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This book is dedicated to chess, though I must confess it is not that same chess with which I immediately and eternally fell in love many, many years ago. There were plenty of wonderful moments, and no shortage of horrible disappointments associated with that version of the game in which I certainly considered myself a true professional. The realities of chess life during the second half of the twentieth century are diffi cult for today’s young people to imagine or understand: Tournaments lasting 30,40 days with adjourned games being completed on specific days allotted for such adjournments. Unbelievable time trouble given that back then only the unrestrained dreamer David Bronstein even thought about incremental time to be added after each move. Mountains of cigarette butts in ashtrays — a fixed attribute of the chess battles and battlefields in those severest of days. Finally, suitcases filled to the very brim with Yugoslav Chess Informants and handmade card indexes. -
Nýr titill. Mæli með þessari! The character of any player is reflected in their game. It also applies to choosing their openings. Therefore, for you to better understand what I’m going to explain in this book, I should describe my style. I play simple positional chess and like to play the endgame. I don’t look for complications for the sake of complications, but if the position requires sacrifices based on the situation on the board, then I will do so without hesitation. I like to control the course of actions; therefore, I would prefer to play with the initiative without a pawn than vice-versa. In general, giving the opponent dynamics is a bad idea. -
‘I as though traced the evolution of chess thought and repeated its basic steps in my own development … convinced that any player with high ambition should follow such a path’ ~ Vassily Smyslov, 125 Selected Games (1983) This book takes the reader on a journey from early 19th century developments in the game up to the present-day. It takes in the revolutionary Wilhelm Steinitz’s early summation and establishment of a firm positional basis for chess and the considerable contributions made by all of the subsequent world champions and certain other great players, including the contemporary computer phenomenon, AlphaZero. -
What you are holding in your hands is the natural follow up of Volume 1 where some “lesser” openings aft er 1.d4 d5 2.c4 were examined, as well as a couple of less popular variations of the Queen’s Gambit Accepted. This second Volume comprises all of the established main lines of the QGA aft er our recommended 3.e4 with the intention of giving you a full picture of this topical opening while helping you build a repertoire based on aggressive ideas. Objectively speaking, it is very hard for White to find an advantage in the event of the absolute main lines 3…Nf6 and 3…e5, but we believe we have done our duty. We scrutinized multiple interesting variations with the help of engines while applying our human understanding to select those lines that would be the most unpleasant for Black. Additionally, we tried to provide you with as many alternatives as possible so as not to become “victims” of a narrow repertoire. -
- The spirit of Indian Defenses is based on flexibility and harmony.
- Most of the lines are positional, not tactical in character.
- While playing Black, you have to accept that occasionally you will not equalize, or get surprised or out-prepared.
- Learning the material from this book should sharply limit the extent of such instances, thus improving your overall results.
- Finally, we have an important piece of advice: remember about color strategy!
- The Bogo-Indian is mainly based on dark-squared control, while the Nimzo-Indian does so on the light squares. In case you forget what to do, this may prove a very useful guideline when choosing a move.
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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. -
“The endgame is the moment of truth. It is the phase of the game where we will try to reap the seeds of our effort regardless of whether that is the full point of victory or the half point of the draw. The significance of errors increases in the endgame as the opportunities for correcting them are few.” ~ Efstratios Grivas -
- 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!
skákbækurTómas Veigar Sigurðarson2023-06-12T16:33:59+00:00
