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“This book is not a pure (auto)biography, rather a games collection. It consists mainly of interesting high-class games played by me, including many losses. Most of the games are preceded by accompanying texts, which vary from essays to tournament reports. The title of the book might seem presumptuous, but I wanted to show how I see or experience the competitions without denying the chess worlds of others. While the texts are mostly light and subjective, at the same time I tried hard to stick to the facts and provide some food for thought.” ~ David Navara -
“Learning the Najdorf will help all players to understand Sicilians in a better way. Different aspects of chess such as defence, attack and sacrifice, positional themes and tactical storms, can be found in this book.” ~ Milos Pavlovic -
“Contrary to what critical pessimists might say, the Reti opening is an ambitious weapon for White. By avoiding the main theoretical debates, White tries to reach an unbalanced position from an early stage of the game, with many different plans available.” ~ Adrien Demuth -
“The key to each pattern is the status of the squares surrounding the king: which ones are obstructed, which are potential flight squares that can be controlled with the available pieces. Players are advised to know these patterns forwards, backwards and upside down!” ~ Efstratios Grivas -
If he thinks an idea will work over the board, the notion of risk is irrelevant to him. He wants to be on the attack and believes an objectively inferior position isn’t necessarily bad if his opponent needs to find several difficult defensive moves. “If that’s the only move for my opponent, let’s enter the line and see if he sees it!” is his philosophy.” ~ Romain Edouard -
“Here we are, together on this page, both interested in the French Defence with 3.Nc3 Bb4.” ~ David Miedema -
“This book is about the greatest chess players who ever lived, who dominated their era and were looked upon as World Champions even at a time when this term, this very concept, did not yet exist.” ~ Paul van der Sterren -
“My aim in this book, as well as its two predecessors, is not only to help you improve your middlegame understanding but to give you new and different ideas/concepts to employ in your own play.” ~ Ivan Sokolov -
“Credit can mostly be given to Kasparov for reviving this old opening, but there are many others who have contributed to exploring new ideas and forging new paths. A lot of discoveries have been made by some young grandmasters who don’t shy away from analysing deep tactical solutions with the aid of the silicon beast.” ~ Milos Pavlovic -
“In my opinion, the Delayed Benoni is a kind of mystery for White also, since it has not been covered deeply enough in chess publications. So I think that this work could be useful for White players, too.” ~ Ivan Ivanisevic -
“Together With Mamedyarov” is not a collection of his selected games but it is primarily a study-book. It contains test positions taken from games of the famous Azeri grandmaster with detailed comments on the solutions to the tasks. In this book the solutions have been placed right after a diagram with a test except for the six positions given as a warm-up in the beginning of the chapter one. For those of you who work without the assistance of a coach would recommend that you cover the answer with a sheet of paper to avoid spoiling the benefit of solving the problem. -
“It just takes some time to become familiar with all the possibilities and ensuing middlegames. But once you finally master the isolated pawn structure, it will serve you well and equip you with a wide selection of tools with which you can outplay your opponent” ~ David Miedema -
“It’s all simple: memorize a few lines and then go fight for the initiative from the very beginning” ~ Yaro Zherebukh -
“Over time, my attention focused on the Modern Benoni. In this opening, the bishop on g7 is the same icon that is the basis of the King’s Indian, but here it can operate on the whole a1-h8 diagonal instead of being locked in by its own pawn on e5, as usually happens in the King’s Indian. Black’s plan is outrageously simple: with pawns on d6 and c5, and sometimes b4, he creates a breakwater that opens up space for his favorite on g7.” ~ Alexey Kovalchuk -
The positions arising from the Open Spanish contain ideas so different from the usual Ruy Lopez that I sometimes wonder whether it should really be considered part of it at all. It is an open game with unbalanced structures and sharp play but compared to the Sicilian, for instance, for which the previous description would also apply, there is an important difference; there is a certain degree of stability and solidity in the Open Spanish which distinguishes it from the sharper realms of the Sicilian and puts this line in its own unique category of opening ideas. -
This book invites the reader to enter the wonderful elite chess world with one of the most creative GM’s of all time, Alexander Morozevich. It tells about his approach to the core of fighting, about his strongest points but also about his weaknesses. It presents masterpieces and painful losses. However, the author not only shows a panorama of his creativity but also offers the reader to think over the problems together with ‘Moro’. You can simply take place in his seat, look through his eyes and finally play like Morozevich! -
“With this book, I wanted to revitalise the Benko and show that, although the computer isn’t that happy with Black’s positions in certain lines, his resources are impressive, especially in ‘THE PRACTICAL GAME’, because White will face many difficulties and Black’s counter attacks, no matter how well-prepared he is. Our Beloved Benko is still very much ALIVE!:” ~ Milos Perunovic -
The problems in the book are accessible to players with a level from modest to confident. The most difficult ones are marked with an asterisk, while the most challenging chapter comes with a help page, that you may check when necessary. -
- A repertoire for Black providing all answers to White’s options.
