Search results for ""Thinkers Publishing""

Before you is the tournament book of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021. The event that has been won in sensational fashion by the young Dutch grandmaster Jorden van Foreest. In a tiebreak in the third blitz game, he was just a bit faster of his compatriot Anish Giri. The barrage was necessary because both players very surprisingly ended with the wonderful score of 8½ out of 13 in joint first place. With this they had left behind, among others, World Champion Magnus Carlsen (7½) and the number two in the world, Fabiano Caruana (8). An unprecedented achievement, because the tournament in Wijk aan Zee is sometimes called the "Wimbledon of chess" of the elite tournaments. After the last round, in which Van Foreest in a formidable way had left the Swede Nils Grandelius chanceless, it was waiting for the game between the Spaniard David Antón Guijarra and Anish Giri. Our compatriot was in a bad position, lost perhaps, but he managed to free himself from the tangled position and gain an important half point. It was decided beforehand that a tiebreak would be held, consisting of at least two blitz games. Should these result in a 1-1 score, an Armageddon game would be played. This turned out to be a nervous and blood-curdling fight, with the pieces flying around. In the end the younger OF the two, Jorden van Foreest, emerged victorious and thus the young Groninger booked the greatest success of his still young career. Apart from the commotion in the Dutch seaside resort of Wijk aan Zee, where the tournament was held – under strict corona rules – the whole of the Netherlands rose to its feet when this great result became known. Hadn't we had to wait since 1985, when Jan Timman won the Hoogovens chess tournament, for a Dutch chess player to stand on the highest podium? And now it was even two players from this country who could dispute together who would take the highest honor

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This book in front of you assists all players in their efforts to improve, and along their way, our young chess guns provided fresh insights how to trap and trick your opponent in the opening and early middlegame. With the many computer-assisted learning tools available, the player’s capacity to improve is limitless. This book offers the reader an insider’s candid view of how to unbalance the game in the modern age of chess.

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The idea was to write about the best players in the USA born at the turn of the century. These players grew and blossomed thanks to the continuous and generous support by the world’s biggest chess patron Rex Sinquefield and the Saint Louis Chess Club. Their success changed the scenery of American chess, set new standards and propelled the country as the promised land for new talents. Grandmaster Alex Colovic will be your guide in his fascinating journey with the US’s Young Chess Guns!

