A one-of-a-kind masterclass in chess from the greatest player of all time.Learn how to play chess the Bobby Fischer way with the fastest, most efficient, most enjoyable method ever devised. Whether you’re just learning the game or looking for more complex strategies, these practice problems and exercises will help you master the art of the checkmate.This book teaches through a programmed learning method: It asks you a question. If you give the right answer, it goes on to the next question. If you give the wrong answer, it explains why the answer is wrong and asks you to go back and try again. Thanks to the book’s unique formatting, you will work through the exercises on the right-hand side, with the correct answer hidden on the next page. The left-hand pages are intentionally printed upside-down; after reaching the last page, simply turn the book upside-down and work your way back.When you finish, not only will you be a much better chess player, you may even be able to beat Bobby Fischer at his own game!

How to Reassess Your Chess is the popular step-by-step course that will create a marked improvement in anyone's game. In clear, direct language, Silman shows how to dissect a position, recognize its individual parts and ultimately find the move that conforms to the needs of that particular situation. By explaining the thought processes that go into a master's choice of move, the author presents a system of thought that makes advanced strategies seem clear, logical and at times even obvious. How the Reassess Your Chess offers invaluable knowledge and insight that cannot be found in any other book.

This book takes the student on a journey through his own mind and returns him to the chess board with a wealth of new-found knowledge and the promise of a significant gain in strength. Most amateurs possess erroneous thinking processes that remain with them throughout their chess lives. These flaws in their mental armour result in stinging defeats and painful reversals. Books can be bought and studied, lessons can be taken -- but in the end, these elusive problems always prove to be extremely difficult to eradicate. Seeking a solution to this dilemma, the author wrote down the thoughts of his students while they played actual games, analysed them, and catalogued the most common misconceptions that arose. This second edition greatly expands on the information contained in the popular first edition.

One of the most important chess books ever written, reissued in celebration of a chess genius, Bobby Fischer. The American takes the reader through 60 of his games, describing his thoughts, the intricacies behind his and his opponent's strategies, the tactical justification of moves and the psychological battle in each one. You''ll find beautifully simple positional play next to out-of-this-world combinations that are just breathtaking. Fischer played nearly all of these games as a grandmaster so they are at the very highest level, but his lucid commentary makes every move and idea both accessible and understandable. Every player will learn huge amounts from this book. It is essential for each chess enthusiast, competitor and professional. The controversial alterations that were made to Bobby Fischer's words in the last edition have been omitted in this book, so only the author's own words are expressed, giving a true insight into one of the most gifted, troubled and controversial minds of the 20th century.

Readers will 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 opponents and quite possibly change the course of a game in a single move. Why should players only hope that opponents will blunder when International Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan can show them how to put the tactics of the world's chess legends to work. Choose from the double attack, the pin, the skewer, deflection, the décor, x-rays, windmills, and many more time-tested tactics.Using classic board situations arranged in chapters by tactical themes, Seirawan teaches readers how to:>Plan the entire game from the very first move>Think ahead, step-by-step, anticipating every obstacle opponents can throw their way>Position themselves for the smashing combination and endgame they have always dreamed ofBoard positions from actual games played by history's great chess tacticians are provided throughout. Review tests for each topic let them track their improvement. In no time they will be playing better, with more confidence than they ever thought possible.

Everyone loses chess games occasionally, but all too often we lose a game due to moves that, deep down, we knew were flawed. Why do we commit these chess-board sins? Are they the result of general misconceptions about chess and how it should be played? And how can we recognize the warning signs better?In this thought-provoking and entertaining book, Jonathan Rowson investigates, in his inimitable style, the main reasons why chess-players sometimes go horribly astray, focusing on the underlying psychological pitfalls:* Thinking (unnecessary or erroneous)* Blinking (missing opportunities; lack of resolution)* Wanting (too much concern with the result of the game)* Materialism (lack of attention to non-material factors)* Egoism (insufficient awareness of the opponent and his ideas)* Perfectionism (running short of time; trying too hard)* Looseness (“losing the plot”; drifting; poor concentration)

THE SEVENTH EDITION OF TAl'S CLASSIC WORK"Mikhail Tal's splendid account of his world championship match victory is one of the masterpieces of the golden age of annotation ― before insights and feelings and flashes of genius were reduced to mere moves and Informant symbols. This is simply the best book written about a world championship match by a contestant. That shouldn't be a surprise because Tal was the finest writer to become world champion."― International Grandmaster and popular chess columnist Andy Soltis.In 1960 Mikhail Botvinnik was the pillar of "scientific" chess and the iron-willed champion of the world. The young attacking genius Mikhail Tal, the "Wizard of Riga," put the magic back into the game by defeating Botvinnik with spectacular tactics in one of the most dramatic and celebrated world championship matches of all time.This is Tal's own classic work on the contest. In it he sets the stage and explains every one of the 21 games, telling both the on- and off-the-board story of this titanic clash of styles and thought.This seventh edition is supplemented by German grandmaster Karsten Müller's new Foreword and a moving essay by former USCF Executive Director Al Lawrence.Find out why this book is widely regarded as one of the best chess books every written...

One of the finest chess books ever written, now in the revised algebraic edition. The author expounds both the basic principles and the most complex forms of attack on the king.

In a major event in chess publishing, two German endgame experts have produced a masterly one-volume encyclopaedia that covers all major endgames.This is the first truly modern one-volume endgame encyclopaedia. It makes full use of endgame tablebases and analytical engines that access these tablebases; where previous authors could only make educated guesses, Müller and Lamprecht have often been able to state the definitive truth, or get much closer to it.New time-controls involve competitive games being played to a finish in one session, so it is especially important that chess-players understand the key endgame principles. This book provides comprehensive assistance for any players wishing to study the endgame. In addition to a feast of detailed analysis, the authors emphasize the practical side of endgame play, describing rules of thumb, principles, and thinking methods.Fundamental Chess Endings is both the ideal endgame reference work, and a work that can be read from start to finish. Notably, this very book was studied intensively by current World Champion Magnus Carlsen in his youth.Karsten Müller is a grandmaster from Germany who competes regularly in the Bundesliga and in international events. He finished third in the German Championship in 1996, and was runner-up in 1997. He is a noted authority on both practical and theoretical endgames. Frank Lamprecht is also from Germany, and is an international master. He has been a chess trainer since 1983 and was also co-author (with Karsten Müller) of the highly acclaimed Secrets of Pawn Endings.

The battle for the World Chess Championship has witnessed numerous titanic struggles which have engaged the interest not only of chess enthusiasts but also of the public at large. The chessboard is the ultimate mental battleground and the world champions themselves are supreme intellectual gladiators. This magnificent compilation of chess form the basis of the first part of Garry Kasparov's definitive history of the World Chess Championship. Garry Kasparov, who is universally acclaimed as the greatest chessplayer ever, subjects the play of his predecessors to a rigorous analysis. Part one features the play of champions Wilhelm Steinitz (1886-1894), Emanuel Lasker (1894-1921), Jose Capablanca (1921-1927) and Alexander Alekhine (1927-1935 and 1937-1946).

From the author's Introduction of the first edition:Chess is by far the most popular board game in the world. There are millions of players of all ages and the number keeps growing. Maybe it's because you become a general who directs an army against your opponent in an exciting battle of wits. Whatever the reason, chess is challenging and fascinating.This is my attempt to lure you to the royal game. It's based on the very same lessons I have given to thousands of beginners. Their questions and problems have shaped it. Moreover, some of the best ideas in the book were actually suggested by new players!I have tried to be as direct as possible. To make your journey a smooth one, the fundamentals have been broken down into short, logical statements. Each idea is numbered, ordered, and clearly stated. For the most part, statements are linked in graded sequence with the easier ones preceding the harder. The format is unique and easy to follow. You should feel yourself learning step by step.You will see how chess players think about their moves. Where desirable, explanation has replaced calculation. The stress is on understanding, not memory. There are plenty of diagrams for almost every idea. Except for one practice section, you can even read this book without a chess set!

