The Reti Opening has been a popular choice at all levels of chess for many years and is a favourite among hypermodern players who like to control the centre with pieces. Yet there remains a dearth of published material on this subject ... until now. In The Dynamic Reti, Grandmaster Nigel Davies redresses the balance and advocates a repertoire for White based on this refined opening. Davies outlines the typical ideas and tactics for both White and Black, and studies both the fashionable main lines and the tricky sidelines. This is essential reading for chess players who are already familiar...

The Nimzo-Indian Defence continues to be one of Black's most reliable ways of meeting the queen's pawn opening. It's popular at all levels of chess and a constant source of anxiety for White players. In this book Grandmaster Chris Ward investigates unusual White tries, including three uncompromising and underrated ways of battling against the Nimzo: the Samisch, the Leningrad, and the 4 f3 variation. Each line is ideal for putting the opponent under immediate pressure from the start of the game."

Until a few years ago, the Petroff was opening that was favored by a few top Grandmasters, including Anatoly Karpov and Artur Yusupov. However, the last few years have seen a dramatic rise in its popularity, and it now provides battlefields for many top clashes of the modern elite players, including Kasparov, Kramnik, Anand, Leko, Topalov, and England's Michael Adams. This is bound to have a positive effect on its popularity at club level. In this book, openings experts Alexander Raetsky and Maxim Chetverik study the typical plans and tactics for both White and Black in this complex opening....

Tired of constantly defending passive positions with the black pieces? Looking for something new and exciting to unleash at the chessboard? This book provides an answer to these perennial questions. International Master and renowned openings theoretician Richard Palliser presents a complete repertoire for Black against queen's pawn openings based on the dynamic and very much underrated Black Knights Tango. Using illustrative games, Palliser gives a thorough grounding on the key tactics and strategies behind this ambitious opening, while also highlighting the various tricks and traps that both...

The Advance Variation is a popular and direct way of meeting the ultra-solid French Defence. Very early on in the game White opts to fix the pawn structure and establishes a genuine space advantage, upon which he later hopes to mount a serious attack. This method of playing against the French Defence has become a firm favorite among uncompromising Grandmasters such as Alexei Shirov, England's Nigel Short, and the rising star in Russia, Alexander Grischuk. In this book openings expert Sam Collins explains the strategy and tactics of this dynamic opening, studying both the main lines as well as...

The Bb5 Sicilian is a logical and practical weapon against Black's most popular defence to 1 e4 and is an excellent choice for White players who are fed up of constantly trying to keep abreast of the latest developments in the Open Sicilian. The early bishop move signals White intention to develop rapidly and it can lead to both wild gambit play and calmer positional waters. Significantly, this opening weapon has the seal of approval from many of today's elite Grandmasters, including Vishy Anand, Mickey Adams and Peter Leko, while Garry Kasparov utilized it successfully in his famous Internet...

This book fills an enormous void in chess literature. There are a countless number of players who are very happy to defend the black side of the Queen's Gambit or play the Nimzo-Indian, Queen's Indian, Bogo-Indian, or Benoni. However, more often than not they have been forced to muddle their way through a whole variety of annoying sidelines White has at his or her disposal, including the dreaded Trompowsky, the tricky Blackmar-Diemer Gambit and the tiresome Colle Variation. Now finally, help is at hand In this unique book John Cox reveals everything Black players need to know about all of...

There is no doubt that playing the Open Games is one of Black's most reliable and aggressive ways of meeting White's favorite opening move, 1 e4. Experts also agree that playing these fundamental openings is a crucial step in the development of a chess player, while moving up to the highest level it provides the battleground for countless duals between the likes of World number one Garry Kasparov, Vishy Anand and Vladimir Kramnik. It's true that some Black players are put off by the seemingly endless number of variations they can be faced with, as White can choose a between the King's Gambit,...

Bird's Opening is an underrated and dynamic choice for White that immediately directs the game into relatively unexplored territory, setting Black players early problems and forcing them to think for themselves rather than having the luxury of relying on the theory of more mainstream openings. It's also a very flexible option that can lead to both sharp gambit play, such as the notorious From's Gambit, as well as quieter positional lines. In this book International Master Timothy Taylor unearths the secrets of Bird's Opening and its many deviations. Using illustrative games, he examines...

Fed up with getting difficult positions with the black pieces? Tired of always having to keep up with all the latest developments? Take a break from the mountains of opening theory and play 1...b6 With the move, preparing a bishop fianchetto, Black immediately directs the game into relatively uncharted territory, one where White players are not able to sit back and rely on their "opening book" knowledge. The real beauty of 1...b6 is that it can be played against virtually every single first move by White, so it is a perfect choice for Black players with neither the time nor inclination to...