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Half a century ago I left a country, the red color of which dominated a large portion of the world map. One way or another, the fate of almost every single person described in this book is forever linked with that now none-existent empire. Many of them ended up beyond its borders too. Cultures and traditions, and certainly not least of all a Soviet mentality, couldn’t have just left them without a trace. Having been transplanted into a different environment, they had to play the role of themselves apart from certain corrections with regard to the tastes and customs of a new society. Nevertheless, every one of them, both those who left the Soviet Union, and those who stayed behind, were forever linked by one common united phenomenon: they all belonged to the Soviet school of chess. This school of chess was born in the 20’s, but only began to count its true years starting in 1945, when the representatives of the Soviet Union dominated an American squad in a team match. Led by Mikhail Botvinnik, Soviet Grandmasters conquered and ruled the world, save for a short Fischer period, over the course of that same half century. In chess as well as ballet, or music, the word “Soviet” was actually a synonym for the highest quality interpretation of the discipline. The Soviet Union provided unheard of conditions for their players, which were the sort of which their colleagues in the West dare not even dream. Grandmasters and even Masters received a regular salary just for their professional qualifications, thereby raising the prestige of a chess player to what were unbelievable heights. It was a time when any finish in an international tournament, aside from first, was almost considered a failure when it came to Soviet players, and upon their return to Moscow they had to write an official explanation to the Chess Federation or the Sports Committee. The isolation of the country, separated from the rest of the world by an Iron Curtain, was another reason why, talent and energy often manifested themselves in relatively neutral fields. Still if with music, cinematography, philosophy, or history, the Soviet people were raised on a strict diet, that contained multiple restrictions, this did not apply to chess. Grandmasters, and Masters, all varied in terms of their upbringing, education, and mentality and were judged solely on their talent and mastery at the end of the day. Maybe that’s why the Soviet school of chess was full of such improbable variety not only in terms of the style of play of its representatives, but also their different personality types. Built was a gigantic chess pyramid, at the base of which were school championships, which were closely followed by district ones. Later city championships, regions, republics, and finally-the ultimate cherry on top-the national event itself. The Championships of the Soviet Union were in no way inferior to the strongest international tournaments, and collections of the games played there came out as separate publications in the West. That huge brotherhood of chess contained its very own hierarchy within. Among the millions, and multitudes of parishioners-fans of the game-there were the priests-candidate masters. Highly respected were the cardinals-masters. As for Grandmasters though well…they were true Gods. Every person in the USSR knew their names, and those names sounded with just as much adoration, and admiration as those of the nation’s other darlings-the country’s best hockey players. In those days the coming of the American genius only served to strengthen the interest and attention of society towards chess, never mind the fact that by that point it had already been fully saturated by it. The presence of tons of spectators at a chess tournament in Moscow as shown in the series “The Queen’s Gambit” is in no way an exaggeration. That there truly was the golden age of chess. Under the constant eye, and control of the government, chess in the USSR was closely interwoven with politics, much like everything else in that vanished country. Concurrently, the closed, and isolated society in which it was born only served to enable its development, creating its very own type of culture-the giant world of Soviet chess. I was never indifferent to the past. Today, when there is that much more of it then the future, this feeling has become all the sharper. The faster the twentieth century sprints away from us, and the thicker the grass of forgetting grows, soon enough, and under the verified power of the most powerful engines that world of chess will be gone as well. It was an intriguing, and colorful world, and I saw it as my duty to not let it disappear into that empty abyss. Genna Sosonko, May 2021.

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'1.e4! The Chess Bible’ (in three volumes) is a complete and authoritative repertoire for White based on sound main lines and the latest cutting-edge analysis. Existing theory is revisited and expanded with several fresh ideas, novelties and refutations which will appeal to dedicated 1.e4 players and theoreticians alike. However, each section is also carefully designed to be easily digested by players of all standards, with an opening overview, illustrated diagrams of key concepts, and instructive and annotated games.This book is an essential practical resource for any 1.e4 player and will greatly reward those who are looking to master their understanding of the open games.The openings covered in this volume are: The Scandinavian Defence, The Alekhine’s Defence, The Nimzowitsch Defence, The Pirc & Modern Defences andThe Philidor Defence.

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Are you struggling with your chess development? While dedicating hours and hours on improving your craft, your rating simply does not want to move upwards? Spending loads of money on chess books and DVDs, but feeling no real improvement at all? No worries – the book that you are holding in your hands might represent a game changer! Years of coaching experience as well as independent research has allowed the author to identify the key skills that will enhance the progress of just about any player rated between 1600 and 2500. Becoming a strong chess thinker is namely not only reserved exclusively for elite players, but actually constitutes the cornerstone of chess training, being no less important than memorizing opening theory, acquiring middlegame knowledge or practicing endgames. By studying this book, you will:- learn how to universally deal with any position you might encounter in your games, even if you happen to see it for the first time in your life, - have the opportunity to solve 90 unique, hand-picked puzzles, extensively annotated and peculiarly organised for the Readers’ optimal learning effect, - gain access to more than 300 pages of original grandmaster thoughts and advice, leaving you awestruck and hungry for more afterwards!

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The Tarrasch variation of the French Defense is reached after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2. This is one of the most positional treatments White has available. Using his typical funny and dynamic writing style, David shows that it is possible to play solidly but also remain with the dynamic elements Black has available. He recommends several creative lines, even a bit off the beaten track, but which he has very carefully worked out over the several years of his own practice. Again, Miedema and his love for the French Defense shines through his second volume, the third and final being available at the end of this year.

