In designing this book, the author was guided by the following considerations. If you want to learn this or that opening, you can choose from dozens or even hundreds of textbooks. But what if you want to get familiar with the middlegame strategy used in positions that have emerged from exactly this or that opening? Or to put it another way: in positions that are typical for this or that opening. Of course, in every middlegame textbook there's one or the other position that clearly comes from this or that opening. However, their number is negligible in the context of example positions from all the other openings whose middlegame treatment the reader doesn't want to learn at all. For example, aren't the issues of hanging pawns and minority attack – the author asks with good reason – just as dispensable for an e4 player as they are essential for a d4 player? – Why should a die-hard enthusiast of Indian openings care about the strategic intricacies of positions resulting from all those complicated Queen's Gambit systems? And of course vice versa: what use are all these subtleties of Indian positions to a player who 'by nature' avoids fianchetto openings? And it's precisely this conspicuous and astounding vacuum in the area of middlegame literature that inspired the author to make a appropriate attempt at improvement: If you want to learn Sicilian middlegame strategy, you will get a textbook and exercise book in which only Sicilians are treated. However, this current book only deals with the type 'Open Sicilian'. More precisely: with positions characterized by the 'small center' consisting of the pawns on d6 and e6, which is typical for the vast majority of Sicilian systems. It deserves special mention that the more than 150 exercises have been assigned to specific topics for the benefit of entertaining diversity - for example 'the relegation candidate', 'the only move', 'violence or pressure increase' and the like. 160 Seiten, kartoniert, Joachim Beyer Verlag

Since every world champion was the most outstanding player of his time, it makes sense to study the various aspects of the royal game using the world champions' games – and of course to enjoy them. In this first of two volumes on the world champions' art of combination, the authors (both recognized experts in the field of chess literature) offer the reader the opportunity of trying to find plenty of these best combinations themselves – and thus to assess and improve their own tactical skills. But that's not all. In addition to often breathtakingly spectacular sample games, which are thoroughly analyzed and commented on in a comprehensible way, individual pet topics are highlighted in which the world champions have created particularly outstanding works. So you are invited to take a closer look at how Steinitz handled the 'Steinitz King' – at Lasker's phenomenal art of defense and Capablanca's mastery of 'small combinations' (for which the French term 'petite combinaison' has become common in chess language). Furthermore, at Alekhine's dashing attacks, at Euwe's seventh sense for dynamic transformations, Botvinnik's tactical solutions to strategic problems, Smyslov's virtuosity even in tactical endgames and – last but not least – at Tal's downright magical tactical works of art with which he not only bewitched his opponents, but the entire chess world. Thanks to the QR-codes above the diagrams, you can download the position directly to your smartphone and watch or analyze the game, so that the laborious and error-prone input by hand is no longer necessary. Volume 1 contains 260 combinations and many fully annotated sample games. 192 Seiten, kartoniert, Joachim Beyer Verlag

Since every world champion was the most outstanding player of his time, it makes sense to study the various aspects of the royal game using the world champions' games – and of course to enjoy them. In this first of two volumes on the world champions' art of combination, the authors (both recognized experts in the field of chess literature) offer the reader the opportunity of trying to find plenty of these best combinations themselves – and thus to assess and improve their own tactical skills. But that's not all. In addition to often breathtakingly spectacular sample games, which are thoroughly analyzed and commented on in a comprehensible way, individual pet topics are highlighted in which the world champions have created particularly outstanding works. So you are invited to take a closer look at Petrosian's deeply thought out exchange sacrifices, at Spassky's always tactically alert attacking skills and Fischer's often combinatorial exploitation of advantages in the endgame. Furthermore, at the tactical aspects of Karpov's dominance and restriction methods, Kasparov's dynamic pressure play, Kramnik's positional power play, Anand's fine sense for dynamics and – last but not least – Magnus Carlsen's combinatorial conversion of his excellent endgame strategy. Volume 2 contains 288 combinations and many fully annotated sample games.   240 Seiten, kartoniert, Joachim Beyer Verlag

