How to Create a Deadly Attack on the Enemy King

Attacking your opponent’s king is not just a shortcut to victory, it’s also one of the most enjoyable and gratifying experiences in chess. If you want to win more games you should become a better attacker. Studying typical attacking motifs and ideas easily brings dividends while you are having a good time.

Michael Prusikin presents the prerequisites and the rules for a King attack in a lucid and attractive manner. In 15 thematic chapters he teaches you how to assess the nature of the position, identify the appropriate offensive patterns, find the preliminary moves and conduct your attack in a clear and effective way.

Battering rams, obstructive sacrifices, pawn storms, striking at the castled position, sacrificing a knight on f5, Prusikin demonstrates the most important patterns of attack with lots of clear and well chosen examples.

Next, Prusikin tests your newly acquired insights and your attacking intuition with exercises covering all the themes and motifs. You will find that studying Attacking Strategies for Club Players is both entertaining and rewarding.

Michael Prusikin is an International Grandmaster and a FIDE Senior Trainer from Germany. In 2009 he was the co-winner of the German Championship. Several times he has been voted German Chess Trainer of the Year. He writes the tactics column in the German magazine SCHACH.

“The vast majority of attacking patterns are presented with strikingly clear logic. Any reader who studies this book, almost irrespective of their playing strength, will come away with new ideas for conducting an attack on the king in particular and about chess understanding in general."

Alexander Khalifman, former FIDE World Champion

New In Chess Yearbook, which appears four times a year, contains the latest news in chess openings. Each issue brings you dozens of new ideas on the cutting edge of modern chess opening theory. Have a look at what this issue has to offer.

Forum

French guru Viktor Moskalenko shows two recent OTB games in the Forum Section, in which he was successful with some great ideas he presented in his latest book The Fully-Fledged French. One is a piece sac that gained him a 13-move win with black! Bogdan Lalic takes a look at another surprising black piece sac, in the King’s Indian this time. The Forum also contains some novelties from the World Cup, presented by Luis Rodi, Peter Boel and Frank Erwich.

From Sadler’s Engine Room

Matthew Sadler is our new columnist! He will alternate with Erwin l’Ami’s ‘From Our Own Correspondent’ column. The English grandmaster is well-known for the best-seller Game Changer he wrote with Natasha Regan, about computer chess. His new column will be on opening treatment by the top engines, and in his first instalment Matthew shows that these beasts are not at all averse to some offbeat opening play!

Reviews

Four books are reviewed this time – all of them with a quite original angle. The Modernized Italian Game for White by Alexander Kalinin & Nikolai Kalinichenko is more about understanding than learning lines by heart, and we know that it’s the same with Viktor Moskalenko’s books. With The Fully-Fledged French, the Ukrainian grandmaster has produced a new shoot on his favourite French opening, with a lot of brand new ideas. The didactic approach of Thomas Willemze in The Scandinavian for Club Players is really something else, and of course we couldn’t ignore the Iron English by the creative English duo Simon Williams & Richard Palliser.

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!

Despite his relatively young age, Magnus Carlsen has already secured his place in chess history as a legend of the game. In a short space of time his accomplishments have been extraordinary. In December 2012 he broke Garry Kasparov’s record to become the highest-rated chess player of all time. He followed up this achievement in 2013 by defeating Vishy Anand to become World Chess Champion. 

Winner of the 2018 FIDE Book of the Year-Award:

Most Acclaimed Book of the Year

Alexey Kuzmin was born in 1963, Moscow, Russia.

Every player who meets 1.e4 with 1...e5 needs a reliable response to the Ruy Lopez, and The Berlin Defence is an ideal solution. Ever since Vladimir Kramnik used the Berlin to shut down Garry Kasparov’s best efforts in their 2000 World Championship match, practically all of the world’s top players have successfully incorporated the “Berlin Wall” into their repertoires.

GM Michael Roiz presents a complete repertoire for Black after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6, offering top-class antidotes to anything White may try. From the famous Endgame Variation to recently fashionable tries such as 4.d3, Roiz combines cutting-edge analysis with insightful positional guidance.

Grandmaster Michael Roiz reached the top 40 in the world. He has won Olympiad Team Silver for Israel, as well as many tournaments over the years. In recent years he has focused more on seconding elite grandmasters in top tournaments such as the Candidates and so far one World Championship match.

Coffeehouse Repertoire is a 1.e4 player’s dream: an arsenal of ideas from a world-class grandmaster to surprise and confound your opponents, combining coffeehouse trickery with complete theoretical soundness.