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For all chess players, beginners to professionals, one thing is crucial: any ending knowledge will bring you the key to success. In this area of the game, many points are given away through the lack of adequate knowledge of these endings. Alexey Dreev continued his journey, after his first in the series 'Practical Play in the Middlegame', he provided an unique and practical guide, logically and clearly organized by theme. On top of that he also included many fascinating exercices to test the reader's understanding. This endgame book should be in anyone's library if you want to acquire the correct knowledge of the final part of our Royal Game.

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In this highly original book, Grandmaster Ipatov shares the chess philosophy that helped him become a top chess grandmaster. Contrary to the generally accepted norms that permeate the modern chess world, he argues that spending most of one's training time on studying opening theory and memorizing trending lines until move 30 is wrong. However, this is exactly how most beginners start learning chess nowadays. Some strong grandmasters also fall into this trap when they prioritize opening theory amongst other aspects of the game. This often leads to fundamental gaps in one's chess understanding which is really hard to fix, especially for young players. Ipatov's ideology lies in that one should work on enhancing his general chess understanding and take on a surprise-first approach when it comes to playing openings in order to avoid opponents' preparation in the mainstream theory and take them out of book in the early stage of the game. Most of the book is comprised of Alexander Ipatov's original analyses covering a variety of offbeat opening lines from both White and Black's perspective. His recent match against the 2018 US Chess Champion Sam Shankland, where Ipatov implemented a novelty on move two – something unheard of in the modern era with millions of games being played to date – serves as a good illustration that the philosophy deserves more attention and research than it currently has. This book serves to fill in this gap and welcome more debate on the subject.

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The author focused in his first volume of pure chess calculation on middlegames. Romain has carefully selected 496 positions, which arose in real games in the recent past. He separated the exercises into 11 different categories, covering both tactics and strategy, attack and defence. This book is a fantastic training tool for any player to improve his level of chess thinking.

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Dragoljub Velimirovic was a former Yugoslav - Serbian, chess grandmaster whose international career was handicapped by political intrigues and his outspoken temperament. During the heyday of the USSR as the greatest national chess power, the former Yugoslavia was capable of running the Soviet Union a good second. Dragoljub Velimirovic posed a real threat to the men from Moscow.Velimirovic was born in 1942 to a prominent family from Valjevo, in the former Yugoslavia. He was introduced to chess at the age of seven by his mother, Jovanka Velimirovic, one of Yugoslavia’s leading female chess players. He died at the age 72, being one of the last players to develop a system or strategy that is so inventive it bears its creator’s name. It is a feat that is unlikely to be repeated in the modern era, when computer-based games and databases so thoroughly dominate competition that it is almost impossible to come up with something new. That does not mean tha

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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. How have these games been selected? It is at this point I can mention the real reason- my UK Girls chess project called ‘She Plays To Win’ (SPTW). This group has officially been going since April 11th 2020. I had the idea even a few years before, but I was not sure how it could be set up. The unfortunate events of worldwide lock-down provided the answer, as the switch to being online allowed me to offer zoom lessons for UK girls as well as weekly girls tournaments on the Lichess server. I do this for free and parents have never paid anything to get involved. Each week I cover a top female player and we analyse the game. Over the past year I have built up a large collection of games and tactics, which I felt could be published. It is the most up to date collection about women’s chess covering a variety of ages and levels. After just one year, I have over 360 girls across the UK signed up, and a further 150 beginners in our new beginners program. I hope this is just the beginning.

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Volume 2 is divided into eight chapters. Unlike Volume 1, it is possible to mix the order in which you study these chapters , but not to study the games within each chapter out of order, since the examples build upon each other in complexity. I suggest that the chapter on “Passed Pawns” should be studied first, because many of the various middlegame structures can ultimately give rise to a passed pawn in the endgame. Work carefully through these examples, because masters use pawn structures even in the opening to predict the properties of endgames which can potentially arise – this is a widely neglected aspect and can be a strong weapon for you!