In 2017, Romain Edouard launched a brand new series of exercise books, Chess Calculation Training. The series became one of the most popular tactics books amongst advanced players. This new series, Chess Calculation Training for Kids and Club Players, is based on the same model, but aimed at players of a more modest level. In this first volume, you can enjoy 276 chess problems, which arose in real games, and you should checkmate your opponent! The book is divided into eight chapters, starting with basic mates in two, and the difficulty of the exercises increases as you go through the book. It is a fantastic training tool for anyone wanting to improve his tactical skills quickly, and not miss any opportunity to end the game with a glorious checkmate! Romain Edouard, with a highest rating of 2702, has been part of the French national team since 2011. As a teenager, he won the gold medal in the European U16 Championship in 2006, and silver medals in the European and World U18 Championships in 2007. Having already written four books, Romain has earned the reputation of being an outstanding author. 152 Seiten, kartoniert, Verlag Thinkers Publishing

Roman Edouard launches a brand new series of exercise books. In his first volume, he focuses on middlegames. Romain has carefully selected 496 positions, which arose in real games in the recent past. To obtain the best possible training result out of each position, he has separated the exercises into 11 different categories, covering both tactics and strategy, attack and defence. Romain gives you different instructions for each chapter, so you can improve your general thinking from varoius angles - exactly as you would face in your own games! This book is a fantastic training tool for any chessplayer to improve his level of chess thinking. Romain Edouard, with a highest rating of 2702, is part of the French National Team since 2011. As a teenager, he notably won a gold medal in the European U16 Championship in 2006, and silver medals in the Europe and World Championships under 18 in 2007. Since becoming an GM at only 18, he has won numerous international events, including the 2012 Al Ain Open, the 2014 Dubai Open, the 2015 World Open (joint winner) and the 2015 Championship of French-speaking countries in Montreal. Romain is recognised as a dynamic player, striving for the initiative from move 1. Having already written four books, Romain has earned his reputation of being an outstanding author. He is a regular columnist, whose articles appear in the world´s best chess magazines: ChessBase, Europe Echecs and the Swiss Chess Review. 237 Seiten, kartoniert, Verlag Thinkers Publishing

A passed pawn must be blockaded, so as to have its power restrained as much as possible. The minor pieces (knight or bishop) are ideal for this purpose, as they can rarely be forced to retreat by enemy action. On the other hand, the major pieces (queen and rook) find it difficult to achieve a stable blockade as is easy to harass them, while one must also consider that, for such valuable pieces, dealing with a mere pawn cannot be an efficient form of employment. Taking the above into account, it becomes clear that the side with the passed pawn should seek to exchange minor pieces and retain the major ones; the opposite applies to the defending side.” 240 Seiten, kartoniert, Verlag Thinkers Publishing

This book is devoted to typical methods of play in the middlegame. This topic, of course, is not new. Many books have been written on it at different times by authors old and modern. Unfortunately, the content of such books is not always error-free, as I have experienced many times. Therefore the emphasis in my book is on the quality of the examples; all of them have been checked and are deeply analyzed. When writing a book, many authors try to make an impression by choosing the most striking games and fragments. The reader may therefore get the impression that a game of chess consists only of beautiful moves, combinations, spectacular sacrifices and non-standard solutions. Of course, it does not. There is a lot of beauty in chess, but usually most games consist of ‘work in progress’. There are lots of examples of such ‘working’ games in this book, but beauty is also present. Of course, the format of the book does not permit coverage of all the methods of play in the middlegame. However, the book has enough material to get acquainted with the most important ones, and, with the help of exercises, to understand the meaning of these methods and learn how to use them in practice. I hope that after reading this book the reader will increase his or her knowledge of the typical and not-so-typical methods of play in the middlegame, become familiar with ideas of non-standard solutions to practical problems arising during the game and be able to apply this knowledge in his or her own games. 204 Seiten, kartoniert, Thinkers Publishing

• The Barry Attack is a little rebellious but most dynamic opening • It’s one of the fastest ways to outplay your opponent in the opening. • The ‘’super repertoire’’ that always keeps Black under pressure in all variations. • Any reasonable opening set-up can work wonders for White or Black if they know it well. • Anyone who takes the trouble to play through each model example, move by move, note by note, will be rewarded. • Your strategic play will deepen and your tactics will improve along with your assessment skills, and you’ll end up with a great repertoire! Description The Barry Attack is somewhat defensive-looking from the start. It tempts Black forward, provocatively. The Barry Attack is, after all, a little rebellious, flouting, as it does, all those common sense development rules. Perhaps your game needs a good shot of tactics to boost your results – it’s one of the fastest ways to improve and this is true not only for young players. If your opponent plays an early move order that’s not in this book such as 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 or 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 for example, the good news is that Black will be forced to transpose back into the mass of material. The ‘’super repertoire’’ that always keeps Black under pressure in all variations is of course, a total myth. Any reasonable opening set-up can work wonders for White or Black if they know it well. This is always going to outweigh theoretical evolution. Playing strong chess is also very much about your level of self-confidence, emotional and physical health. It’s about who you are and how you feel in many ways at the precise moment of play in addition to your opening knowledge and general technique. Anyone who takes the trouble to play through each model example, move by move, note by note, will be rewarded. Your strategic play will deepen and your tactics will improve along with your assessment skills, and you’ll end up with a great repertoire!204 Seiten, gebunden,Thinkers Publishing

