Jesus de la Villa, an international grandmaster and former champion of Spain, presents the endgames that show up most frequently in practice, are easy to learn and contain ideas and concepts that are useful in more difficult positions. He brings you simple rules, guiding ideas at the beginning of each chapter, detailed and lively explanations, many diagrams, clear summaries of the most important themes, recommended exercises that will help you understand the material, and tests, divided in two parts: basic and final. The main thing De la Villa asks of you is to always understand WHY you play a move.

    This ensures that it will overflow with exceptionally complex analyses and exercises, which will be difficult for even the leading grandmasters to handle. But even amateur players will find something of interest in it. How can it not be interesting to peek - perhaps not as an owner, but at least as a guest - into the world of high-level chess, to see with one's own eyes what sort of problems chess "pros" have to wrestle with (successfully or not), and how far from being complete even their play is? The many exercises presented in this book differ greatly from one another in their level of difficulty: some are fairly simple and accessible. It makes sense to take a stab at solving the tougher exercises, too; then later, once you have seen the answer, you will have a better grasp of your own abilities, strength and weakness. And finally: the analyses presented in this book include a multitude of most impressive passages, unusual and spectacular moves and combinations - and chessplayers of almost any grade can certainly find enjoyment in beauty. Readers who become familiar with this book will soon see, no doubt, that side variations are often analyzed in far more detail than is necessary to follow the course of battle in the game under discussion. Why would the author do this? Because, first of all, to give an objective assessment of all, or nearly all, the previously existing commentaries, written by other annotators. But chiefly because many of these side variations are interesting and educational in and of themselves, and create supplementary exercises. Look at them simply as lyrical digressions; don't worry if they seem unconnected to the main theme. Where possible, the author has tried to lay out the principles, methods and rules, ideas and techniques that lie behind the moves.The book was also designed as a practice book, to test and underscore the reader's newly acquired knolwedge. This book takes it place next to the author's classic "Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual" as being one of the great books of the modern era, a book from which the serious student may take his or her knowledge and understanding of complex middlegame ideas to the next level.

    To make sure that this new knowledge sticks, it is then tested by a selection of puzzles.The course is structured in three series with three levels. The Fundamentals level is the easiest one, Beyond the Basics is more challenging, and Mastery is quite difficult, even for stronger players.The various topics – Tactics, Strategy, Positional Play, Endgames, Calculating Variations, and Openings – are spread evenly across the nine volumes, giving readers the chance to improve every area as they work through the books.This book is the first volume at the Beyond the Basics level. The Build Up Your Chess series won the prestigious Boleslavsky Medal from FIDE (the World Chess Federation) as the best instructional chess books in the world.

    It was written by a double Ukrainian Champion, and published in the Soviet Union in 1956. Russian experts say it is one of the most influential chess books of the 20th century, yet it was never published in English.It has been edited to make it useful for the 21st century and is now accessible for the first time to an English-speaking audience.

    Avrukh is used to facing the best players in the world. In this book he presents an improved version of the repertoire that elevated him to the top 50, focusing on main lines with a kingside fianchetto.1.d4 Volume One covers the openings after 1.d4 d5 2.c4, particularly the Catalan, Queen’s Gambit Accepted, Semi-Slav, Slav, and other Queen’s Gambit lines.

    It is an extremely flexible and almost universal weapon against the Queen's Gambit. The Chebanenko Slav is very popular among top chess players such s Victor Bologan, the author of the book, and Alexi Shirov. Club and internet players like it because it offers Black solidity and active counterplay in all lines. Victor Bologan is a world-class chess player, writes in a very accessible style and has included many tips, tests and tools.

    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.

    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!

    International Master Gawain Jones revisits the fundamentals of this opening, elaborating on the crucial early moves and ideas for both sides in a way that is often neglected in other texts.

    All chess-players will be well aware that these principles all too frequently fail to help in their selection of the best move.In this important work, Lars Bo Hansen, grandmaster and professional educator, presents chess as a game of five phases, and explains the do's and don'ts in each: * the opening * the transition to the early middlegame * the middlegame * strategic endgames * technical endgames *With a wealth of examples from both his own practice and that of his colleagues, Hansen discusses the typical mistakes and pitfalls, and shows how to handle the subtleties unique to each stage. He also advises on how to work on your chess in each aspect of the game. Of special value is his explanation of how to study typical middlegames, and that middlegame preparation - a neglected area for most players - is both possible and necessary.