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The Open Spanish, Ruy Lopez is a variation that never gives a boring struggle. It’s one of the most active and dynamic defenses you will find around. If Black is willing to learn the ideas and tactical twists that underpin this line, he has every chance to enjoy his winning chances. Our well known theoretician and grandmaster Milos Pavlovic will be your guide!

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The Philidor Defense is a most popular opening at all levels. In this first book Sergio brings a no-nonsense opening repertoire for players of all strenghts. You will find this book nor only a useful handy guide but find it also loaded with an indispensable source of inspiring ideas.

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Before you lies the second volume in a trilogy about the Sicilian Defense. The first volume dealt with the Najdorf and Scheveningen variations, and it is now time to pay attention to three other extremely popular systems: the Taimanov, Kan and Richter-Rauzer variations. After careful consideration within the Thinkers Publis­-hing team, we decided that it made sense to group these variations together. In particular, the first two are closely related and share the feature that, in both cases, Black plays …e7-e6 and …a7-a6 at an early stage. They typically have the idea of retaining more options for their king’s bishop by postponing …d7-d6 (or even omitting it entirely.) The bishop may go to b4 or c5 in different lines. The Richter-Rauzer is, in theory, just one of the possible developments from a Classical Sicilian. We have already dealt with a few games that started with the Classical and where Black shortly played …e7-e6; and 6.Bc4 (the Sozin variation) was rightly treated within the Scheveningen pages. However, it is clear that White’s most po­pular counter, the Richter-Rauzer variation (6.Bg5) deserves separate attention. While looking at the variation structure for the Kan and Taimanov and deciding on which model games to use, I noticed a lot of possible transitions to the ‘Hedgehog’ structure, shown on the right. The key features are white pawns on e4 and c4, and at least four black pawns on a6, b6, d6 and e6. This structure is ideally suited to the task of playing for a win as Black, because of the very complicated middlegames that arise. (And one often needs complicated middlegames to have a better chance of ‘converting’ a rating advantage!) The ‘Hedgehog’ is definitely a structure rather than a variation, but it has such a distinctive character of its own that I chose to examine it first in chapter 2. This simplifies later discussion of the Taimanov and Kan variations by removing the need to discuss every possible way of entering a Hedgehog structure.

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One of the important issues players face – both relatively inexperienced ones at the beginning of their career as well as seasoned ones as they realize their chess craves change – is choosing an opening repertoire. As a player and a coach, I have seen many approaches to this question, both remarkable and mistaken. Some players believe that the opening is something to ignore, that everything is decided in the middlegame. Others think that studying opening traps is what wins games.Some tend to follow their favorite world-class player's recommendations, while others like to sidestep well-known opening theory early on, preferring unpopular side-lines.To me, opening choice is about all those decisions. I think that many openings are good; there are some dubious ones, but they can also yield formidable results overall or in specific situations if chosen and handled carefully. I firmly believe that your opening repertoire should mostly be based on your playing style and other personal traits, such as memory and work ethic. It is important to evaluate yourself as well as your strengths and weaknesses properly in order to be able to build the right repertoire that would not only suit you well, but also improve your overall chess. The little detail, though, is in the word “mostly”. Namely, I firmly believe that there are a few classical, rock-solid openings with an impeccable reputation, such as 1.e4 e5 as a response to 1.e4 or the Queen's Gambit and Nimzo as an answer to 1.d4 that players of all styles and standards should try, no matter what their style is. This will enable players to learn, appreciate and practice some of the key chess values, such as the importance of space, lack of weaknesses, bad pieces, and comfortable development and so on – you name it. I, myself, started out as a keen Sicilian player. Just like all youngsters, I cheerfully enjoyed complications, tactical massacres and everything else that the Sicilian is all about. However, as I was developing as a player, my style was changing also. Eventually, I realized I was much more successful with positional play, so it was time to change the outfit – and 1.e4 e5 suited me well. I have used this move as a response to 1.e4 nearly exclusively in recent years, both versus weaker and stronger opposition, with fantastic results. If only other openings would grant me such results as well! I have not only studied these variations myself but have also shown them to numerous private students. To be frank, we have almost always concentrated on White's most dangerous possibilities, such as the Ruy Lopez, Italian and Scotch. Occasionally, we have also analysed the side-lines – either as a part of preparation for specific opponents or to make sure my students become more universal players and gain more all-round knowledge. Eventually, I realized that the knowledge I gained from 1.e4 e5 can and should be shared with more players, and this is how my book came to life. Of course, the readers will differ, so there is a no “one-size-fits-all” solution. But, I have carefully and diligently tried to achieve the same goal I used when working with my students: to keep my recommendations both theoretically sound as well as practical and accessible. I expect not only titled players but club players and the less experienced readers to equally benefit from this book. So, sometimes you will find razor-sharp novelties, but in many cases, we will rely on positional understanding, typical structures and standard ideas. I believe the opening is not all about memorization, so I have taken a different approach from many authors by keeping the balance between recommending objectively good variations as well as making sure an adequate amount of work will suffice to get you started. You won't need to spend years studying the material, fearing there is still much more to learn. 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. And, finally, I hope the book you are now holding in your hands will not only give you joy but illustrate a passion for chess with the variations presented in this work.

