Search results for ""Author Alexander Raetsky""

Fed up having to defend with Black? Annoyed by all those irritating white systems? Then this is the book for you! Russian international master Alexander Raetsky draws upon his wealth of experience gained playing on the tough international tournament circuit to supply you with an all-in-one solution to your problems. The reader is provided with a complete repertoire for Black against 1 e4, based on the ever-reliable Sicilian Defence. Lines suggested are fun to play and promise Black dynamic counterplay. The variations are also easy to learn: this book is especially useful for players who have neither the time nor inclination to learn reams and reams of the latest opening theory.

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The Queen's Gambit Accepted (QGA) is Black's simplest way of dealing with one of White's most fashionable openings, the Queen's Gambit. Black grabs the gambit pawn and thus refuses to succumb to the passive positions so typical of the Queen's Gambit Declined. This direct and uncompromising way of playing gives rise to dynamic positions where both sides have excellent chances to play for the win. It's no surprise that the QGA has attracted many high-class advocates, including Garry Kasparov and Vishy Anand. In "Starting Out: Queen's Gambit Accepted" Alexander Raetsky and Maxim Chetverik take a fresh look at this famous opening. The early moves and ideas are introduced and care is taken to explain the reasoning behind them - something that is often neglected or taken for granted. As with previous works in the popular "Everyman Chess Starting Out" series, the reader is helped throughout with a plethora of notes, tips and warnings highlighting the vital characteristics of the QGA and of opening play in general. Written by opening experts, this book covers the all the main lines and is ideal for the improving player.

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Ideal for those wanting to understand the basics of Benoni Systems, this book is a study of all the crucial Benoni systems apart from the Modern Benoni. It presents diverse and practical options against the queen's pawn opening for dynamic, tactical players and solid, positional players alike. Included are such daring defences as the controversial Blumenfeld Counter-Gambit and the Benko Gambit, a favorite with uncompromising Grandmasters such as Veselin Topalov and Vassily Ivanchuk. On the other hand, Black also has the opportunity to adopt solid, respectable defences such as the Czech Benoni and the Schmid Benoni. Whether Black likes to sacrifice and take the initiative, or whether he prefers to play in a more restrained manner, there is something here for all types of players. In this user-friendly book, opening theoreticians Alexander Raetsky and Maxim Chetverik go back to basics, studying the fundamental principles of the Benoni Systems and its many variations. Throughout the book there are an abundance of notes, tips, and warnings to help improving players, while key strategies, ideas, and tactics for both sides are clearly illustrated.

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Until a few years ago, the Petroff was opening that was favored by a few top Grandmasters, including Anatoly Karpov and Artur Yusupov. However, the last few years have seen a dramatic rise in its popularity, and it now provides battlefields for many top clashes of the modern elite players, including Kasparov, Kramnik, Anand, Leko, Topalov, and England's Michael Adams. This is bound to have a positive effect on its popularity at club level. In this book, openings experts Alexander Raetsky and Maxim Chetverik study the typical plans and tactics for both White and Black in this complex opening. Using illustrative games, the authors provide up-to-date coverage of a line that has experienced a major overhaul in the last decade.