The Fifth Edition of a Modern MasterpieceWhen it appeared in 2003, the first edition of Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual was immediately recognized by novice and master alike as one of the best books ever published on the endgame. The enlarged and revised fifth edition is better than ever!Here is what Vladimir Kramnik, the 14th World Champion, had to say in his foreword to the fifth edition:"I consider Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual an absolute must for every chess professional, and no less important even for a club player… I always recommend this book… I consider it to be one of the very best chess books published in recent times and I am very pleased with the new enhanced edition…"German grandmaster Karsten Muller, widely recognized as one of the best endgame theoreticians in the world today, has carefully updated the fifth edition with the help of American grandmaster Alex Fishbein. The incredible instructional value of the exercises has been preserved, and the blue text used in the first four editions has been replaced with text with a light grey background.Here's what they had to say about the first edition:"Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual ... may well be the chess book of the year … [It] comes close to an ultimate one-volume manual on the endgame." - Lubomir Kavalek in his chess column of December 1, 2003 in the Washington Post"Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual is quite simply a masterpiece of research and insight … Most of all, Dvoretsky's analysis is staggering in its depth and accuracy." - John Watson at The Week In Chess.2003 Book of the Year - JeremySilman.com2003 Book of the Year - Seagaard Chess Reviews

Starting with the very basics, this book tells you everything you need to know to become a successful chess-player.Dr John Nunn has built up a world-wide reputation for the outstanding clarity of his writings on a wide range of chess topics. This is his first book to tackle the fundamentals of chess.No prior knowledge is assumed. The reader learns step-by-step, with each new point illustrated by clear examples. By the end of the book, the reader will be fully ready to take on opponents across the board, or on the Internet, and start winning.Topics include:\nThe rules of chess\nChess notation\nHow to win material\nAttacking play\nThe Opening\nThe Middlegame\nThe Endgame\nChess psychology\n\nDr John Nunn is a grandmaster from England. He has won four individual gold medals and three team silver medals at Chess Olympiads. In chess problem solving competitions he has three times won the world championship title. He is arguably the most highly acclaimed chess writer in the world, with three of his books receiving the prestigious British Chess Federation Book of the Year Award. His classic work Understanding Chess Move by Move is regarded by many as a must-read for all students of the game.

From America's foremost chess teacher and author comes a new standard: a comprehensive course covering all aspects of the game, to improve your technique whether you are a newcomer or a longtime fan. One of America's best-known chess masters, Bruce Pandolfini has helped millions learn the intricacies of chess through his acclaimed books and workshops. In this exciting volume, he presents a complete overview of the entire game and its culture. Structured as a dialogue between a beginning student and an expert teacher, Pandolfini's Ultimate Guide to Chess takes the student step-by-step from fundamentals to advanced, highly strategic play. Combining easy-to-follow diagrams with trenchant and up-to-date analysis, Pandolfini puts a new twist on accepted chess theory, offering a seamless beginning-to-end approach, including: • a short introductory history of the game • the moves, rules, and contemporary notation forms • the basic principles of chess • how to develop an opening repertoire • the art of tactical play • pattern recognition and memory aids • traps and pitfalls to be avoided • middlegame play, strategy, and planning • defense and counterattack • transitions to the endgame and the endgame itself • computers and the future of chess • the best websites for playing chess online With Pandolfini's expert insight into the history and modern world of chess, as well as several appendices to enhance play and appreciation, Pandolfini's Ultimate Guide to Chess makes the perfect gift for players of all ages and will be the benchmark title for chess players for years to come.

This comprehensive guide, in dictionary form, makes all aspects of chess strategy quick, easy, and painlessly accessible to players of all degrees of strength. Each strategic concept is listed alphabetically and followed by a clear, easy-to-absorb explanation accompanied by examples of how this strategy is used in practice.

In a strikingly original self-improvement manual, Jonathan Tisdall draws on his own experiences to explain why erratic results and painful setbacks occur, and shows how to institute a training program that can lift the player's game to new heights. Tisdall's improvement ideas will fire the imagination of players at all levels.

'A terrific work that is particularly suited for those from beginner to club player'JOHN WATSON, The Week in ChessThe fully revised and updated award-winning, bestselling, classic chess book by FIDE Master and chess world-record holder, Graham Burgess.Comprehensive and clear, this fully revised and updated fourth edition of Graham Burgess's bestselling chess classic is an invaluable guide to help any player progress to good club level and better. It provides a complete guide to the main chess openings along with hundreds of test positions for players at every level. This new edition includes:Expanded and updated sections on playing online chess and using computers.A complete and detailed guide to all the main chess openings.Hundreds of new training exercises for players of all standards.Courses in tactics, attacking strategy, combinations and endgames.Analysis of some of the greatest games ever played.Information and advice on club, national, and international tournaments.A comprehensive A-Z glossary of chess terminology.Practical advice and information for further study.New sections on endgame studies and problems, with all examples from 2020 or 2021.

Stop playing like a pawn and start playing like the kingYou already know just how enjoyable--and and challenging--the game of chess can be. For those who play, chess leads to a lifetime of fun. But how do you make the first move to learn the rules and transform from a pawn to a king?The path to a perfect checkmate is in your hands! In the pages of this book, you'll find an introduction to all the chess pieces including their strengths and weaknesses, tips on how to protect your pieces and prevent their capture, and guidance on when to attack and defend like a boss. You'll also find a bonus tear-out card to take your new tactics on the go!

The author's philosophy is that understanding chess brings pure happiness, and he would like to share this happiness with you. GM David Navara

Mikhail Tal, the 'magician from Riga,' was the greatest attacking World Champion of them all, and this enchanting autobiography chronicles his extraordinary career with charm and humor.

Learn chess from International Master and YouTube's top chess teacher Levy Rozman (aka GothamChess) in this refreshing and fun guide for beginner and intermediate players. Clever and informative, How to Win at Chess teaches you everything you need to know about the game, including all the important moves and strategies to start off strong and keep you thinking several steps ahead. Full of Levy Rozman's signature charm and humor that have made him beloved by millions of fans, the first half of this unique guide introduces rising players (0-800 elo) to the four key areas to consider when playing chess--openings, endings, tactics, and strategy--and the second half builds upon these core skills for more experienced players (800-1300 elo). Brimming with practical and easy-to-follow tips for improving your game, How to Win at Chess includes over 500 instructional gameplay illustrations to help you better visualize the board, as well as chapter-specific QR codes for exclusive bonus content on Chessly, Rozman's teaching platform. Whether you want to become a recreational chess player or are training to be a Grandmaster, How to Win at Chess is the perfect interactive introduction to the world of chess!

My System is at the top of a very short list of chess classics. Nimzowitsch’s ideas have had a profound influence on modern chess thinking. Most chess masters will at some point have studied Nimzowitsch’s work, and not to have read My System is by many regarded as a shocking gap in a chess player’s education.The problem for an English-speaking audience has been that My System was written in German more than eighty years ago. The commonly-used contemporary translations have sounded dated for some time, and were always questionable: the translators frequently toned down many passages, fearing Nimzowitsch’s biting wit would be too controversial.This edition uses a brand-new translation that recreates the author’s original intentions. For the first time an English-speaking audience can appreciate the true nature of a famous chess book.