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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. GM David Navara May 2020.

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Club players love to study openings as so much material is available. However, it has often been shown that results do not match the amount of study invested, as in practice it is much harder to navigate your way around an opening when the opponent deviates from theory. That is why Herman treats the study of openings in a completely different way. He focuses on increasing insight. In this book he discusses the backgrounds of openings, provides guidelines and explains in an instructive and accessible way the basic principles of a position. This book, the third in its series, provides an overview of the positions and corresponding plans arising from our beloved Sicilian Defense, being in this case ‘Part 1’, The Najdorf and Scheveningen Structures. Three more parts are being written as we speak.

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The Modernized Grünfeld Defense will be extremely helpful for any chess player looking for a reliable lifetime repertoire against White’s 1.d4. It will benefit current Grünfeld players as Yaro unveils his analysis and numerous novelties waiting to be played over the board.

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The authors selected for their first volume an exceptional amount of great important tactical themes and puzzles. They have only one message for the devoted chess and club player: focus and exercise

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What does it take to become an expert in opening preparation?How can we learn the secret methods which allow the top players to dominate everyone else in the opening?Books can hardly be useful in this regard because modern books on openings, regardless of the level of the author, are very standard and straightforward. The title of this book claims to answer this question. Your author will then back up his claim with proof in the form of analysis from a strong engine. You are then left to decide whether or not to include these ideas in your opening repertoire.What is missing is some sort of guidance and advice relating to what sorts of tournaments and against what sorts of players this idea should be employed. Moreover, every one of you has likely noticed that even the best opening idea still has a relatively short life span and can hardly be used in more than a few games. So far I have published about 10 books on openings and for me it is not a problem to publish another 10 or even mor

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There is no doubt that the Nimzovich Defense is one of Black’s most inspiring openings after 1.e4. Black strives to unbalance the position by creating new problems for White from move two, giving himself every opportunity to fight for the initiative from the outset. It is no surprise that 1…Nc6 appeals ambitious players who relish a complicated battle. In this book, GM Christian Bauer explains how to use this powerful weapon drawing from his own successful experiences. He is not shy to show you the fundamental ideas, the traps, the pitfalls and naturally the move order subtleties which play such an important role in our modern game of chess. We are convinced this book will give you plenty of confidence and make your opponent think more than twice.

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The book you hold is the first work of GM Sethuraman and contains his efforts to find new paths and fresh perspectives on these two variations of these famous Sicilians. We hope you gain from information in this book as well as simply enjoy the games themselves.