- Paced with exciting games, original ideas and analysis.
- Thorough and up-to-date coverage of one of the most topical openings.
- Positionally motivated lines, but none the less never forgetting the needed dynamics.
- Aggressive ideas to tackle head-on white’s solid set-ups.
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Crucial Exercises To Sharpen Your Understanding This is the third book of the Thinkers’ Chess Academy series. I thought long and hard about the best way to structure this Workbook. My idea was to make a book with additional exercises for readers of my earlier books Thinker’s Chess Academy Volumes 1 & 2 (TCA1 and TCA2 for short) while working with these books, plus material for really interested and ambitious readers to maintain and broaden the skills they have already learned. -
- The clarity, simplicity, and pure instructiveness of this book is striking.
- The analysis is first rate, the commentary cogent, and the production excellent.
- The emphasis is on general principles that readers will be able to use in their own games.
- The key is to always stay ahead of your opponent and know how to control the chaos on the chess board. Armin Juhasz explains all this in detail without losing sight of practical decision making.
- With the right strategies, anyone can become a champion and level up their game to become unstoppable. This book is for the ambitious and keen player!
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DragonMasters volume 1 charts the history of the most exiting and dangerous opening known to chess – the Dragon Variation of the Sicilian Defense. Unlike almost all other books on the Dragon, the focus is not purely on theoretical development. Instead, the author has combined the mist historically important games, the famous players who chose to fight either side (sometimes both sides!) of the opening, and the moist unexpected and interesting stories featuring the Dragon. World Champions, contenders of the crown, code-breakers, revolutionaries in every sense of the world – all feature in this remarkable and entirely unique look into the history of an opening variation. as the ancient may say: Here be Dragons! -
Ivan Sokolov was one of the most furious attacking and creative players of his time. The author presents an overview of is his Life in Chess, full of entertaining unpublished material. He is not shy to share his opinions and promises the reader a personal roller coaster loaded with fun stories and unexpected twists. We are convinced you will enjoy the ride! -
Á útsölu!
- Jan Boekelman has produced you with a playable repertoire out of a somewhat sideline Opening, which nobody dared to touch to make it into an entire repertoire.
- Try to expand your knowledge in the 3.c3 variation and go beyond the book’s content
- Deepen your knowledge in 3.c4 variation and do not play it before you know it well
- Finally, follow the very strong GM Vladislav Artemiev, who has had a relatively successful run with this opening in rapid online events.
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“1.e4 e5 is not just an opening. It is repertoire that represents our game as a whole. It is something players of all styles will enjoy due to the countless possibilities 1…e5 provides. Hopefully, learning 1…e5 will also make you a better player” ~ Yuriy Krykun -
Á útsölu!Building on his ever creative ideas, Christian Bauer found a way to take a fresh look at the current status of the Alekhine Defense. It’s clear that Christian has a definite weak spot for Knights. Surely you will appreciate his best efforts to bamboozle your opponents into self-destruction by using the Alekhine.