Have there been times during a game when you have tried to calculate like mad, but can find no rhyme or reason to your lines? Have you ever felt that the computer’s suggestions in your post-mortem analysis make no sense to you? Ever felt like the man with a hammer, suspecting that the world may not be made up entirely of nails after all?In Positional Play Jacob Aagaard shares his simple three-step tool of positional analysis that he has used with club players and famous grandmasters to improve their positional decision-making. Working from the starting point that all players who aspire to play at international level have a certain amount of positional understanding, Aagaard lays out an easy-to-follow training plan that will improve everyone’s intuition and positional decision-making.

Here is the classic guide to winning chess for beginners. Recommended by chess coaches the world over, it presents a wide range of specific chess positions and asks the reader to find the next move or series of moves that lead to checkmate -- with two diagrams per page and the answers spelled out underneath.The beauty of Simple Checkmates is that it turns learning into a game. It's fun, it's fascinating, it's fundamental -- an invaluable tool for anyone who wants not only to play chess, but to win at chess. With more than 430 diagrams in all, this book is certain to take you -- or your children -- to a whole new level op play.

Instructional Workbook With Problems That Introduce Thirteen Basic Chess Tactics In A Variety Of Frequently Encountered Positional Patterns. John A. Bain ; Project Editor, Robert Mitchell. Answer Key Inserted In Back Of Book.

Jacob Aagaard presents the main properties of how to attack and defend in chess. By carving dynamic chess into separate areas of ability, he gives the reader a clear way to expand his understanding of this vital part of the game.

Winning Chess is a classic, beloved for more than 40 years. This updated edition, now in algebraic format, remains as lively, conversational, and appealing as ever. Written by two extremely popular chess authors, it's aimed at advanced beginners and intermediates eager to take their game to a new level. Its imaginative themes and instructional method are timeless, along with its sense of fun and humor.

Shereshevsky's masterful guide to endgame play is an essential work for every aspiring player. Using classic examples from grandmaster practice, together with modern illustrations and instructive games by lesser-known players, Shereshevsky lucidly explains the basic principles of the endgame: king centralization, the role of pawns, exchanging pieces, suppressing counterplay, two weaknesses, and much more.

This is a new and improved edition of an all-time classic! The good news about endgames is that there are relatively few endings you should know by heart and that once you know these endings, that's it. Your knowledge never goes out of date!The bad news is that, all the same, the endgame technique of most players is deficient. Modern time-controls make matters worse: there is simply not enough time to delve deep into the position.Grandmaster Jesus de la Villa debunks the myth that endgame theory is complex and he teaches you to steer the game into a position you are familiar with. This book contains only those endgames that show up most frequently, are easy to learn and contain ideas that are useful in more difficult positions.Your performance will improve dramatically because this book brings you simple rules, detailed and lively explanations, many diagrams, clear summaries of the most important themes and dozens of tests.

In Discovering Chess Openings John Emms argues that studying openings doesn't have to be hard work - it can be both enjoyable and enlightening. The key to successful opening play is not simply learning lines off by heart; instead it's the understanding of the basic principles, and here the reader is guided through the vital themes: swift development, central control and king safety.

The quick explanation of the Woodpecker Method is that you need to solve a large number of puzzles in a row; then solve the same puzzles again and again, only faster. It's not a lazy shortcut to success – hard work is required. But the reward can be re-programming your unconscious mind. Benefits include sharper tactical vision, fewer blunders, better play when in time trouble and improved intuition.

Analyzes a variety of endgames, discusses strategy, and looks at confrontations between unlike pieces

Play Winning Chess is an introduction to the moves, strategies and philosophy of chess, with clear explanations of the games, fundamental and instructive examples, question-and-answer sections, sample games and psychological hints.

How did Jonathan Hawkins manage to go from being an average tournament competitor to a player on the brink of clinching the Grandmaster title?The secret was knowing what to study and how to learn as efficiently as possible. Focusing his attention firmly on the endgame, Jonathan devised a number of building blocks and identified a number of very important areas of study. The result of his hard work was a meteoric rise through the ranks, as he became firmly established as a prominent GM killer on the English tournament circuit.These pages reveal the secrets of his notebooks for the first time. IM Hawkins presents special material aimed to help you become a much better practical player, one armed with a deeper understanding of key aspects of chess.A careful study of the lessons presented in this book should enable the chess student to gain significant improvement.

From America’s foremost chess coach and game strategist for Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit,Bruce Pandolfini brings us the most accessible and easy-to-use chess strategy book ever.Written for beginning and intermediate players, Weapons of Chess is the first encyclopedia of chess strategies that doesn't rely on the usual baffling chess notation. There are no symbolic chess moves, no charts or sequences in chess notation: every move is explained in words.Arranged alphabetically for easy use and based mainly on pawn formation, the incredibly detailed and thorough entries in this book talk a player through dozens of common strategic dilemmas, such as "doubled pawn," "bishops vs. knights," and "hanging pawn pair." Diagrams illustrate the terms, first showing the basic position and then strategically moving to more complicated versions of it. Players will learn how to formulate plans once they have reached a middlegame, enabling them to make wiser strategic decisions after the first few moves of the game.Designed for use as a ready reference during actual practice games, and usable without a chess board, Weapons of Chess is a unique and invaluable resource for any developing chess player.

A First Book of Morphy illustrates basic principles of chess with more than 60 brilliant and instructive games played by the first American chess champion, Paul Morphy.

Tigran Petrosian is a titan of chess history. All agree he was a genius of strategy, defense and sacrifice, but didn’t he take too many draws? Possibly so, but when Petrosian selected and annotated his best games, that flaw disappeared, leaving only brilliance and profound chess understanding. As Garry Kasparov said: "My games with the 9th World Champion broadened my understanding of chess. Had it not been for these two defeats, I would possibly not have reached the top in chess."This book is an English translation of a Russian classic that is a favorite of many grandmasters, including Mihail Marin and Levon Aronian. A literal translation of the Russian title might be 'The Strategy of Soundness' but Python Strategy is a better fit for Petrosian’s more ambitious games. As another World Champion, Max Euwe, once wrote: "Petrosian is not a tiger that pounces on its prey, but rather a python that smothers its victim."

"The novice who plays through Logical Chess can learn an ocean of basic chess wisdom."—Leonard Barden, Engilsh chess master and broadcaster “Entertains . . . as it reinforces strategic lessons gleaned from chess titans. Illustrates effective middle-game plans.”—Library Journal Having learned the basic moves, how exactly should a player improve? In this popular classic, the author explains 33 complete games, in detail, move by move, including the reason for each one. Playing through these games and explanations gives real insight into the power of the pieces and how to post them most effectively.

Jonathan Rowson, author of the highly acclaimed Seven Deadly Chess Sins, investigates three questions important to all chess-players:1) Why is it so difficult, especially for adult players, to improve?2) What kinds of mental attitudes are needed to find good moves in different phases of the game?3) Is White’s alleged first-move advantage a myth, and does it make a difference whether you are playing Black or White?In a strikingly original work, Rowson makes use of his academic background in philosophy and psychology to answer these questions in an entertaining and instructive way. This book assists all players in their efforts to improve, and provides fresh insights into the opening and early middlegame.Rowson presents many new ideas on how Black should best combat White’s early initiative, and make use of the extra information that he gains as a result of moving second. For instance, he shows that in some cases a situation he calls ‘Zugzwang Lite’ can arise, where White finds himself lacking any constructive moves. He also takes a close look at the theories of two players who, in differing styles, have specialized in championing Black’s cause: Mihai Suba and Andras Adorjan. Readers are also equipped with a ‘mental toolkit’ that will enable them to handle many typical over-the-board situations with greater success, and avoid a variety of psychological pitfalls.Chess for Zebras offers fresh insights into human idiosyncrasies in all phases of the game. The depth and breadth of this book will therefore help players to appreciate chess at a more profound level, and make steps towards sustained and significant improvement