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This is the first book fully devoted to the double fianchetto for both colors, White and Black. GM Daniel Hausrath draws upon his vast experience to provide guidance on how to use the different kinds of set-ups the double fianchetto has available for White and Black. In a clear manner, Daniel explains the many subtle move orders, the critical resulting middle game structures and typical endgame positions. His guidance through the presented games will bring you an immediate gain in the understanding of the benefits of the ‘Double Fianchetto’. This is an ideal book for all club players and is written by one of the leading experts on the ‘Double Fianchetto’.

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Most tactics and training books are good for boosting your calculation ability, but they do not teach you how to calculate. This is the difference I want to make with my own books, by arranging the exercises in different categories so that the thinking process more closely resembles the one we have during a game. Level 1 of my new series consists of learning how to checkmate your opponent. The first three chapters are a rather classical tactics training, then things get harder. In Chapter 4, you have to trap your opponent’s king; in Chapter 5, you have to win by eliminating the defender in your opponent’s position; in Chapter 6, by using a decisive double threat and in Chapter 7, with an unexpected winning sacrifice. Chapter 8 consists of a few other problems which required short instructions. You should go through the book chapter by chapter. The complexity of the examples increases throughout the book, and you shouldn’t skip a category if you consider it too easy. The book covers the full thinking process you should have when trying to mate your opponent, or when the situation of your opponent’s king may tempt you to look further in a mating direction. As with all training, there is a warm-up, a tough phase, a break, a relaxing phase, then another tough phase, and respecting the pedagogical order of the book will make sure that you derive the maximum benefit from it, and are 100% ready for Level 2. After you have completed all 276 exercises in the book you won’t let your opponent’s king escape when it shouldn’t. Reading it should pay off quickly in terms of results! And this is exactly what I wish you.

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These three volumes contain the most memorable games of five-time US Champion Gata Kamsky. Volume 1 covers the period before his early retirement. Volume 2 and 3 cover the period after his return to the game and will be available in the Autumn of 2019 and 2020. The annotations are an attempt to search for the truth and reveal the workings of a Grandmaster’s mind. The introductions are designed to show the reader what he thought, felt and experienced at the time and during each game. In addition, he sometimes shares his personal opinions on subjects like politics and his philosophy of life.

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Your opponent plays a gambit against you. How dare they!? But how can you punish them? Spanish Grandmaster Salgado has taken a close look at a wide variety of 'Gambit Lines'. Many gambit lines, where one or more pawns are sacrificed for the initiative, have to be taken seriously, but Ivan has succeeded in finding many new ideas and theoretical improvements. The result is the neutralisation or refutation of most of these common and well known 'Gambits'. This book is simply a must for anyone who wants to be fully prepared to engage in battle against a 'Gambit Player'. If you are a gambit player yourself, you need to read this to prepare yourself for new challenges to your systems.

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The Benko Gambit is the ideal way to fight and seize the initiative for Black. Grandmaster Perunovic revisited all the modern lines and provided unbiased coverage of the more recent ideas, the most important being the delay of the recapture on a6. He found and tested in practical play, many new but still typical Benko manoeuvres. If you wanna surprise the 1.d4 player, this book and opening is the perfect tool!

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Chess has fascinated people for centuries. But what exactly is chess? Is it a sport, a science, or an art? Well, people think differently about that. Some Grandmasters may say it’s a sport, while others think it’s an art. Despite the individual nature of the game, we have always found it striking that chess is also a social activity. Nowadays, chess is regularly played on the internet, but still more often in social settings such as clubs, tournaments and cafés, making it a unique activity for people of all ages and backgrounds. At the Olympiad, chess players from different countries find common ground because chess has its own international language of pieces, moves and rules. Even in a park, chess can create connections between strangers as they engage in a game together. Like chess, photos also have the power to connect people across time and distance. Photos capture moments and emotions that transcend language and cultural barrier

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Adrian and Oleg compiled, resulting from all different kind of middlegames, an impressive amount of most instructive endgames. The ideal material for any chess player or trainer in search of the need endgame finesses and skills.

