Each game offers a classic example of a fundamental problem and its best resolution, described and diagrammed in the clearest possible manner for players of every level of skill.As Irving Chernev observes in the Introduction, "Who will doubt the tremendous power exerted by a Rook posted on the seventh rank after seeing Capablanca's delightfully clear-cut demonstration in Game No. 1 against Tartakower? And who will not learn a great deal about the art of handling Rook and Pawn endings (the most important endings in chess) after playing through Tarrasch's game against Thorold?"Chernev's lively and illuminating notes on each game reveal precisely how Capablanca, Tarrasch, and other masters — Fischer, Alekhine, Lasker, and Petrosian among them — turn theory into practice as they attack and maneuver to control the board. Readers will find their techniques improving with each lesson as Irving Chernev dissects winning strategies, comments on alternate tactics, and marvels at the finesse of winning play, noting at the end of his Introduction: "I might just as well have called this collection The Most Beautiful Games of Chess Ever Played."

    Get a taste of the most dazzling chess combinations, devious strategies, and downright cruel blows as world champions throw caution to the wind and risk it all! Readers will delight as the author takes these awe-inspiring and controversial games and makes them enjoyable and easy to understand.

    The styles encompass Openings (O); Games Collections ((G); and Training (T). The levels are arranged as follows: Children [C]; Novice (N); Club (C); and Advanced (A).

    Edward Lasker rates him the game’s supreme inventive genius; Euwe considers him the all-time greatest attacking player. A master of all phases of chess, his games were richly conceived and immensely complex. As Bobby Fischer observes in his writings, “He played gigantic conceptions, full of outrageous and unprecedented ideas.”This unequaled collection reproduces Alekhine’s 220 best games, his own personal accounts of the dazzling victories that made him a legend. Spanning almost thirty years of tournament play, it includes historic matches against Capablanca, Euwe, and Bogoljubov, and chronicles his brilliant ascent to world mastery, his surprising defeat in 1935, and his dramatic return two years later — the first deposed champion to regain his crown.Between 1927 and 1936 his successes in tournaments were unsurpassed by any master at any time in the history of chess. At San Remo 1930 and Bled 1931, in competitions that featured many of the world’s greatest players, Alekhine so outdistanced the field that he was indisputably in a class by himself. In a career including some seventy tournaments, he won first prize forty-one times, tying for first on nine occasions. He won or shared second prize fourteen times.Chess was Alekhine’s life; he lived for it alone. And although the final chapter of his career and his life were tragic, his achievements at the chessboard rank him as one of the game’s true artists. Filled with Alekhine’s own penetrating commentary on strategy and tactics, and enhanced by a revealing memoir, My Best Games is grandmaster chess at its most sublime. This volume belongs in the library of every serious student of the game.

    It includes: sections on online chess, computers and openings; courses in tactics and attacking strategy; analysis of some of the greatest games ever played; and, information and advice on club, national, and international tournaments.

    What better way could the amateur have of learning to exploit the weak play of fellow amateurs than to study how a master would handle such situations? Selected by former World Chess Champion Max Euwe and Walter Meiden, a typical amateur player, the games point out graphically how the chess master takes advantage of characteristic errors of the amateur.In general, the games have been presented in order of the degree of skill of the amateur. The early games were played against beginners; later games, against "coffeehouse" players of various skill levels; the last games, against amateur "book" players. Each game, with commentary by Dr. Euwe, was chosen to illustrate a specific aspect of chess, from various openings to a number of typical chess situations. By carefully studying these games, the amateur player will learn how to recognize and avoid a variety of weak strategic and tactical moves.Dr. Euwe's helpful and informative commentary on each contest consists of a discussion of significant moves in the game, an analysis of the opening used and explanations of important chess concepts as they arise. Often, he includes a detailed analysis of tactical variations that might have been played as alternatives. The result is an indispensable aid for amateurs seeking to raise the quality of their games as well as a book that can be read with profit by chess players at every level of expertise.

    In this volume, Tal sets the stage and explains every one of the 21 games, telling both the on- and off-the-board story of this clash of styles and thought.

    While it remains a fundamental work on chess strategy, the way chess positions are handled has changed greatly since Nimzowitsch's time - both refinements to existing ideas, and completely new concepts. John Watson's book fulfils the need for a thorough, profound work on the modern handling of chess positions, and how Nimzowitsch's theories - still controversial and revolutionary at the time My System was written - have been refined and used alongside classical concepts.The first section of the book discusses how the understanding of classical themes, such as pawn majorities, the centre, and structural weaknesses, have been refined. Watson then moves on to discuss new concepts, including the willingness of modern players to accept backward pawns in return for dynamic play, the idea of a good 'bad' bishop, knights finding useful roles at the edge of the board and the exchange sacrifice idea that became prevalent with the post-war Soviet champions. This profound yet thoroughly practical work is rounded off with sections on prophylactic thinking, dynamism, modern concepts as they apply to the critical contemporary opening systems, and some thoughts on the future of chess.

    The first authoritative English translation from the Russian, this volume was written by one of the leading competitors. Its perceptive coverage includes games by Smyslov, Keres, Reshevsky, Petrosian and 11 others. Algebraic notation. 352 diagrams.

    Unfortunately, though, many openings are not completed successfully, partly because until now most opening instruction has consisted of tables of tournament level moves that offer no explanations for the reasons behind them. Consequently, these classical opening patterns can serve as little more than references to the average player. In Chess Openings: Traps and Zaps, Bruce Pandolfini uses his unique "crime and punishment" approach to provide all the previously missing explanation, instruction, practical analyses, and much, much more. The book consists of 202 short "openers" typical of average players, arranged according to the classical opening variations and by level of difficulty. Each example includes: -the name of the overriding tactic -the name of the opening -a scenario that sets up the tactic to be learned -an interpretation that explains why the loser went wrong, how he could have avoided the trap, and what he should have done instead -a review of important principles and useful guidelines to reinforce each lesson Also included are a glossary of openings that lists all the classical "textbook" variations for comparison and reference and a tactical index. Chess Openings: Traps and Zaps is a powerful, pragmatic entry into a heretofore remote area of chess theory that will have a profound influence on every player's game.

    This workbook may be utilizes with or without Silman's earlier book "How to Reassess Your Chess". Illustrations.

    But the pawns' restricted mobility is precisely what makes them so important strategically: they form a semi-permanent structure -- often called a "pawn skeleton" -- that establishes the territorial lines of the coming battle and thus the nature of the battle itself. Understanding how pawns affect strategy is the subject of this important book. In it you will learn:-- how to handle the characteristic pawn structure of each opening "family" and each major variation-- how to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of pawn chains-- when to exchange pawns in the center -- and when not to-- how to cramp your opponent's position and what to do if your opponent cramps yours-- how to create and exploit pawn "holes"...and much, much more, all copiously illustrated by complete games from actual play.

    Twenty years later, it remains a bestseller in the field and one of the best practical training manuals available.

    It is essential to play purposefully and to avoid falling into traps or reaching a position that you don't understand.This is not a book that provides masses of variations to memorize. Paul van der Sterren instead offers a wealth of ideas and explanation, together with the basic variations of each and every opening. This knowledge will equip players to succeed in the opening up to good club level, and provide a superb grounding in opening play on which to build a more sophisticated repertoire. The strategies he explains will, unlike ever-changing chess opening theory, remain valid as long as chess is played, and so the time spent studying this book will be rewarded many times over.

    Originally published: New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 1955.