This is the new and substantially expanded edition of a modern chess classic. Upon its publication in 2006, Van Perlo’s Endgame Tactics won the two most prestigious book awards in the chess world, as it was elected both the English Chess Federation Book of the Year and the ChessCafe Book of the Year.By chance, in 2013 publisher New In Chess discovered an unexpected treasure trove, a previously unpublished further batch of endgame tactics collected by Dutch correspondence grandmaster Ger van Perlo (1932-2010). In this new edition of Van Perlo’s Endgame Tactics more than 300 fresh examples have been added, making this fourth edition 25% bigger than its predecessors.Why has Van Perlo’s Endgame Tactics been such a fantastic success? To begin with because it made many regular chess players appreciate for the first time that endings are fun. Secondly, because you always work harder at something you enjoy, it actually improves your endgame play.You, too, can make the first step towards improving your endgame skills and beat more opponents by learning to love the endgame. Why is it that you usually look at only a couple of pages in any endgame theory book you see? You’ll find out here. Sit back, forget about theoretical endgames, and enjoy the entertainment of real life chess in Endgame Tactics!,

In this instructional book for chess players looking to take their game to the next level, prolific and popular chess authors Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld share tips on how to perfect winning plays.Sharing their phenomenal knowledge of chess literature, Chernev and Reinfeld teach readers how the proper use of combination play is the secret to winning the game.Winning Chess not only tells you, but graphically and forcefully shows how to recognize the elements of winning tactical combinations and how to apply them to actual game positions.Each chapter of this guide constitutes a unique lesson in attacking play that can be applied directly to the game, putting readers well on the way to playing and winning chess.

Win at chess with practical instruction from one of the world's leading teachers! With clever tactics and strategies for more than 5000 situations and clear diagrams, Chess is for the enthusiastic novice as well as the competitor taking the game to the next level.Chess takes you through more than 5,000 unique instructional situations, many taken from actual matches, including 306 problems for checkmate in one move, 3,412 mates in two moves, 744 mates in three moves, 144 simple endgames, and 128 tournament game combinations. Organized by problem type, each combination, or game is keyed to an easy-to-follow solution at the back of the book.. More than 6,000 illustrations make it easy to see the possibilities regardless of where your pieces are on the board. The book also includes the basic rules of the game and an international bibliography. Chess is the ultimate book on winning the game.

Thirty years ago, Roman Pelts was my chess teacher in Odessa, Russia. Later he assembled all knowledge essential for becoming a stronger player in this Comprehensive Chess Course. The techniques used in the Course proved to be a success for me as well as for generations of chessplayers in Russia and later in Canada and the United States. Now, the Course can help you learn chess the correct way to realize your chess potential fully. - Grandmaster Lev Alburt, three-time U.S. Champion

This right-to-the-point book by one of the game’s foremost teacher-writing teams uses a breakthrough approach to teach chess fast! Chess for the Gifted & Busy also provides the most time-efficient review of important techniques for chess veterans, even masters. You choose the level you want to achieve. Want to go from absolute beginner to neighborhood champ? Complete Level I in an afternoon, play some practice games―and you’ll quickly be saying “checkmate”! When you’re ready to become a tough tournament competitor, Level II cuts through the mysteries of strategy and tactics to show you just what you need to know. And, if you decide that you won’t settle for anything less than being an Expert, near the top levels of tournament chess, Level III delivers all the essential knowledge!Chess for the Gifted and Busy is a condensed but comprehensive summary of the entire Comprehensive Chess Course series, also available from W.W. Norton. 800+ Illustrations

Increase your skill and understanding of chess with the tactics that have produced unparalleled Russian grandmasters. Russia's dominance in modern chess was founded on a uniquely successful program of chess instruction. Now this program has been streamlined and adapted for American readers in a pair of books that will help readers develop, step by step, from total novicehood to an enjoyable and competitive recreational level. Volume 1 covers the fundamentals of the game, from beginning strategies to energetic endgames. Learn from the start not just how the pieces move, but also where and why to move them. Volume 2 goes beyond the basics to cover advanced strategy, hard-hitting openings, and classic attack and defense tactics. Both books sharpen and test your chess skills with practical, educational "chessercizes" that make your movements more muscular. Advance in the game--and have fun doing it--using the techniques that produced a long line of Soviet champions.

"I have always a slight feeling of pity for the man who has no knowledge of chess, just as I would pity the man who has remained ignorant of love. Chess, like love, like music, has the power to make men happy. The way to this happiness I have tried to show in this book." — Author's PrefaceWhile there are many chess instruction books available, few have achieved the lofty stature of the present volume. Fewer still have been written by a legendary International Grandmaster whose pedagogical skills rivaled the chess prowess that enabled him to demolish opponents at the board. An immediate success upon its first publication, The Game of Chess has become one of the game's enduring classics, considered by some critics the finest book ever written on the game.Part of its success stems from Dr. Tarrasch's unorthodox approach to teaching chess: "I employ quite another method and one analogous to that a mother uses to teach her child to talk. I play with the beginner from the very start in that I put before him simple positions and from them explain the fundamentals of chess. It is the intuitive method of instruction. In this way the pupil learns chess quite easily, of that I am convinced."To make it easier for the beginning student, Dr. Tarrasch also reverses the order in which the game is usually taught. Instead, he begins with the End-Game, since "obviously it is easier for the beginner to deal with a few men than the entire thirty-two." Then follows the heart of the book, an important and extensive discussion of the Middle Game. Analyzing the most important parts of hundreds of games, Tarrasch presents a comprehensive treatment of combination play, an aspect of chess for which he was especially renowned. Finally, he deals with the most complex part of the game — the Opening — and offers enlightening comments on many historically important variations.Illustrated with over 340 diagrams and including 12 complete games, The Game of Chess remains one of the standard texts, a careful reading of which will improve the game of any player.

This wonderfully entertaining book also happens to be quite effective.Everything any child will need to know about chess strategy and more is here in this book, which is well laid out and easy to follow.Part of the fun factor for kids is that the book is replete with cartoon images of chess characters to help make the learning experience more exciting.A bright and colorful cover, as well as the large workbook format and algebraic notation make this a book which will occupy your child's attention for many hours.The flexible "perfect binding" makes it easy to turn the pages and have them stay in place.

According to author Larry Evans, grand master chess players are notoriously inarticulate about their own thought processes. So Evans analyzed his own tournament games (both won and lost) and here offers players a sound grasp of the principles that can help them defeat an opponent. Serious students can learn how to recognize and advantage and exploit it. 196 diagrams.

Discusses the basic tactics and strategies of chess and offers tips on how to improve chess playing skills

Beginners and even fairly advanced players agree on one thing: analyzing the strength or weakness of a position (material being equal) is the hardest part of chess to learn. It is also one of the hardest elements to teach, and there are some who claim it is unteachable. But this wonderfully lucid book, written by one of the outstanding chess expositors of the twentieth century, presents the basis of analysis in such a disarmingly simple way that even the most casual player will be able to improve his game immensely.Sticking to a few well-chosen examples and explaining every step along the way, the author shows you how to avoid playing a hit-or-miss game, from move to move, and instead develop general plans of action based on positional analysis: weak and strong squares, the notion of controlling a square, how to seize control of open lines, weak points in the pawn structure, and other aspects of analysis.He includes as well a number of tips (not often found in books for beginners and average players) that the reader would do well to commit to memory: such hints as “Never omit to blockade an enemy passed pawn,” and “Do not be content with attacking an existing weakness; always seek to create others.” Throughout the book he defines and illustrates typical chess mistakes, and anyone reading his book carefully will learn in a few hours what he might otherwise have spent years to attain. For this revised edition, the author added 20 problems from master games on which the reader can test his understanding of the principles found in the text.