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“Chess is not for the faint of heart,” Steinitz once said. I agree 100%! Chess players do not need pumped up muscles, they need a stable neuropsychic organization. How else can you resist the constant pressure that every nerve cell of the player experiences? I don’t always like this constant struggle with the stress that hangs over you, especially when you are wrong in a winning position. And in recent years, another “problem” has been added – incredibly powerful computer engines that younger opponents skillfully use in preparation for the game. But when you win a beautiful game or use a theoretical novelty invented at home (albeit with the help of a computer), or defend a difficult hopeless position, how great it is! And at such moments you don’t think what chess is – it is science, art or sport. At times like these, they are just part of your life.” ~ Vladimir Okhotnic -
“The current trend, developed in recent years, is for Black to capture on d4 with his e-pawn, aiming for Benoni-type pawn structure positions which lead to rather double-edged positions.” ~ Ivan Sokolov -
Find your role model. This book contains games from every single female World Champion, as well as young up and comers, top seasoned professionals, streamers, and even a section at Beth Harmon from the recent famed Queen’s Gambit hit show. This book is not just for girls and women, however. Any chess player can learn from these games and discover female chess history, both from the famous players in the past right up to the present day. -
My aim with the book was to provide you with a lot of insights into this remarkable variation, The Ark, and to entertain the reader with spectacular, resourceful lines to illustrate the ideas. Thus, I must stress that my book should also be interesting for those who just enjoy chess in general, not just for the fans of this line seeking new ideas! Of course, you don’t need to memorize everything to be able to play the variation successfully. Longer lines merely tend to be examples of how the game might develop, which help to enhance your understanding. -
The idea behind this book is for you to ‘play’ as in a real game, and it is my job to ensure you have a pleasant time while training. I suggest you take at least an hour and a half for each game and as your coach I will indicate when to guess the moves. Sometimes there will be suggestions — including tricky ones — to measure your concentration level. The ideas behind the moves are always explained. The games have been chosen according to my personal liking and commentaries are based on those by the players themselves, which is a great help in understanding what indeed happened. In some games you will have to guess moves for the losing side too. Indeed, I expect that as you proceed you will become familiar with the question of Mark Dvoretsky: “What could my opponent play?”. Importance has also been given to the practical aspect, which doesn’t always coincide with the suggestions off ered by the engines as best. This is to make it more like ‘a real game’. -
“A passed pawn must be blockaded, so as to have its power restrained as much as possible. The minor pieces (knight or bishop) are ideal for this purpose, as they can rarely be forced to retreat by enemy action. On the other hand, the major pieces (queen and rook) find it difficult to achieve a stable blockade as is easy to harass them, while one must also consider that, for such valuable pieces, dealing with a mere pawn cannot be an efficient form of employment. Taking the above into account, it becomes clear that the side with the passed pawn should seek to exchange minor pieces and retain the major ones; the opposite applies to the defending side.” -
The Staunton Gambit is a very rewarding opening. White’s piece development follows the classical principles of gambit play. White is ahead in development and obtains a fine initiative. Even without the theoretical knowledge of certain variations, White should be able to find his way. Best of all, White determines the direction of the game already on move two, without the risk of having to play the maneuvering games we know from the Leningrad Dutch, the Stonewall Dutch or the Classical Dutch. -
Efstratios Grivas – The Anti-Sicilian Bible – A Complete Repertoire for Black – 520 pages. We must be trained not only in concrete opening moves but also on the middlegame, endgame, and tactical part of the opening. And this is exactly what this book offers: a complete structural think-tank on the non-open form of the Sicilian Defense. -
I like the fact that a publisher has now been found to compile his best stories. The biggest names pass by: Kasparov, Karpov, Timman, Carlsen, Polgar, Kortchnoi, Anand, Caruana, Giri, Hou Yifan… This is just a sample, all portrayed at a time when they were in the spotlight in one way or another. The power of a good interviewer is that he prepares well. And that is what Gert does. Moreover, he is also conscientious in the elaboration of his stories. He checks facts and calls or emails the interviewee if something is not clear to him or needs explanation. I hope the reader enjoys reading this book. Jeroen van den Berg
skákbækurTómas Veigar Sigurðarson2023-06-12T16:33:59+00:00
