for: role-playing games, mapping, crafting and quilting, architecture, drawing and sketching, and more.

This book is the first in a series examining the cutting edge of opening theory. The idea is to identify the most important theoretical battlegrounds of the moment and then analyse as deeply as possible in search of improvements. Thus the reader will be ahead of the current state-of-the-art, rather than lagging behind trying to memorise old games.

This book will tell you everything you need to know to get started with the world's favourite card game. From the basic rules to all the game variations, Poker: The Ultimate Guide will lead you through from beginner to expert.