    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 2 covers what to do once the attack is up and running, and deals with weak kings, intuitive sacrifices, opposite castling, king hunts, and enduring initiative

    Grandmaster Jan Markos shows the way with three separate repertoires for White. Each of the lines he explains has a different style, ranging from the wildly complicated Classical Variation championed by Korchnoi, to the critical Bayonet Attack, and the more solidly positional Krasenkow Variation.

    After a short pause, in 2008 he returned to his pet line, the Taimanov system. The result of his work is this Second edition of The Safest Sicilian.Delchev proposes a sound yet aggressive approach, based on the following move order: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cd4 4.Nd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7. As Black, it is extremely difficult to get a playable position without accepting extreme risks. This book deals with reliable positional systems which will serve you for many years, without having to update your opening knowledge every two weeks. This setup is especially effective against the dreaded English attack. The author is one of the worlds leading experts in that field and his recommendations are based mostly on his own games. Without hiding back his secrets, Delchev reveals many new ideas and novelties in his pet line. The authors pay also attention to Whites deviations from the Open Sicilian. There are chapters about 3.c3, 3.d3, 3.Nc3, 3.b3, 3.c4 and other rare lines. The book features a new form of presentation. Every system is examined in a separate part which contains three chapters: Quick Repertoire; Step by Step; Complete Games. You start with the Quick Repertoire. Youll find there all the vital information that you need to start playing the variation. Step by Step chapters follow the usual layout of Chess Stars books with main lines that branch to sub-lines. Finally, every part ends with Complete Games.

    It is as if you were sitting at the board with a chess coach answering your questions about the plans for both sides, the ideas behind particular moves, and what specific knowledge you need to have.The Nimzo-Indian is one of the most important of all chess openings, and popular at all levels of play. Together with the Queen's Indian (also covered in this series), the Nimzo has provided the backbone of the opening repertoire of a large portion of the world's top players over the last 80 years. It is considered a fully reliable defence, and provides winning chances for both sides as it leads to structures of great strategic variety and complexity. Key battlegrounds in the Nimzo include the blockade, IQP positions, the handling of unbalanced pawn-structures, and the struggle between bishop and knight. All these topics are covered in depth in this book, and an understanding of them will prove valuable in a much broader context than just the Nimzo-Indian.

    This book is ideal for up-and-coming players.

    Moreover, it’s a well-known fact that studying endgames undoubtedly enhances other aspects of your play.Practical Endgame Play – Mastering the Basics is a comprehensive guide to all fundamental chess endings, and a godsend for those looking to improve their endgame play. Crucially, the emphasis is just as much on practical play as it is on theoretical understanding. Whenever an idea is introduced, Grandmaster Efstratios Grivas immediately illustrates it with a number of entertaining and instructive examples, a considerable number of which are drawn from his own over-the-board experiences.This is a companion volume to Everyman’s earlier book Practical Endgame Play – Beyond the Basics, a work which specializes in more complex positions.

    In playing this opening (the choice of famous creative attackers such as Bobby Fischer, Bent Larsen and Julian Hodgson) White avoids the many theoretical landmines of main line openings and is able to steer the game towards an open battle, right from the start. This system's basic ideas are sound and easy to learn. One of its beauties is that it often provokes an overreaction by Black, leaving it vulnerable to an early knockout by White.

    The author believes that anyone making a thorough study of the available material can expect an improvement in playing strength in this system of approximate 200 Elo points. This second volume contains 61 theoretically important games for independent analysis, an encyclopedia of variations, a summary of the 3.e5 system, games for further study, and the latest theoretical developments.

    The Rubinstein Attack) as an unassuming opening, claiming it did not exact the full measure of pain from Black in the quest to equalize. If such is the case, why do strong players (as Black) avoid the Zukertort? Instead they opt to play any of several pet defenses rather than deal with the constriction and onslaught of the main line. In Zuke 'Em: The Colle-System Revolutionzed, Rudel explains the basics of the Zukertort and then provided plenty of new ideas to address these various pet defenses that cowardly opponents may choose. In this book you will also find: 1.Introductory chapters for those who would not know the Zukertort from a Lemon Torte. 2.Analysis in real English from the perspective of someone who has played the opening exclusively for over a decade. 3.A barrage of never-before-published answers and extensive commentary on common lines. 4.A training section to help you retain and test your understanding of the opening.

    Jovanka Houska reveals everything you need to know about the Scandinavian, whether you are playing it as Black or facing it with White.