THE WAY TO BETTER CHESS!Why You Lose at Chess is vintage Reinfeld. He pulls no punches, showing the reader why he or she loses chess games. This is quite a remarkable feat when you think about it, because he never saw any of the games the vast majority of his readers played. But Fred knew the thinking that lurks behind poor chess decisions, and he let us all know what is wrong or irrelevant or misguided about the types of moves he witnessed far too often. Beginning with a chapter on self-appraisal, he links a lack of understanding of your own personality with erroneous choices of moves and plans in a chess game. He goes on to delve into playing blindly (with no idea what you are actually doing) or by rote (memorization vs. understanding).A couple of technical mistakes he points out include a lack of understanding of the tremendous importance controlling the center makes as well as knowing what features in a position should be present in order for an attack to be likely to work.Among other observations, he gets on amateur players for being easily bored, impatient, lazy, and stubborn. And all of this comes with lucid examples from master play that back up his contentions. All in all, this is an outstanding treatment of a subject players generally do not pay enough attention to. It has the potential to open anyone’s eyes to what playing strong chess can be like. Let Fred Reinfeld show you the way to better chess…

“Amazing! The Chess Pocket Book contains all the essential knowledge!”―Boris Gulko, former U.S. and USSR champion This book saves you years of hit-and-miss reading and sporadic improvement because it gathers together the crucial, game-winning knowledge in one easy-to-carry volume. Each position gives you an important piece of practical chess knowledge. This time-efficient approach leads to the deepest understanding of the game. This is the sixth but stand-alone volume of the Comprehensive Chess Course. 310 b/w chess diagrams

Any would-be chess master has to know certain essential tips and techniques in order to achieve greatness—and this one volume has them all! From openings to endgames, renowned grandmaster Andrew Soltis provides the top 20 skills and strategies in every category: sacrifices, crucial middlegame decisions, exact endgames, and more. Written in Soltis's eternally engaging and accessible style, this book is invaluable for any serious player.

Improve your play and get to the next level by mastering these 300 of the most important positions in chess. These are positions every chess player must know, presented by an international grandmaster and expert teacher. This strategy-packed book offers 50 openings; 150 middle-game positions, arranged by theme; and 100 endgame positions that cover everything from pawn and knight to bishop and queen. An introduction explains the importance of these positions and the ideas they represent.

Enhance Your Tactical Weapons!1001 Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combination is the companion volume to Reinfeld's 1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate. Of course each book can be taken on its own, but together they make a wonderful collection, and cover the full range of tactical chess. And they are now both available in 21st-century editions, using modern algebraic notation.Reinfeld has arranged his quiz positions so that they fall into orderly chapters, each with a common theme. Still, the degree of difficulty varies widely. Easiest are one move shots, suitable for players starting out. Most difficult are the examples that run seven moves and more; some of these may even stump an ordinary master.Most of all, this a book of combinative ideas, all designed to enhance your arsenal of weapons. The first step toward mastery is to become familiar with the different types of tactical motifs. The second step is to study a great many examples of these tactical themes. So, the object of this book is to add to your knowledge, to make you a strong chessplayer, and (last but not least) to delight you with some of the most beautiful moves ever played on the chessboard.

A 21st-Century Edition of a Great Checkmate Collection!Ask most chessplayers from the “baby boomer†generation how they acquired and sharpened their tactical skills, and chances are a Fred Reinfeld tactics collection will be part of their answer. And now, for the first time, 1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate is available in modern algebraic notation.This may be the all-time great checkmate collection, with forced checkmate positions culled mainly from actual play. And Reinfeld's selection is simply marvelous, touching on all the important tactical themes.In short, this is an outstanding book to hone your tactical abilities. It will help you recognize mating patterns, develop visualization skills, enhance imagination, and improve tactical sharpness. And now, with a modern 21st-century edition of this great checkmate collection finally available, there is no excuse for not only improving your tactical skills, but also enjoying yourself along the way.

Tactics are usually why most people find chess fun! This book will greatly enhance your enjoyment learning about – and benefiting from – the recurring patterns of tactics. In chess, if you lose all your pieces you can’t win! And if you capture each of your opponent’s pieces, winning should be easy. Even if you just get ahead by a small amount of material, your chances of winning soar. The way to win your opponent’s pieces is through the use of tactics. This book is about all types of beginning tactics. The author covers comprehensively the subject with basic instructional material, examples, and problems of all types – about 500 examples and problems ranging from too easy to very difficult! Back to Basics: Tactics – the first in the ChessCafe Back to Basics Chess Series – should enhance your enjoyment in learning about – and benefiting from – the recurring patterns of tactics.It does not matter who gets the advantage out of the opening if one of the players is likely to lose a piece to a simple tactic in the middlegame. Losing a piece from an advantageous position will almost always result in a lost position. So study tactics, not openings, until you almost never lose pieces to simple tactical motifs.This book is an introduction to the various kinds of basic chess tactics. With instructional material, examples, and problems of all types, the subject of chess tactics is covered comprehensively. There are approximately 500 examples ranging from easy to challenging!

Identify and Deal with Threats!This book is written to address and underemphasized area of chess training and study, the identification of and reaction to threats.For beginning and intermediate-level players, the study of tactics is paramount. Almost all tactics books take the approach of providing a position where there is a forced win, checkmate, or draw.However Looking for Trouble – now in a revised and enlarged second edition – takes a different tack. It helps you to recognize threats by providing over 300 problems in which you focus on identifying and meeting threats in the opening, middlegame and endgame. The author’s clear explanations are presented in a manner that should greatly benefit players of all levels.

Play chess? This is an essential book for anyone looking to improve their game. Understanding chess tactics makes you a better player, and this accessible A to Z guide explains the game’s key terms and jargon so you can put them into practice. From Castling to Zugzwang, from Underpromotion to Zwischenzug, the definitions are clear and informative. A large section features games from past chess masters and grandmasters that illustrate the technique in action, as well as exercises that help strengthen your knowledge and skills. You’ll learn to seize opportunities and avoid traps, no matter what your level of play.

Once a player has learned how the pieces move, the next task is to put them to work &ndash that is, to study tactics. For all players, from beginners to champions, tactical skill is the main component of chess ability. And this skill must be constantly practised and improved.This book provides a systematic course in chess tactics and hundreds of exercises to sharpen and measure your skills. With Antonio Gude’s assistance, you will understand how the pieces work, so you can carry out your strategic plans and launch devastating attacks. And even in those games where things go wrong, you will always be ready to pounce when given the chance. The book is packed with entertaining and inspiring examples, brought to life with information and stories about some of the more notable figures in chess history.This is a companion volume to Gude’s much-acclaimed Fundamental Checkmates:“Books offering tactical positions to solve are universally agreed upon as first-rate training, but before starting out it makes sense to first have a solid grounding in the fundamentals. This book will do that and more.” – IM John Donaldson, USA Team Captain“[Gude] is well-read, knows important games from the past and present, and uses famous endgame compositions to create a useful mating manual for wide readership” – GM Lubosh Kavalek, Huffington Post

‘Chess is 99 per cent tactics’ is an old saying. This may be an exaggeration, but even the remaining 1 per cent still depends on tactics. When Martin Weteschnik started working as a trainer in his local chess club, he quickly realized that even the stronger club players had great weaknesses in their tactical play. He also discovered that simply asking them to solve a huge number of puzzles did not fix the problem. These players clearly needed a good book, but when Weteschnik looked for it he found nothing suitable, so he decided to write it himself.\nThe first edition of this book, Understanding Chess Tactics, was hailed as a modern classic. But Weteschnik was not completely satisfied with the book and decided to restructure and rewrite it completely. This expanded and improved second edition offers more puzzles to test the tactical chess skill that the reader will develop.