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How is this book different from other chess books for young children?It starts as a fairy tale about a king, a dragon, and a young girl with a dream. A young girl is the main character to encourage girls and make it clear that chess is also for them. The history of the game of chess is incorporated as you get acquainted with the characters.The picture book is very inviting, with plenty of funny and beautiful drawings. There is a lot to discover! For the youngest preschoolers, it is best to tell the story in your own words, but the older preschoolers fully enjoy the rhyming story.Every chess rule can be found in an attractive drawing. This was an important didactic choice made by the author, like the choice to tell the story in rhyme. Preschoolers love repetition and this is a handy tool when memorizing the chess rules.

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This book is about the Nimzo-Indian Classical line 4.Qc2 (also known as the Capablanca Variation) and the 4.Bd2-line, for which basically I could not find an established name. As far as I know, the 4.Bd2 line has never been covered in such a comprehensive way in any book before. In the text I suggest that this line should have the combined name of Tartakower-Duchamp line because Tartakower played it often, while to my surprise Marcel Duchamp (who was also a famous French artist) played it too in the 1930s and indeed in a very good positional fashion against strong players. Some of those games are in the book. Now this line enjoys greater popularity than ever before. About the Classical line with 4. Qc2 there is nothing much to add, except for the fact that it has become hugely popular, but unfortunately from my point of view it involves too much engine-style chess.

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This book is about the Nimzo-Indian Classical line 4.Qc2 (also known as the Capablanca Variation) and the 4.Bd2-line, for which basically I could not find an established name. The 4.Bd2 line has never been covered in such a comprehensive way in any book before. In the text I suggest that this line should have the combined name of Tartakower-Duchamp line because Tartakower played it often, while to my surprise Marcel Duchamp (who was also a famous French artist) played it too in the 1930s and indeed in a very good positional fashion against strong players. Some of those games are in the book. Now this line enjoys greater popularity than ever before. About the Classical line with 4. Qc2 there is nothing much to add, except for the fact that it has become hugely popular, but unfortunately from my point of view it involves too much engine-style chess.

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The book you have just started reading is about a very interesting and difficult concept: the exchange sacrifice. This is the moment in chess when basic mathematics breaks down, the moment when 3 counts equal to or even more than 5. So let us leave the mathematics aside and try to figure out why this simple calculation is so difficult to understand. The answer is largely hidden in psychology, as the ninth World Champion, Tigran Petrosian, has often told us, as the man who brought this strategic-tactical chess concept to its first peak. Chess beginners were taught the value of pieces by their teachers (parents, grandparents, perhaps at school or even later in the beginners’ sections of chess clubs). We explain the difference between piece values to children in the simplest way possible, with the help of a unit of measurement, and in chess those units are the pawns. They tell us that a rook is worth five pawns (units) and a knight and a bishop are worth about three each. They also tell us to always be careful, especially during exchanges, to ensure we take at least as much from our opponent as he or she took from us. So, one rook at a time, perhaps for a bishop and a knight next to two pawns. This “chess thinking” is done quickly and very strongly subconsciously in most, one could even say all. Therefore, when choosing moves, we will automatically reject unfavorable exchanges. But who trades a queen for a knight, a bishop for a pawn, and the like? We know from our own life experience that it is better to have ten coins in our pocket than three, and I prefer three to one! This psychological barrier is the most difficult step in making the decision to sacrifice. And so it is with the sacrifice of an exchange. Five for three, that is! Even five for four, if we get a pawn for the rook along with the knight or the bishop. “I am not stupid,” you think. The Exchange Sacrifice Unleashed brings different games or coaches try to explain this and that to us, we see that a material advantage is not always something to celebrate about.