Emms: Simple Chess Its been said many times before that chess is an easy game to learn, but a difficult one to master. The game is full of difficult questions such as, What do you do when your opponent is skilful enough to prevent both checkmate and material loss? However, once the principal strategic ideas are recognised, then everything becomes much clearer and the game becomes much simpler. In this book Grandmaster and experienced chess writer John Emms provides the reader with the fundamental knowledge required to enter every game with confidence. 144 Seiten, kartoniert, Verlag Everyman, 2001

In order to win a game of chess you very often have to sacrifice material. Gathering the courage to do so while accurately assessing the potential benefits is a real challenge. The big question is always: what’s my compensation? Generations of chess players grew up with the idea that a sacrifice was correct if the material was swiftly returned, with interest. Almost by reflex, they spent lots of time counting, quantifying the static value of their pieces. But is that really the best way to determine the correctness of a sacrifice? In this book, Grandmaster Davorin Kuljasevic teaches you how to look beyond the material balance when you evaluate positions. With loads of instructive examples he shows how the actual value of your pieces fluctuates during the game, depending on many non-material factors. Some of those factors are space-related, such as mobility, harmony, outposts, structures, files and diagonals. Other factors are related to time, and to the way the moves unfold: tempo, initiative, a threat, an attack. Modern chess players need to be able to suppress their need for immediate gratification. In order to gain the upper hand you often have to live with uncertain compensation. With many fascinating examples, Kuljasevic teaches you the essential skill of taking calculated risks. After studying Beyond Material, winning games by sacrificing material will become second nature to you. Davorin Kuljasevic is an International Grandmaster born in Croatia. He graduated from Texas Tech University and played in USCL 2007 and 2008 for Dallas Destiny, the team that became US champion in both these years. He is an experienced coach and a winner of many tournaments. 336 Seiten, kartoniert, Verlag New In Chess

The book you have started reading explains the concept of the exchange sacrifice in chess. It is a complex concept where the value of pieces is not determined solely by their numerical value but also by the potential strategic advantage they provide. Beginners are taught the value of pieces using pawns as a unit of measurement, but as players progress, they begin to understand that a material advantage is not always a guarantee of winning. The sacrifice of an exchange, where a player gives up a rook for a bishop and a knight or a pawn, can lead to a strategic advantage. However, many players are hesitant to make this sacrifice due to the fear of losing a material advantage and ending up in a fatal endgame situation. The book explores the psychology behind this fear and offers guidance on how to overcome it. The book also covers the increasing use of exchange sacrifice as a tactical and strategic element in modern games. The author delves into the reasons behind this trend and discusses several open questions related to the exchange sacrifice. By shedding light on this complex concept across many chapters, the book offers a comprehensive understanding of the exchange sacrifice and its importance in chess strategy. 015 Introduction 027 Chaper I - The Exchange Sacrifice for the Attack 061 Chapter II - Defence! 097 Chapter III - Ending 125 Chapter IV - Exchange Sacrifice in the Opening 187 Chapter V - Critical Squares 251 Chapter VI - The Positional Exchange Sacrifice 447 Chapter VII - World Champions and the Exchange Sacrifice • Compensation is a chess concept that we only fully understand when we enter the world of serious chess. • The relative value of pieces is perhaps the most difficult chess concept of all to explain. • It is one that every player must feel and believe in and can only be accepted with the help of our own practice, and when we feel it come together as though a part of us. • Why so much talk about such or similar sacrifices? Quite simply because we are afraid! We have been taught, and practice shows and proves the clear fact, that the closer we get to the last part of the game, the ending, the more pronounced a material advantage becomes. • If in the middlegame we can still hope for sudden turns, for the influence of other pieces, this is negligible in the endgame. • Maybe less so with tactical sacrifices, where we immediately see what the sacrificer gets in return. • How can we not accept the rook that the opponent offers us, when there is nothing concrete to see? One or two weaknesses perhaps, but they can be eliminated, and the material advantage and a secure victory in the endgame remains. 496 Seiten, gebunden, Thinkers Publishing