Once a chess-player has learnt the basic rules of the game, the next step is to study tactics. A knowledge of tactics will enable a novice to start winning games by giving checkmate or taking his opponent’s pieces. As the player progresses, his tactical arsenal will broaden and he will start to play sacrifices and combinations. Improving your tactical ability is the most efficient way to win more games and gain confidence at the chessboard.Given the fundamental importance of chess tactics, there are surprisingly few books that teach the subject in a systematic way. Consequently, many players suffer from tactical blind-spots that plague them throughout their career. The step-by-step approach used in this book ensures that each concept is explained and tested before the next one is introduced.John Nunn is a renowned grandmaster noted for his devastating tactical ability. In this book, he guides the reader to an understanding of key tactical ideas such as the fork, pin, and discovered attack, and discusses general ideas such as elimination and compulsion. No prior knowledge is assumed apart from the basic rules of chess.Throughout the book there are carefully graded exercises to test the reader’s understanding.Dr John Nunn is a grandmaster from England. He has won four individual gold medals and three team silver medals at Chess Olympiads. In the Chess World Cup of 1988/9, he finished sixth overall, ahead of several former World Champions. He is arguably the most highly acclaimed chess writer in the world, with three of his books receiving the prestigious British Chess Federation Book of the Year Award.

Thinking methods are at the heart of the chess struggle, yet most players devote little conscious effort to improving their calculating ability. Much of the previous literature on the subject has presented idealized models that have limited relevance to the hurly-burly of practical chess, or else provide little more than ad hoc suggestions. Here, experienced trainer Valeri Beim strikes a balance by explaining how to use intuition and logic together to solve tactical problems in a methodical way. He also offers advice on when it is best to calculate 'like a machine', and when it is better to rely on intuitive assessment.

Charles Hertan, an experienced chess coach from Massachusetts, has made an astonishing discovery: the failure to consider key winning moves is often due to human bias, since your brain tends to disregard many winning moves because they are counter-intuitive or look unnatural. Charles Hertan?s radically different approach is: use COMPUTER EYES and always look for the most forcing move first! By studying forcing sequences according to Hertan?s method you will develop analytical precision, improve your tactical vision, overcome human bias and staleness, and enjoy the calculation of difficult positions. By recognizing moves that matter, you will win more games!

One of the Most Instructive Books Ever about Checkmate Tactics!In the early 1950s, two former French champions authored a book that clearly – and quite comprehensively – explained the basic mating patterns in chess. The Art of Checkmate by Georges Renaud and Victor Kahn was destined to be hailed as one of the most instructive chess books ever written. The basic elements of dozens of mating patterns are explored. Each is supported by simple, easy-to-understand examples, with additional exercises offered to help the student master this most important core concept – Checkmate. In this new 21st-Century Edition, the antiquated English descriptive chess notation has been replaced by modern algebraic notation. Otherwise, it has remained true to its roots. Find out why both instructors and students have for decades considered The Art of Checkmate as one of the most illuminating and helpful chess books ever written.

This truly outstanding book, first published in Russian in the 1970s and regarded as a classic, contains everything you need to know about how to deliver checkmate.\n1000 Checkmate Combinations contains a wealth of elegant and sophisticated chess tactics as well as systematic and effective instruction. Each chapter covers a different piece or combination of pieces that is able to deliver checkmate, and provides illustrative templates for just about every mating formation. By working through the book, readers will develop their ability to recognise the potential for checkmate, as well as the know-how to execute one.\nClearly written and beautifully organised, it will appeal to all chess players but particularly club players.

Chess might seem a complex and mysterious game, but the ultimate goal is simple: checkmate.Checkmate can occur in all stages of the game, from snap mates in the opening, through middlegame attacks to simplified endgames. Learning how to use our pieces together to corner the enemy king is a fundamental skill that all chess-players must constantly practise, sharpen and develop.This book lays out, in systematic and thorough fashion, a wide range of mating patterns and techniques, in particular showing how each piece-pair can combine to deliver mate. A working knowledge of these ideas enables players to move on to mating combinations, where pieces lay down their lives so that the remaining forces can deliver mate. Gude explains an amazing variety of tactical devices, and illustrates them in unforgettable style with some of the most brilliant mating attacks from practice, new and old. There are chapters on how to attack kings in the centre, as well as standard (and other!) attacks against the castled position.This is a true textbook of checkmate; readers will never be short of mating ideas, and will instinctively know when there is a possibility to launch an attack, or when they must parry the opponent’s threats. Fundamental Checkmates also features more than 300 exercises with full solutions.Antonio Gude is an extremely experienced chess writer and teacher from Spain. Several of his books on tactics and for beginners are long-standing best-sellers in Spanish language. Gude has also translated a great many books, including some of the classics of chess literature.

J. N. Walker. Includes Index.

Teaches opening moves designed for early advantage, with diagrams, quizzes, and analyses intended for the advanced beginning and intermediate player.

“I had a fantastic position, but I couldn’t figure out what to do next!” Sound familiar? If so, then Fred Wilson’s Simple Attacking Plans was written for you. The author distills the complexities of mounting an offensive against your opponent’s king down to four principles that lie at the root of most successful chess attacks.Novice players and amateurs of intermediate strength will benefit from the explanations of ideas and tips for practical play, all presented in an easy, conversational style. More experienced competitors will appreciate this book as a game collection featuring masterpieces of enterprising play – some of them never before published.

Checkmate! This exclamation marks the most thrilling moment of tactical chess play. Now club and tournament players can master this ultimate attack with the guidance of a grandmaster. Progress from simple to more complex mating patterns, all illustrated with detailed chessboard drawings. You'll become adept at exploiting the individual power of the pieces, from the lowly pawn to the mighty queen. Try suggested strategies for a direct piece attack on a castled king, a pawn storm, or a king hunt. Self-tests, psychological pointers, and a myriad of moves provide the foundation for future success. Set your mind on this wide selection of scenarios and develop the discipline and imagination to spot the brilliant coup and check your mate!

Every chess player loves to win with a devastating attack. But even beginners know the importance of early castling, so the most significant attacking strategies are those against a castled king. Danny Gormally sheds light on this vital area of the game, arguing that pattern recognition is key to improvement. This book strips away the mystique surrounding successful attacking play, and identifies several recurring motifs which can be applied to specific pawn structures and scenarios. Well-chosen model examples and test positions are complemented by the author’s lively writing style and original terminology. Clobber your opponents with motifs such as the “Shotgun” and the “Tower of Terror”!

Combinations are the central element in chess; they make the game so magical and captivating. The beautiful point of sacrificing a queen, the strongest piece, in order to checkmate with a lowly pawn brings a smile of joy to all chess lovers. Virtually all chess games possess a combination, either one hidden in the shadows of analysis carefully avoided or one that provides a decisive blow.Winning Chess Combinations is a unique work that doesn't merely repeat the wonderfully rich and vast numbers of combinations, asking readers to solve a particular diagrammed position; it is a work that is far more realistic. A combination involves a sacrifice upsetting the balance of forces, but will it work or tragically boomerang? The reader is invited to solve this critical question by identifying the advantages that a specific position holds which might make the combination successful.Winning Chess Combinations is the seventh in Yasser Seirawan's highly acclaimed Winning Chess series - PROBABLY THE BEST-SELLING SERIES OF CHESS BOOKS EVER PUBLISHED.