In Volume 2, GM Gawain Jones shows how to fight for an advantage against 1...e5, plus the French, Pirc, Modern, Philidor and other miscellaneous Defences, using lines which feature a potent combination of surprise value, objective soundness and practical effectiveness.

Volume 1 completes the Coffeehouse 1.e4 Repertoire, and covered the Sicilian, Caro-Kann, Scandinavian and Alekhine’s Defences.

The Singular Skills of the World’s Strongest Chess Player Uncovered and Explained

What is it that makes Magnus Carlsen the strongest chess player in the world? Why do Carlsen’s opponents, the best players around, fail to see his moves coming? Moves that, when you replay his games, look natural and self-evident?

Emmanuel Neiman has been studying Carlsen’s games and style of play for many years. His findings will surprise, delight and educate every player, regardless of their level. He explains a key element in the World Champion’s play: instead of the ‘absolute’ best move he often plays the move that is likely to give him the better chances.

Dear readers and Informant aficionados, this book is intended to be a companion volume to our 2020 PUZZLE QUEST. Our primary intention was to provide you with as much quality material for self-study as possible. So, it was quite natural to present to you a book with a complete coverage of most instructive and entertaining endgames that were played in 2020.

Working on chess tactics and checkmates will help you win more games. It develops your pattern recognition and your ‘board vision’ – your ability to capitalize on opportunities. This Workbook features a complete set of fundamental tactics, checkmate patterns, exercises, hints, and solutions.

Peter Giannatos selected 738 exercises based on ten years of experience with thousands of pupils at the prize-winning Charlotte Chess Center. All problems are clean, without unnecessary fluff that detracts from their instructive value. The Workbook has ample room for writing down the solutions to the exercises. This is helpful for both students and coaches, who can assign homework from the book without having to worry about being unable to review the solutions. And writing down the correct chess moves will greatly accelerate your learning process.

Everyone’s First Chess Workbook offers you a treasure trove of chess knowledge and more than enough lessons to keep you busy for a year!

Your chess engine can do so much more than just calculate variations!

Every chess player, from club level up, can improve their game by using engines. That is the message of Matthew Sadler’s thought-provoking new book, based on many years of experience with the world’s best chess software. You may not be able to replicate their dazzling-deep calculations, but there is so much more your engine can do for you than just checking variations!

В этой книге представлены редкие и интересные дебютные варианты (за белых), которые призваны быстро подготовить вас к партии или соревнованию. Также вы сможете познакомиться с ловушками, теоретическими новинками и оригинальными анализами действующего гроссмейстера. Здесь вы найдёте и позиции для решения, которые помогут улучшить вашу тактическую подготовку.

Книга предназначена для широкого круга читателей, увлечённых шахматами.

В своей новой работе авторитетный гроссмейстер, тренер и автор рассказывает об уникальном турнире претендентов, который из-за пандемии растянулся на 400 с лишним дней: первый круг был сыгран в Екатеринбурге весной 2020 года, второй – только через год. Автор подробно анализирует все 56 поединков ведущих гроссмейстеров мира, делая упор на психологическую составляющую: пытается объяснить, почему игроки принимали за доской и при подготовке то или иное решение. Турнир отличался невероятным накалом борьбы и порадовал любителей шахмат множеством ярких партий. Первое место завоевал российский гроссмейстер Ян Непомнящий, который получил право сыграть матч за корону с чемпионом мира Магнусом Карлсеном (Норвегия). «Талант и мужество, проявленные лучшими шахматистами мира во время всемирной беды, достойны своей летописи» (В. Тукмаков). Дополняет книгу интервью Яна Непомнящего, которое он дал «по горячим следам» – в день окончания турнира претендентов. Для широкого круга любителей шахмат. 

Книга гроссмейстера Ильи Смирина «Сицилианские сражения» – не дебютная работа, она о том, что происходит на доске уже после воспроизведения теоретических ходов. Автор, признанный эксперт по Сицилианской защите, разъясняет свое видение позиционных и, особенно, динамических возможностей дебюта. Структура этой книги такая же, как и предыдущей – «Староиндийские сражения». Каждую из 10-ти глав предваряет подборка упражнений по рассматриваемой теме, дается краткий обзор содержания на одном или более примерах, в которых тема раскрывается максимально ясно. Затем эта же тема, но в уже более сложных игровых «декорациях» изучается на партиях автора.

Большое число дополнительных партий (в том числе и в примечаниях) автора и других шахматистов помогает лучшему восприятию дебютных идей.

В книге есть всё – и жертвы, и позиционные шедевры, что должно сделать ее чтение увлекательным.