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Three brilliant books from Everyman Chess brought together in one volume. The Masters: Alexander Alekhine, Master of Attack The Masters: Boris Spassky, Master of Initiative The Masters: Mikhail Tal, Tactical Genius By Alexander Raetsky and Maxim Chetverik What separated Alexander Alekhine from the rest of his contemporaries? Why did he dominate the chess world for so long? The main reason was undoubtedly his brilliant attacking style of play. Alekhine had a combinative gift and thrilled the chess public and influenced every great chess player since. Garry Kasparov once said I fell in love with the rich complexity of his ideas at the chessboard. Alekhine's attacks came suddenly, like destructive thunderstorms that erupted from a clear sky. Boris Spassky is a true chess legend, a World Champion who, thanks to his monumental battles with Bobby Fischer, raised the popularity of the game to a level that had never been seen before. Although at the height of his powers many saw Spassky as a complete and universal player, adept at outplaying his opponents in any type of position, itis no secret that from an early age he thrived on sharp, attacking play. He was a superb practical player, and with the initiative at his hands he could conjure up wonderful combinations and deadly attacks. Mikhail Tal was simply a chess phenomenon. The magician from Riga stunned the chess world when he became the youngest ever World Champion (at that time) in 1960, and he won countless supporters for his scintillating tactical play and his infectious enthusiasm for the game. Tal's dazzling tactical style would often leave his hapless opponents in a state of shell shock. As former World Champion Vassily Smyslov once noted Tal's appearance in chess had the effect of an exploding bomb, since his style of play was distinguished by extraordinary combinative brilliance.

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Three classic titles from the Everyman Chess Starting Out Series in one volume. Starting Out: Queen’s Gambit Accepted by Alexander Raetsky and Maxim Chetverik Starting Out: Queen’s Gambit Declined by Neil McDonald Starting: Slav Semi Slav by Glenn Flear The Queen's Gambit Accepted (QGA) is Black's simplest way of dealing with one of White's most fashionable openings, the Queen's Gambit. Black grabs the gambit pawn and thus refuses to succumb to the passive positions so typical of the Queen's Gambit Declined. This direct and uncompromising way of playing gives rise to dynamic positions where both sides have excellent chances to play for the win. It's no surprise that the QGA has attracted many high-class advocates, including Garry Kasparov and Vishy Anand. The Queen's Gambit Declined is an opening of great historical importance and Black's fundamental answer to 1 d4. From the very first move Black obtains a firm foothold in the centre, something that White finds extremely hard to undermine. Indeed, Black often bases his entire strategy around this control. The soundness of the Queen's Gambit Declined has never been in question, and its supporters at the highest level include a long list of Grandmasters headed by Kasparov, Kramnik, Karpov and Short, as well as many World Champions from the past. The very closely linked Slav and Semi-Slav Defences are two of the most popular and combative openings that Black can play against the Queen's Gambit. They have provided the battleground for thousands of exciting encounters between the world's chess elite, including Garry Kasparov, Vishy Anand, Vladimir Kramnik, Alexei Shirov and Alexander Morozevich. Players of all levels are attracted to the Slav and the Semi-Slav because they are solid, dependable defences that do, however, promise abundant possibilities for dynamic counterplay.

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Two great books from the Everyman Chess Library, Starting Out: Benoni Systems by Alexander Raetsky and Maxim Chetverik and Starting Out: The Modern Benoni by Endre Vegh, brought together in one volume. ----- Starting Out: Benoni Systems is a study of all the crucial Benoni systems apart from the Modern Benoni. It presents diverse and practical options against the queen's pawn opening for dynamic, tactical players and solid, positional players alike. Included are such daring defences as the controversial Blumenfeld Counter-Gambit and the Benko Gambit, a favourite with uncompromising Grandmasters such as Veselin Topalov and Vassily Ivanchuk. On the other hand, Black also has the opportunity to adopt solid, respectable defences such as the Czech Benoni and the Schmid Benoni. ----- The Modern Benoni is one of Black's most ambitious and audacious defences to the queen's pawn opening, and it has been used with devastating effect by such legends as Mikhail Tal, Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov. From the very start Black creates an exceptional imbalance in the position, one which leads to dynamic play and gives Black real chances to seize the initiative. Both players must be fearless in their approach, as hesitation in the Modern Benoni often leads to disaster! ----- In this user-friendly book, International Master Endre Vegh goes back to basics, studying the fundamental principles of the Modern Benoni and its many variations. Throughout the book there are an abundance of notes, tips, warnings and exercises to help the improving player, while key strategies, ideas and tactics for both sides are clearly illustrated.

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