Attacking Manuals 1 & 2 comprise the first thorough examination of the nature of dynamics in chess, and the principles explained in this book are relevant to every chess game played. In lively no-nonsense language, Aagaard explains how the best players in the world attack. The rules of attack (the exploitation of a dynamic advantage) are explained in an accessible and entertaining style. This groundbreaking work is well balanced between easily understandable examples, exercises and deep analysis.Volume 1 deals with bringing all the pieces into the action, momentum, color schemes, strongest and weakest points, and evolution/revolution.Attacking Manuals 1 & 2 were chosen as the English Chess Federation’s Book of the Year 2010.

Chess is fundamentally a dynamic game. Each move changes the situation and the possibilities for both sides. No piece is ever identically as valuable as any other, and their scope changes from move to move. The current generation of supergrandmasters plays unrelentingly dynamic chess, but a great deal of chess literature still deals with chess as if it were a predominantly static game. Much traditional chess teaching is based around rules of thumb that might work well 'on average' or in 'typical' situations, but these rules may not equip players for the specific and sometimes exceptional situations that they face in their games. In this book, Valeri Beim explains how to factor in dynamic considerations, and weigh initiative and time against material and other static factors. Topics include: dynamics, development, the king as a target, breakthrough, and the initiative.

In his previous work, Secrets of Chess Defence, Mihail Marin examined the task facing the defender. Now he considers the other side of the coin. In this wide-ranging treatise, he discusses many topics including: the balance between attack and defence; the premises for starting a successful attack; advantage in development; intuitive sacrifices; typical scenarios. The book features many practical examples from top-level play.

Every chess player loves to attack the enemy King. Your goal is clear, your thinking is concrete, your creativity is in gear and direct victory is just around the corner. Few things in life are better than a conducting a blistering King's attack!But how good are you actually at attacking? Have you ever analysed your efforts? Looked at calculation errors, missed chances and derailed efforts? Highly experienced chess trainer Herman Grooten finds that many of his pupils overestimate their attacking skills. Their fond memories of successful assaults often obscure the fact that there was a lot of room for improvement in their play.After the immense success of his award-winning classic Chess Strategy for Club Players Herman Grooten has now written an equally accessible primer on attacking chess. He teaches you how to spot opportunities, exploit weaknesses, bring your forces to the frontline and strike at the right moment.Grooten concentrates on training the most valuable skills: visualizing, structuring, anticipating, calculating, memorizing and other mental aspects. This is not just another collection of useful thematic moves but a complete and highly structured course of attacking techniques. With great and fresh examples, clear explanations and many instructive exercises.

Many books discuss how to attack in chess, but resourceful defensive play is also a vital ingredient in competitive success. This is an area largely neglected in the literature of the game. This book fills the gap admirably. Following a survey of general defensive methods in chess, Dr Colin Crouch investigates the techniques of World Champions Emanuel Lasker and Tigran Petrosian, both highly effective defenders. Lasker would place myriad practical obstacles in the opponent's way, and was a master of the counterattack. Petrosian developed Nimzowitsch's theories of prophylaxis to a new level. His opponents would find that somehow their attacking chances had been nullified long before they could become reality.

Many chess books explain how to improve an already-favorable position. This completely revised and updated edition of a classic guide can help when you've lost the advantage. Every player needs an arsenal of defensive techniques, and Andrew Soltis covers them all, along with psychological strategies for achieving victory. Learn how to master counterplay, when to accept sacrifices, how to anticipate short- and long-term threats, how to minimize losses, and much more.

A Guide to Chess Improvement features the very best of Dan Heisman’s multi-award winning chess column Novice Nook, which has run for the past ten years at the popular website ChessCafe.com. This book is full of valuable instruction, insight and practical advice on a wide range of key subjects: general improvement, thought processes, planning and strategy, tactics, endgame play, technique, time management and much more besides.Heisman has thoroughly revised, expanded and updated his work to produce an easy-to-navigate guide. He has also included brand new and exclusive columns. Any player from beginner to expert who is serious about improving their chess should read this book!*An essential guide to chess improvement*Covers in depth all the key areas of chess*Written by a distinguished chess instructor

Chess Openings explains the principles which underlie correct opening play and shows how they can be developed to produce strong positions for attack and defense in different situations. Mike Basman consolidates these lessons by investigating five classic openings―the Queen's Gambit, Giuoco Piano, Nimzo-Indian, Morra Gambit, and Sicilian Dragon―which together can be used to form the basis of a formidable opening repertoire.

In the first completely instructional book ever written on chess openings, National Master and game strategist for Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit Bruce Pandolfini teaches players how to take charge of the game's crucial opening phase.Of the three traditional phases of chess play—the opening, the middle-game and the endgame—the opening is the phase average players confront most often. Unfortunately, though, many openings are not completed successfully, partly because until now most opening instruction has consisted of tables of tournament level moves that offer no explanations for the reasons behind them. Consequently, these classical opening patterns can serve as little more than references to the average player.In Chess Openings: Traps and Zaps, Bruce Pandolfini uses his unique "crime and punishment" approach to provide all the previously missing explanation, instruction, practical analyses, and much, much more. The book consists of 202 short "openers" typical of average players, arranged according to the classical opening variations and by level of difficulty. Each example includes:-the name of the overriding tactic-the name of the opening-a scenario that sets up the tactic to be learned-an interpretation that explains why the loser went wrong, how he could have avoided the trap, and what he should have done instead-a review of important principles and useful guidelines to reinforce each lessonAlso included are a glossary of openings that lists all the classical "textbook" variations for comparison and reference and a tactical index. Chess Openings: Traps and Zaps is a powerful, pragmatic entry into a heretofore remote area of chess theory that will have a profound influence on every player's game.

Whether you call it mistakes, goofs, faux pas, bad moves, or blunders, we all make them. An opening blunder is usually more than a small mistake or error that can be overcome by accurate play. It is usually a very bad miscalculation that often leads to a quick loss of the game. Opening blunders arise from the player not familiar with the opening and not seeing something obvious to prevent such a blunder. The thing is to learn from them. Great chess players study the mistakes of others in order to avoid them themselves. There is a strong correlation between blunders and strength of player or rating. The highly rated players blunder much less frequently than the lower-rated players, especially in the opening where the stronger player has more knowledge of traps and best play during the opening.This book is filled with hundreds of games categorized by openings that not only show you the blunders but show you the better moves. These games are from novice players to grandmasters and indexes them all to play, practice, learn from and enjoy!

Back to Basics: Openings will help you understand and play the openings in chess much, much better. It will also help balance your studies of openings, and give you a recipe as to how to obtain better results from your openings and how to approach a variety of situations relevant to our topic of openings.The book covers critical concepts, including:My Own Experiences with OpeningsOpening PrinciplesHow do I decide which Opening to Choose?An Introduction to Opening TheoryThe Open GameThe Semi-Open GameThe Closed GameThe Semi-Closed GameFlank OpeningsWhere do I go from here?

Start every game with confidence!The two greatest challenges for beginning chess players are not only to survive the openings phase, but also to choose appropriate attack and defence formations in the process. Winning Chess Openings shows players how to do both. In Yasser Seirawan's entertaining, easy-to-follow style, they are shown formations that can be used with other White or Black pieces.Winning Chess Openings explains how to:*Build a safe house for a king*Estimate losses of ten moves or fewer*Utilise the elements: time, force, space, and pawn structure*Plan strategy based on time-tested opening principles of play*Employ a defence for Black against any White opening*Apply an opening for White used by World ChampionsWinning Chess Openings will help readers develop a solid understanding of opening principles that can be applied to every game they play--without having to memorize a dizzying array of tedious and lengthy opening lines.