В своей новой книге гроссмейстер Зенон Франко глубоко анализирует 30 «чёрных» поучительных побед (включая партии 2020 года) чемпиона мира Магнуса Карлсена. Книга не перегружена вариантами, акцент – на подробных объяснениях в стиле «ход за ходом», что формирует идеальную платформу для изучения шахмат. В «опорных» точках каждой партии читателю предлагаются тестовые вопросы, что помогает и практическому изучению ключевых приемов шахматной игры, и надежному усвоению обретаемых знаний. Вопросы и ответы вовлекают читателя в процесс обучения и помогают ему отслеживать рост своей шахматной силы. Большинство партий взято из недавнего творчества Карлсена. Почти все его соперники супергроссмейстеры, – экс-чемпионы мира Виши Ананд и Владимир Крамник, а также Фабиано Каруана, Сергей Карякин, Шахрияр Мамедьяров, Алексей Широв, Максим Вашье-Лаграв, Левон Аронян, Аниш Гири и др. 

Книга международного мастера Максима Четверика посвящена дебютным экспериментам, предпринятым за доской (как правило, с классическим контролем времени) игроками в гроссмейстерском чине. 50 партий, приведенных полностью и 33 тестовых задания иллюстрируют необычные разветвления в полном спектре шахматных начал.

Исследование новых и возрождение старых дебютных редкостей актуально в связи с бурным развитием теории. Освоение длинных вариантов требует недюжинной памяти и более подходит шахматным профессионалам. На примерах креативного творчества гроссмейстеров читателю предлагается оценить качество дебютного эксперимента и решить – уместно ли взять на вооружение идею титулованного игрока.

"We talk a lot about defence in chess but rarely try to break this major notion down into elements that constitute it and, importantly, that we can systematically learn. This book does exactly that. It is suitable for players of all levels aiming to improve their game. It may be especially appropriate for coaches because of its systematized character."

GM Adrian Mikhalchishin

В книге даётся аналитический обзор всех основных шахматных начал, проиллюстрированных содержательными партиями, включая партии самого последнего времени.

Предпочтение отдано тем дебютным системам, вариантам и ходам, которые выдержали самое серьёзное из всех испытаний - испытание временем. Новое издание дополнено и переработано коренным образом - внесены существенные изменения в аналитическую часть книги с учётом последних достижений современной шахматный теории. Особое внимание в разделе партий уделено творчеству чемпиона мира Магнуса Карлсена.

Книга поможет освоить премудрости дебютной теории не только начинающим шахматистам, но будет полезна и более опытным игрокам.

· 64 deeply annotated instructive games

· 5 areas of positional sacrifice

· Carefully selected exercises with solutions

Strategic Concepts, Typical Plans and Tactical Themes 

The London System is being played by an ever increasing number of players, and it’s easy to see why. Against virtually every Black defence after 1.d4 it offers White an easy-to-learn and reliable set of lines. In the process, White has interesting choices between strategic or more aggressive approaches, while avoiding loads of opening theory. Ideal for players who don’t have much time to study.

Have you ever wondered why you do well in certain tournaments and not in others? If your opening choices are the right ones? If your attacking play is good, bad, or Tinder swipe left ugly?

In this entertaining account, the author explains how to achieve success in chess we need to understand our what works for us, but to achieve true mastery we should prepare to go beyond our zone of comfort.

Along the way he takes us on a journey through his own world of discovery and explains how he became one of the best chess players in England. It’s a deeply honest and at times tragicomic memoir as he also reveals his strategy for taking on his biggest rivals and how best to use computers to improve your chess.

Aleksandr Rakhmanov was born on 28 August 1989 in Cherepovets, Russia, and started to play chess at the age of seven. He became an IM in 2006, a GM in 2007 and a FIDE trainer in 2020. His current rating is 2651. His peak ratings are 2676 (classical), 2721 (rapid) and 2704 (blitz). In 2007 he won a hat-trick of bronze medals at the Russian, European and World U-18 championships. In 2017 he took 21st place in the World Rapid Championship in Riyadh and in 2019 won gold medal on 3rd board in the European Club Cup in Montenegro, took 18th place in the FIDE Grand Swiss, probably the strongest chess open ever, and participated in the World Cup. As a chess tourist Aleksandr likes to travel and has visited about fifty countries around the world.

"Half a century ago I left a country whose red color 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 non-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 ew 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."

The Secret Ingredient is a grandmaster guide to maximizing your chess results, focusing on key elements of practical play which have received little to no attention in previous chess literature.