Panchenko: Mastering Chess Middlegames   Grandmaster Alexander Panchenko (1953-2009) was one of the most successful chess trainers in the Soviet Union, and later in Russia. His legendary chess school specialised in turning promising players into masters.The secrets of Panchenko’s success were his dedication and enthusiasm as a teacher combined with his outstanding training materials. Now, his classic Mastering Chess Middlegames is for the first time available in translation, giving club-players around the world access to his unique training method.   The book contains a collection of inspiring lessons on the most important middlegame topics. In each chapter, Panchenko clearly identifies the fundamentals, formulates easy-to-grasp rules, presents a large number (more than 250) of well-chosen examples and ends with more than 150 practical tests.   The brilliance of Alexander Panchenko’s didactic method shines through in this book. It is hard to give better advice to ambitious chess players than to follow this tried-and-tested and highly instructive road towards mastering the chess middlegame.   270 Seiten, kartoniert, Verlag New In Chess

Techniques that have revolutionized chess analysis. Chess analysis is nearly as old as the game itself, with many of the pioneering works by the giants of chess history being devoted to the analysis of positions, openings and endings.Personal computers and powerful chess software are having a profound effect on chess analysis and theory - most grandmasters use them extensively.However, this book does far more than explain methods for computer-assisted analysis.Readers will develop a deeper understanding of the strengths and limitations of the human mind, and a greater understanding of many areas of chess while working through the examples that Robin Smith presents. The many topics in this wide-ranging book include: Schematic thinking Dynamic play vs quiet manoeuvring Fortresses King Hunts and 'King Drift' The Problem of Exchanging Interactive Analysis 176 Seiten, kartoniert, Verlag Gambit  

Finally this modern classic is back in print!Ever wondered why grandmasters take only seconds to see what's really going on in a chess position? It's all about structures, as Ivan Sokolov explains in this groundbreaking book. Winning Chess Middlegames addresses the often ignored but extremely important topic of pawn structures, divided into 4 main types: doubled pawns, isolated pawns, hanging pawns and pawn majorities.With its highly accessible verbal explanations and deep analyses of top-level games, this book helps you to solve the basic problems of the middlegame: space, tension and inititative. Club players studying Winning Chess Middlegames will:-- greatly enhance their middlegame skills-- develop an accurate feeling as to which particular positions suit their style-- acquire new strategic and practical opening knowledge Ivan Sokolov explains matters profoundly, honestly and objectively, and includes lots of inside stories from top-level chess, neither sparing his collegue grandmasters nor himself in his comments. 286 Seiten, kartoniert, Verlag New In Chess

Magnus Carlsen’s mastery of the middlegame is astonishing, even by the standards of World Champions. But how did this power develop, and what can the rest of us learn from it? To explain the mysteries requires another elite grandmaster, and Ivan Sokolov is perfectly qualified for this role. Magnus Carlsen’s Middlegame Evolution allows the reader to celebrate the brilliance of the highest-rated chess player in history while learning from his example. With insightfully annotated games, Sokolov takes us inside the mind of a chess genius. GM Ivan Sokolov is a Yugoslav and twice Dutch Champion with decades of experience of elite chess. His peak rating was over 2700, and his extensive list of scalps includes Kasparov, Kramnik and Anand. 280 Seiten, gebunden, Verlag Quality Chess

  After his outstanding book from 2008, 'Winning Chess Middlegames', Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov takes us a step further into his dungeon of middlegame skills. In his well known style, Sokolov focuses on the different aspects of the complex middlegame. As usual Ivan breaks new ground and provides us with a variety of instructive examples. Many were extracted from the very recent top level tournament practice. Volume 2 will be published later in early 2018. Ivan Sokolov was born in Bosnia in 1968. He was and still is one of the most flamboyant attacking players of his time, reaching several times, over a period of 13 years, the top 12 spot in the FIDE ranking. He notably has beaten world chess champions like Smyslov, Kasparov, Kramnik, Anand and Topalov. We remember him winning most recent the World Open in Philadelphia 2012 and the gold medal for best performance at the "European Teams" in Warsaw 2013. He is a successful writer with bestsellers as "Winning Chess Middlegames", "The Ruy Lopez Revisited", "The Strategic Nimzo-Indian" and "Sacrifice and Initiative". His colums in the last Chess Informants are also widely appraised. This is his second book for Thinkers Publishing after he published his biography "Ivans´s Chess Journey". He is currently beeing employed in Iran as a national team coach. 228 Seiten, kartoniert, Verlag Thinkers Publishing