* The perfect survival guide to the chess openings* All openings covered* Detailed verbal explanations of plans for both sides* Up-to-date and featuring many tips and recommendations* Insights into the ‘character’ of each opening* Written by one of the world’s foremost opening expertsThe first moves of a chess game define the nature of the whole struggle, as both players stake their claim to the critical squares and start to develop their plans. It is essential to play purposefully and to avoid falling into traps or reaching a position that you don’t understand.This is not a book that provides masses of variations to memorize. Paul van der Sterren instead offers a wealth of ideas and explanation, together with the basic variations of each and every opening. This knowledge will equip players to succeed in the opening up to good club level, and provide a superb grounding in opening play on which to build a more sophisticated repertoire. The strategies he explains will, unlike ever-changing chess opening theory, remain valid as long as chess is played, and so the time spent studying this book will be rewarded many times over.Grandmaster Paul van der Sterren has won the Dutch Championship on two occasions, and in 1993 reached the Candidates stage of the World Chess Championship. He is an internationally renowned chess writer and editor: he was one of the founding editors of New in Chess, for whose Yearbooks he has contributed more than 150 opening surveys.

For many chess-players, opening study is sheer hard work. It is difficult 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, Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy and Chess Strategy in Action, he explained vital concepts that characterize modern chess. Moreover, he did so in ways that have enabled these ideas to be understood by club players. Here he does likewise for the openings, proceeding from the fundamental ideas that apply to all openings to more advanced concepts that are essential for substantial improvement.In this major four-volume work, Watson explains not only the ideas and strategies behind specific openings, but also the interconnections of chess openings taken as a whole. By presenting the common threads that underlie opening play, Watson provides a permanent basis for playing openings of any type.International Master John Watson is one of the world’s most respected writers on chess. His groundbreaking four-volume work on the English Opening firmly established his reputation in the 1980s, and he has produced a string of top-quality works since. In 1999, Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy, Watson’s first book for Gambit, won the British Chess Federation Book of the Year Award and the United States Chess Federation Fred Cramer Award for Best Book. His former pupils include the 1997 World Junior Champion, Tal Shaked.

Most chess opening books are either too detailed or too shallow. Chess Opening Essentials has exactly the right balance and is an accessible primer and a reference book at the same time. It gives a flavor of how every opening works and points at the various middlegame plans that apply after the opening has ended.Chess Opening essentials helps beginners to develop a solid understanding of fundamental opening ideas, gives casual players the ability to choose the opening that suits their style and taste and is a tool for club players to test and review their opening repertoire as well as a reference book to which advanced players keep returning.The authors do not propagate forcing tactical variations to be memorized mechanically, but explain what you should actually be trying to achieve when playing the opening of your choice. They include the main alternative responses and give clear indications for further study.

Every chess player needs to know how to handle his pawns. Pawns form the 'playing fields' of chess games, a semi-permanent 'structure' that can determine whether a player wins or loses. This comprehensive guide to pawn structure teaches the reader where pieces are best placed, which pawns should be advanced further or exchanged, and why certain structures are good and others disastrous. This invaluable book is a major update of this chess-world classic, first published in 1975 and unavailable for several years.

Mauricio Flores Rios provides an in-depth study of the 28 most common structures in chess practice. In Chess Structures: A Grandmaster Guide you will find:\n\nCarefully selected model games showing each structure’s main plans and ideas\nStrategic patterns to observe and typical pitfalls to avoid\n50 positional exercises with detailed solutions\n

Chess Success: Planning After the Opening is written by International Grandmaster Neil McDonald, who says it is a fact that you can win some chess games just by playing one solid-looking move after another. But at the higher levels of competition, its not enough to play move by move. You need a plan. Chess Success: Planning After the Opening is about making that plan. It shows, with fascinating examples taken from actual grandmaster games, why the solid-looking move--the natural move--can often be a subtle blunder. Learn to make a better move by first looking at the pawn structure of the game and understand how it is warped by the positions of the pieces. Apart from this powerful new way of looking at chess strategy, the games with their unexpected twists are tremendously entertaining to replay. Over 40 games are covered in depth with the author's trademark move-by-move commentary, showing you how to handle that stage of the game when the opening phase is over and the

Starting a chess game with 1 e4 e5 is so common that the resulting complex of opening systems traditionally commands its own sobriquet, “The Open Games” (1 e4 met by other replies are “Semi-Open Games” and everything else comes under “Closed Games”). The central structure with pawns on e4 and e5 often leads to play based around highly classical themes which are the bedrock of successful chess understanding.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 trapsFirst 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.

Starting Out: Open Games is a further addition to Everyman's best-selling Starting Out series. Grandmaster Glenn Flear revisits the fundamentals of Open Games, examining the key moves and plans for both sides.

Every chess player needs a set of openings he can trust!Chess Openings for Black, Explained gives you a complete repertoire of carefully selected, interrelated openings. Three-time U.S. champion and master teacher Lev Alburt, along with his grandmaster co-authors, provides everything you need to know to defend with confidence against each and every one of White's first moves. This second edition is fully updated to reflect new developments in chess during the last three years, thoroughly grounding the player in the grandmaster-openings of modern chess, teaching you the opening that scores highest against White on a master level. Fully illustrated with two-color chess diagrams throughout.

“A must for every chess player!”―Anatoly Karpov, 12th World Chess Champion Every chess player needs a set of openings he can trust. Use Bobby Fischer’s favorite first move, 1. e2-e4, to begin your games as White―and know the ideas and moves that follow, no matter how Black defends!White moves first in chess and can, if he’s well prepared, immediately put the pressure on Black. In this highly praised volume, three leading grandmasters logically explain a system of carefully selected and interrelated openings, covering all responses by Black!You also get a an informative review of every opening from White’s point of view, even ones not part of the book’s recommended repertoire. This book, together with its companion volume, Chess Openings for Black, Explained (available separately), gives you the most thorough explanation of chess opening ideas available. More than 1,700 diagrams let you study many positions without using a chess set.This second edition is completely updated with the newest games and ideas. 1700 b/w chess diagrams

This book fills a gaping chasm in chess literature. For years, those who wish to take on the black side of the Ruy Lopez have had to muddle their way through against the variety of alternative openings at White's disposal. This book gives a choice of systems for Black, to counter anything White might try in order to avoid the Ruy Lopez - the Scotch, King's Gambit, Italian Game, Four Knights, etc. Grandmaster Emms is ideally qualified to deal with this subject, having faced them as Black, but also having played many of them as White before graduating to the Ruy Lopez.

Many chess players would like to play the main lines of the Spanish Opening with Black, but fear answering 1.e4 with 1...e5 because of White’s great variety of deviations. Acclaimed author Mihail Marin presents a repertoire for Black against the Open Games. This means providing an answer to openings such as the Scotch, Giuoco Piano, Vienna, Spanish Exchange Variation and even the notorious King’s Gambit.Marin reveals his own opening repertoire, which he prepared for high-level international competition. But besides giving concrete answers to any worries players might have about facing the Open Games, Marin uses his renowned skills to lucidly convey the main strategic ideas. This way Marin has succeeded in writing a middlegame book disguised as an opening book. No chess player can read this book without being entertained and educated at the same time.

1...e5 enjoys an excellent reputation as a reliable defense against White's most popular opening choice, 1 e4. However, anyone who is primed to face the Ruy Lopez must also be prepared to face a number of White alternatives. This collection of variations make up the Open Games and include not only popular choices such as the Italian Game, Scotch Game, Bishop's Opening, King's Gambit, Vienna Game and Four Knights, but also many tricky sidelines and some wild and wacky gambits. Many of these might not be theoretically strong but can be both daunting and dangerous for the uninformed player. In this book, FIDE Master Martin Lokander tackles all these lines head on and presents a practical repertoire for Black in the Open Games. This book tells you everything you need to know about facing the Open Games when White avoids the Ruy Lopez.*Essential reading for 1...e5 players*Every opening bar the Ruy Lopez is covered*Packed with new ideas and critical analysis