How exactly can we best make use of computers? What’s the ideal, step-by-step way to prepare against a specific opponent? How can we optimize our time management at the board? And what’s the one key skill that separates the best players from those who have yet to reach their full potential? GM Jan Markos sheds light on these topics and many more, helped by the world-class insights of his good friend GM David Navara.

The legendary Bobby Fischer would likely vote for the bishop. Other authorities like Nimzowitsch would prefer the knight. The truth is somewhere in the middle.

Of course, it is clear a bishop usually dominates in open positions while the knight should be preferred in blocked positions. But what does that “usually” mean? Are there exceptions? Sure, a bishop can dominate even in a blocked position if the controlled diagonal is important. Further, the knight can dominate in open positions if there is a good outpost or influential place for it.

The Dutch is renowned as a fighting weapon against 1.d4, as 1...f5 immediately sets up an unbalanced struggle. Then Black’s kingside fianchetto, which defines the Leningrad Dutch, allows pawn-storming play in similar style to the King’s Indian Defence. Mihail Marin is the ideal author to explain both the strategic ideas and the latest theory.

Leningrad Dutch covers lines where White also fianchettoes the king’s bishop – these lines are the critical test of the Leningrad. The companion volume, Dutch Sidelines, completes Black’s Dutch repertoire.

BRAK NA MAGAZYNIE - produkt może zostać sprowadzony "NA ZAMÓWIENIE" 

Coffeehouse Repertoire is a 1.e4 player’s dream: an arsenal of ideas from a world-class grandmaster to surprise and confound your opponents, combining coffeehouse trickery with complete theoretical soundness.

In Volume 1, GM Gawain Jones shows how to put pressure on the Sicilian, Caro-Kann, Scandinavian and Alekhine’s Defences, using lines which feature a potent combination of surprise value, objective soundness and practical effectiveness.

The Coffeehouse 1.e4 Repertoire will be completed in Volume 2, which covers 1...e5, plus the French, Pirc, Modern, Philidor and other miscellaneous Defences.

The first ever English translation of this remarkable book, giving the inside story on the 1971 match.

What does a chess player need who is familiar with the rules, but often gets into trouble right away in the opening?

This question was the starting point for the authors before they began to compile their material. The result is a book that gives explanations to help the reader understand the 'Queen's Gambit' – and instructions to show him how to use it.

And no matter if he is little or even completely unfamiliar with opening theory, this book gives him easy access to this difficult and comprehensive field. The ideas and plans behind each line are explained in detail to ensure that the reader understands them properly instead of just playing moves that he has learned by heart. Even the sense and purpose of single moves are ex- plained, if they are not quite obvious.

Based on the knowledge that the reader will surely acquire by studying this book, it will be easy to build a game and play interesting, entertaining and – last but not least – successful chess.

An aggressive, dynamic approach for meeting 1.d4

This book considers a gambit treatment of the Slav and the Semi-Slav.

White offers the c4-pawn in order to get a space advantage and a long-term initiative. It also covers the Closed Catalan and the modern line 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.g3 0-0 6.Bg2 dxc4 7.Ne5. The author’s idea is to throw 1...d5 players off their comfort zone by dragging them into sharp unbalanced positions. If you are fed up with all the mainstream Slav/Meran theory out-there, this book will offer you new refreshing approaches for both sides.

Grandmaster Kiril Georgiev has been one of the strongest Bulgarian players for many years. He was a Junior World Champion and a bronze medalist in Europe. He has played in 15 Olympiads and also coached Bulgarian national team. His peak rating was in the world's top ten. Kiril wrote the books The Sharpest Sicilian, Squeezing the Gambits, Fighting the London System and The Modern English.

The author presents a full opening repertory for the club player, which is analysed in seven volumes. In the books you will find many novelties for both sides, with a full move-to-move presentation. Furthermore, the reader will get access to middlegame strategies, endgame techniques and common tactical motifs, which are patterning the proposed variations.

With the seventh volume Grivas is completing the full opening repertoire!

A total of over 2000 pages in 7 books will give you a chance of having a solid, long time lasting opening repertoire which will make you feel confident in your tournament games.

A great deal for a player who just wants to open the book and get to a solid level in the opening theory instead of spending hundreds of hours on the opening studies.

In the seventh and last volume the openings of the Benoni Defence, the Old Indian Defence, the Modern Defence, the Polish Defence and Various Sidelines are presented.

The author presents a full opening repertory for the club player, which is analysed in seven volumes. In the books you will find many novelties for both sides, with a full move-to-move presentation. Furthermore, the reader will get access to middlegame strategies, endgame techniques and common tactical motifs, which are patterning the proposed variations.

