During my chess career I have played almost 4000 classical games, a good deal of them against grandmasters, including world's top players, a number of which I managed to defeat. A lot of these games are interesting and instructive, and studying them will definitely help any player to get new expertise, learn new ideas and therefore improve their chess skill. This book is divided into three chapters. The first part is a brief description of my life and career. The second chapter includes 54 of my most memorable victories grouped by their main contents (tactics, attack, positional play etc.) while in every section games are arranged in chronological order. The third chapter is specifically devoted to endgames and contains analyses of the 12 most interesting, often amazing endgames, I had in my practice.

People who are really, really good at something - unbelievably good, incomprehensibly good, have always held a strong fascination for those fellow humans who are less extraordinarily gifted. In this respect chess does not differ from other areas of human endeavour. To many chess lovers watching the great champions do battle with each other is even more thrilling than actually playing the game themselves. This book is about the greatest chess players who ever lived, who dominated their era and were looked upon as World Champions even at a time when this term, this very concept, did not yet exist. On the basis of a short biography, a selection of their most famous games and a brief characteristic of their playing style I will attempt to illuminate what made these great players great and what their significance is for the chess world. This will also give an overview of how chess itself has developed over the past two and a half centuries: how it has essentially remained the same, yet changed almost beyond recognition.

International master Herman Grooten has over 40 years of experience as a professional chess trainer. Countless of his pupils became strong chess players. The best known of these are the grandmasters Loek van Wely, Robin Swinkels, Wouter Spoelman, Dennis de Vreugt, Jan Werle, Twan Burg and Benjamin Bok.

In the field of journalism, he earned his spurs with chess columns in the newspapers Trouw and Het Eindhovens Dagblad. Since 2020 he has been co-owner of the popular Schaaksite.nl for which he has been writing articles for over ten years. As an author, he wrote several books of which the 2009 publication "Chess Strategy for Club Players" was awarded "Book of the Year" on Chesscafe.com.

Meanwhile, in his series "Understand before Moving " he has published several volumes that were received with great enthusiasm, both in Dutch and English.

This is the first volume of the new series "Key Concepts of Chess". The idea is to deal with middlegames in which a certain structure or essential theme becomes central. The idea of starting this series is in line with the "Understand before Moving" series because the aim, is to improve the understanding of club chess players. According to the author, playing an opening should be 'hung up' on stereotypical ideas and concepts belonging to this structure. The thorough exploration of middlegame structures is beyond the scope of opening books, hence it makes more sense to expose it in this complementary series.

In this first volume, the "Hedgehog System" is discussed in detail. Apart from being part of the author's repertoire, this typical set-up deserves to be widely highlighted. Although in the second part of the trilogy on the Sicilian, the Hedgehog has already made its appearance, in this book the seemingly fragile, but oh so treacherous creature can reconsider its spines in an extensive way.

“Chess is not for the faint of heart,” Steinitz once said. I agree 100%! Chess players do not need pumped up muscles, they need a stable neuropsychic organization. How else can you resist the constant pressure that every nerve cell of the player experiences? I don’t always like this constant struggle with the stress that hangs over you, especially when you are wrong in a winning position. And in recent years, another “problem” has been added – incredibly powerful computer engines that younger opponents skillfully use in preparation for the game. But when you win a beautiful game or use a theoretical novelty invented at home (albeit with the help of a computer), or defend a difficult hopeless position, how great it is! And at such moments you don’t think what chess is – it is science, art or sport. At times like these, they are just part of your life.” ~ Vladimir Okhotnic

"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."

This fascinating biography of over eighty-five annotated games and stories are being presented by grandmasters Georg Mohr and Adrian Mikhalchishin. It covers Planinc’ entire life and chess career, including his most fascinating games. This fitting tribute of a forgotten chess genius should be found in anyone’s chess library. Thanks to this colorful book Albin Planinc will continue to inspire us all and will keep his spirit alive.

Thinkers Chess Academy with Grandmaster Thomas Luther

This book is written for chess friends who are beginners or hobby players without much experience and who want to improve to lower club level. If you are already somewhat stronger you may not like the idea of learning from scratch. But sometimes going a step back in order to take two steps forwards is a good idea.

Unlike almost all other books on the Dragon, the focus is not purely on theoretical development. Instead, the author has combined the mist historically important games, the famous players who chose to fight either side (sometimes both sides!) of the opening, and the moist unexpected and interesting stories featuring the Dragon.

World Champions, contenders of the crown, code-breakers, revolutionaries in every sense of the world – all feature in this remarkable and entirely unique look into the history of an opening variation. as the ancient may say: Here be Dragons!

I became an IM in 1997 and a GM in 2013. Many of my students have asked me when I will start writing a book, because they know that I like writing and explaining things. I come from a teaching family; my father was a teacher at a German academic high school and I always loved and still love reading and writing. Nowadays it is no longer easy to find enough silence for reading, because I have three small children between the ages of 3 and 6.

This book is definitely not a book full of theoretical lines. Of course, I will give some advice if possible and necessary. But the main purpose is to explain the structures that can result from double fianchettoed positions. The reader will find five chapters with structures from the white side and six chapters with structures from the black side. The last chapter is a mixed one, with games from both sides. The main - and longest - part will be the first chapter, with games and analyses of my own main weapon starting with Nf3, g3 and b3 against the King’s Indian and Grünfeld. I will show the reader a few games of my own and also games from Kramnik and Andersson, two of my favourite players.