  After his outstanding book from 2008, 'Winning Chess Middlegames', Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov takes us a step further into his dungeon of middlegame skills. In his well known style, Sokolov focuses on the different aspects of the complex middlegame. In modern chess practice, the theory of the opening often stretches into the middlegame, sometimes quite deeply. When players choose particular opening variations, they are in essence deciding on the type of middlegame in which they would like to fight their opponents. In this second volume of ?Chess Middlegame Strategies? Sokolov focusses on this connection between the opening and the middlegame. He has selected different themes from popular openings and examined the resulting middlegames, trying to offer a sort of user manual to guide readers through these middlegames. He also offers some ideas on the theory of the different openings. The 30 games in this book cover a wide range of different middlegame types, so there is something for everyone. Studying this book will enhance readers? understanding of middlegame strategies. Only one chapter in this book, ?Knight Tales?, is not related to a particular opening. It concentrates on the middlegame theme of knights versus bishops.  260 Seiten, kartoniert, Verlag Thinkers Publishing

This book includes strategic themes from specific openings and combined these with standard strategies such as the open file, space or flexibility. Indeed, the subtitle for this book is "Strategy Meets Dynamics" and that is a good definition of what this book is about.The book contains 43 annotated games divided among seven chapters. Within these pages you will find strategic plans related to typical pawn structures arising from the Geller/Tolush Gambit or the Anti-Moscow Gambit. By taking the time to study those chapters you should come away with a deeper understanding of the subtle nuances in pawn structures and the dynamics that arise. In addition, you will learn different strategic/dynamic ideas and this will strengthen your practical play in such positions.The chapter on "Karpov´s King in the Center" is where you will be surprised at how often the 12th World Champion, playing Black no less, deliberately gave up the right to castle. Not only will you gain perspective on when you might wish to leave your king uncastled you will also see how Karpov arranges his pieces so that each move is in harmony with those before and after the king move. Lastly you will improve your knowledge, from both sides of the board, of this particular variation of the Caro-Kann.The open file theme is one that has been written on extensively. What I have tried to do here is show some modern approaches to this concept.Perhaps the one dynamic theme that often amazes players is the exchange sacrifice. I have included no less than 11 annotated games in this chapter sorted by the different objectives that the player is trying to accomplish. There is plenty of knowledge to be absorbed by studying these games.Finally, the work concludes with the daring, some may even say swashbuckling, aggressive g-pawn push! Th is aggressive move is used as a means to seize the initiative. I have laid this chapter out based upon opening variations and you may find it useful as opening preparation as well as ideas for dynamic play.The aim in this book, as well as its two predecessors, is not only to help you improve your middlegame understanding but to give you new and different ideas/concepts to employ in your own play. 328 Seiten, kartoniert, Verlag Thinkers Publishing

Improve Your Opening Play by Chris Ward Improve Your Middlegame Play by Andrew Kinsman Improve Your Endgame Play by Glenn Flear These three titles, brought together for the first time in one volume, explain the important ideas behind every major opening, provide an understanding of the middlegame to the aspiring player and tips to all players wishing to improve their endgame play. Chris Ward unravels the secrets of the Sicilian, the mysteries of the Modern and the fundamentals of the French. He emphasises the need to understand the key elements of each opening rather than simply memorise a series of complicated variations which leave you stranded if the opponent varies from the expected route. Andrew Kinsman uses examples from practical play to develop tactical and positional skills and awareness to enable you to make the most of your opportunities in the middlegame. Glenn Flear explains the fundamental principles which must be mastered in the endgame. Taking examples from his own games and those of other players, he shows how drawn positions can be converted into victories and lost positions saved at the last moment. Deals with every important opening Explains the basic ideas of tactical and positional play Provides numerous exercises for readers to test themselves Explains the important principles of every type of ending Easy step-by-step guide to better endgame play Revolutionary layout to help readers absorb key ideas 143 + 144 + 160 Seiten, kartoniert, Verlag Everyman