In the sixth volume the openings of the the Janowski Defence, the Orthodox Defence, the Cambridge Springs Defence, Various Slav Systems and the Tartakower Defence are presented.

The author presents a full opening repertory for the club player, which is analyzed in six volumes. In the books, you will find many novelties for both sides, with a full move-to-move presentation. Furthermore, the reader will get access to middlegame strategies, endgame techniques, and common tactical motifs, which are patterning the proposed variations.

In the fifth volume, the openings of the Chigorin Defence, the Queen's Gambit Declined, the Tarrasch Defence, and the Semi-Tarrasch Defence are presented.

The Daunting Domain of Queen Endgames Explained!

Knowing the abilities and limitations of the powerful queen is very valuable for mastering the secrets of the royal game, and this can be studied best in the endgame.

Queen endgames are very difficult, if only for purely mathematical reasons – the queen is the most mobile peace in chess, and the amount of possible options is incomparably higher than in any other type of endgames.

This book follows a dual philosophy as in the three previous works by the same authors: Understanding Rook Endgames, Understanding Minor Piece Endgames and Understanding Rook vs. Minor Piece Endgames. The 7-piece endings are dealt with in great detail. They are often so complex that pre-tablebase analysis almost always contains errors. Many new discoveries are revealed here.

But to really understand the fight of a queen against a queen or minor pieces with rooks, these theoretical positions are of course not enough. So subchapters on the principles of each material configuration have been added.

Grandmaster Igor Zaitsev ranks as one of the most creative chess minds ever in the history of the royal game. This is his book of secrets and methods, his remarkable life’s work.

Zaitsev unearthed astonishing ideas which even giants of the game had overlooked. World champions Tigran Petrosian and Anatoly Karpov insisted on Zaitsev’s analytical help in their matches, wanting to be first to play his profound discoveries, such as the famous Zaitsev Variation of the Ruy Lopez.

Zaitsev was himself a tournament champion. With his sharp, combinative style, he won dozens of “Most Beautiful Game” awards. Many of these games provide context for his lessons.

But Zaitsev is even more than a renowned coach and competitor. Part analyst, part champion, part chess philosopher, and part chess poet, he reveals the underlying logic and beauty of chess in a way no one else has ever done.

In his eye-opening title chapter, “Attacking the Strongpoint,” Zaitsev makes explicitly clear a common strategic element never formalized until this book. Often overlooked by amateurs and even GMs, the idea can lead to winning tactics in many games!

Backed up by top-level games, Zaitsev also provides deep-level explanations about:

- Combinations and Piece Harmony

- Strategy and Structure

- Learning from the Cycle of Chess Epochs

- The Role of Reason and Judgment

- The Chess Law of Conservation of Energy

- Strategy: Evolution vs. Revolution, Recognizing a Favorable Structure

- As you read Zaitsev, you’ll often find yourself thinking, “Ah, now I get it!&rdquo

The volume is topped off by supplemental games, a complete autobiography by Zaitsev, a special foreword by world champion Garry Kasparov, as well as tributes and memories from world champion Anatoly Karpov and famed coach Mark Dvoretsky.

In the first book ever exclusively devoted to the Exchange French Variation, American grandmaster Alex Fishbein recognizes that the Exchange French is an opening for a player who likes active piece play, fights for the initiative, excels in positions with possibilities on both sides of the board, and finds strategic and tactical nuances that arise out of almost nothing. And if you play the French as Black, then this book will help you deal with White’s 3.exd5.

Authors of French Defense books from the black perspective have recognized for a while that there is no draw here at all and have proposed lines where Black can create interesting play. Indeed, both sides can create complications. The author shows that playing “boring” moves is actually risky with both White and Black. The Exchange French is a vibrant opening, just like any other, and yet there has been very little literature showing how to play it from the white side. That void is filled with this book.

While the main point of this book is to build a White repertoire, any player of the Black side of the French will benefit by reading it. A good number of the sample games end well for Black, whereas in the games in which White gains the upper hand, Fishbein is careful to note improvements for the second player. I have been playing and writing about the French Defense, including this variation, for many years, but I came across a lot that I hadn’t known in nearly every sub-variation.

I suspect that most readers of this book will be pleasantly surprised to find out how rich the play can become in the French Exchange Variation. That alone is enough to reward a careful reading, and Fishbein’s careful exposition of lines and strategies will undoubtedly translate into extra points over the board. – from the Foreword by John Watson