I have learned a lot from their games myself. I have played those structures for nearly 25 years and one of my sons also now starts with 1.Nf3. During my years of playing chess I tried many possible openings with White and Black, but I was only successful with fianchettoing one, or even better both, bishops. Maybe this was a sign and those structures are really a lifestyle for me? I hope you will enjoy reading this book and maybe these structures will also become part of your lifestyle.

Daniel Hausrath

But let me now explain the idea of this second book. I will show you some 18 games with the more or less current trends in the double fianchetto. These games include some openings like the Tarrasch and the King’s Indian, just to name a few.

The main part of the book is divided into exercises and solutions, with 110 positions taken from double fianchetto games. I have divided the exercises into chapters, with each chapter featuring games by players who have deployed the double fianchetto quite often. You will find a lot of typical motifs used by these players.

The difficulty level ranges from very easy through to very tough, but I won’t give points for the solutions. The ideas vary from tactics to important strategic subtleties. The reader decides how honestly he or she tries to solve these exercises. It is also not necessary to solve all of them, but it is definitely important to think about these positions and take your time. The reader should gain an impression of the many ideas and structures which are possible in the double fianchetto positions.

What does it take to become an expert in opening preparation?

How can we learn the secret methods which allow the top players to dominate everyone else in the opening?

Thinkers Chess Academy | Test your chess knowledge

Not every reader is ambitious enough or has enough time to work very hard on his chess. That’s quite understandable and nothing to be ashamed of. You can enjoy chess very well without being a strong tournament player. You could just entertain yourself by playing through interesting combinations.

The Slav encompasses a wide but solid body of theory. Black has plenty of options and finding advantages and practical chances was not easy at all. In any case. From amateurs to very strong players, I believe that every chess player will appreciate this book.

Ivan Cheparinov was born in Bulgaria on 26 November 1986. He learned to play chess at the age of five and progressed quickly, winning the Bulgarian Junior Championship in 2000 and becoming a grandmaster in 2004. He has finished first or equal first in many strong open and elite round-robin tournaments, such as Essent (2006), Morelia (2007), Sigeman & Co invitational (2007), Ruy Lopez Masters (2009 and 2010) and Gibraltar Chess Festival (2014).

In his new endgame series, Boroljub Zlatanovic shows a profound understanding of the most common material imbalance in chess: that of the bishop against the knight. The didactic concept of the book is admirable as well as the detailed explanations of the typical characteristics of this endgame. Despite the importance of this subject, it has received very little detailed coverage in chess literature and this encyclopedic work will definitely fill this gap and offer a lot of useful tips for practical play.

~ Alexander Delchev

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.

In 2019 I was approached by Mr. Daniel Vanheirzeele of Thinkers Publishing about writing an opening book. This would be a new challenge and such things are always exciting and give me a new high! After some discussion I was asked to work on two specific variations of the Sicilian: the sharp Najdorf and the trendy Taimanov. Over the past few years, I have played some sharp ideas when facing these variations.

Pentala Harikrishna shows you the ins and outs of the French Defense.

The Staunton Gambit is a very rewarding opening. White’s piece development follows the classical principles of gambit play. White is ahead in development and obtains a fine initiative. Even without the theoretical knowledge of certain variations, White should be able to find his way. Best of all, White determines the direction of the game already on move two, without the risk of having to play the maneuvering games we know from the Leningrad Dutch, the Stonewall Dutch or the Classical Dutch.

The official story of the 2020 Candidates Tournament began on November the 11th, 2019 with the signing of a contract between FIDE and the Russian Chess Federation detailing the hosting duties of said tournament in Ekaterinburg from the 15th of March to the 5th of April, 2020.

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1.e4 e5 is not just an opening. It is repertoire that represents our game as a whole. It is something players of all styles will enjoy due to the countless possibilities 1…e5 provides. Hopefully, learning 1…e5 will also make you a better player. And, finally, I hope the book you are now holding in your hands will not only give you joy but illustrate a passion for chess with the variations presented in this work.

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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!

A repertoire for Black providing all answers to White’s options.

Paced with exciting games, original ideas and analysis.

Thorough and up-to-date coverage of one of the most topical openings.

Positionally motivated lines, but none the less never forgetting the needed dynamics.

Aggressive ideas to tackle head-on white’s solid set-ups.

Are you passionate about chess and eager to improve without dedicating countless hours to training? Look no further! Introducing “365 Endgame Lessons for Novices” a practical guide focused on the endgame.

Justin Tan is an International Grandmaster who has represented Australia in numerous international events. He is currently based in the UK and was previously British under-21 champion, British blitz champion and joint second runner-up at the British Championship.

Justin has been a l.e4 specialist throughout his playing career and is recognised for his deep opening preparation, especially in the open games. He is a monthly columnist for ChessPublishing's section on 1.e4, where he publishes his analyses of key 1.e4 games and the latest trends.

Europe's youngest FIDE accredited trainer, IM Armin Juhasz, is an active player and a successful coach living in Budapest, Hungary. Born in 1998 he is currently 22 years of age and earned the IM title when 17. In 2016 he achieved his highest ELO of 2424. Armin has twice won the Hungarian Youth Championship.