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This book is an expansion of Pandolfini’s commandments - The author came up with 200 axioms, one-liners and mantras. This list of 200 is an amalgamation from various sources including previous coaches. Things I’ve read, things I’ve seen in videos, conversations with other chess players and, of course, brutal losses over the board. I hope this list serves as primer for you before you go into battle, so that you remember key patterns and ideas, and also helps elevate your state of mind to that of a warrior going to war.

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The Sicilian is Black’s most dynamic, asymmetrical reply to 1. e4. It produces the psychological and tension factors which denote the best in modern play and gives notice of a fierce fight on the very first move. The Sicilian Defense became recognized as the defense that offered Black the most winning chances against 1.e4. Great players like Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov favored sharp, aggressive play and employed the Sicilian Defense almost exclusively throughout their careers, burning down the white attacks. This Anti-Sicilian Bible provides you with all kind of weapons to counter White’s set-ups in the best and dynamic ways possible. The material provided is up-to-date to May 2022.

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The Ark has always been considered one of the theoretically-heaviest defenses in meeting the Ruy Lopez, though also the most exciting and definitely the most beautiful of all. It requires tactical vision, good calculation and memory, but not just from us – from the White side too. Let’s not forget that! I also must say that no good lines are absent of theory, so if we’ve decided to learn something “finally”, I argue that it can very well be an ambitious, double-edged line too! :-) I should also mention that this book is a complete Black repertoire starting from 3. Bb5 a6, the exchange variation being the first chapter. The publisher and me agreed on offering a full package, one that should prove useful for many years to come!

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The main part of the book is divided into exercises and solutions, with 110 positions taken from double fianchetto games. I have divided the exercises into chapters, with each chapter featuring games by players who have deployed the double fianchetto quite often. You will find a lot of typical motifs used by these players.

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Do you relish the prospect of setting your opponent awkward problems from the early start of the game? If so, you should just continue reading, for in the Bg5 Najdorf, it’s every man for himself, and only the best informed and most creative resourceful player survive. The Bg5 variation gives White very dangerous attacking ideas, and Blacks really needs to know a precise defense to come out of this variation alive. This book provides weapons that are ideal choices for those who revel in forcing opponents into chaotic and uncomfortable positions.Lukasz Jarmula, a player and writer of international caliber, will be your truthful guide!

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Do you relish the prospect of setting your opponent awkward problems from the early start of the game? If so, you should just continue reading, for in the Mar Del Plata and King's Indian, it’s every man for himself, and only the best informed and most creative resourceful player survive. This variation gives both colors very dangerous attacking ideas, and you really needs to know a precise defense to come out of this variation alive. This book provides weapons that are ideal choices for those who revel in forcing opponents into chaotic and uncomfortable positions.

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Grandmasters Kotronias and Ivanov are renowned as leading theoreticians and chess trainers. They offer a unique and world-class repertoire based on 1.d4! They advocate an ambitious approach for White, with the aim to fight for an advantage in any position. This is their first joint effort; they tackle the ever-popular Queen’s Gambit Accepted and their sidelines in Volume 1A and 1B. We at Thinkers believe their job could not have been done any better.

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What is the best way to improve your opening knowledge? Memorizing variations? Not really. In the first volume of Dariusz’ trilogy, the author helps you to understand the instructive patterns that arise from the immensely popular Nimzo-Indian Defense. Packed with plenty new ideas, his methods consider the different ways White has at his disposal. His unique approach shows Black has nothing to fear, on the contrary! Thinkers is convinced you will enjoy the read!

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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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The Richter-Rauzer is one of the most complex and rich battlegrounds in the Open Sicilian. This book is the distillation of the authors' decades-long experience in this variation, offering a practical approach based on understanding and knowledge of typical ideas. Do you wish to explore something double-edged and sharp, this book will leave you confident and fully armed to play for a win. For this second revised edition, Grandmasters Kozul and Jankovic teamed up to present you a way to even throw your most experienced opponent off balance!

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