In this user-friendly book, Grandmaster Neil McDonald goes back to basics, studying the fundamental principles of the Dutch Defence and its many variations. Throughout the book there are an abundance of notes, tips, warnings, and exercises to help improvi

Ideal for those wanting to understand the basics of Benoni Systems, this book is a study of all the crucial Benoni systems apart from the Modern Benoni. It presents diverse and practical options against the queen's pawn opening for dynamic, tactical players and solid, positional players alike. Included are such daring defences as the controversial Blumenfeld Counter-Gambit and the Benko Gambit, a favorite with uncompromising Grandmasters such as Veselin Topalov and Vassily Ivanchuk. On the other hand, Black also has the opportunity to adopt solid, respectable defences such as the Czech Benoni...

The Scotch Game is one of the oldest openings in chess and has a great history, but more recently it was catapulted back into the limelight due to the enterprise of World number one Garry Kasparov, who completely rejuvenated the opening with an abundance of original ideas for White. He utilized the opening in World Championship matches and other elite events, with very successful results. As a direct result of this, the Scotch Game, a dynamic and sharp opening, has once again become popular at all levels of chess. In this easy-to-read guide, Grandmaster and openings expert John Emms goes back...

Grandmaster Joe Gallagher studies the Sicilian Najdorf in a simplistic way, introducing the crucial initial moves and ideas and taking care to explain the reasoning behind them, something that has sometimes been neglected or taken for granted.

The King's Indian Attack was a firm favorite of the legendary Bobby Fischer, and more recently it has been utilized with great success by world-class Grandmasters such as Alexander Morozevich. The renowned chess coach Mark Dvoretsky regards the King's Indian Attack as a perfect weapon on which to base an opening repertoire. Its great advantage over other openings is that it's a thematic system that can be employed against many different lines, while the emphasis is on the understanding of ideas rather than the dry memorization of moves. The King's Indian Attack leads to rich middlegame...

Few would disagree that the Sicilian Dragon is one of the most exciting, high profile and controversial openings in chess history. Right from the very beginning of the game Black chooses to unbalance the position, thus maximizing his or her chances of playing for a win. The positions reached are dynamic and of a highly tactical nature, with both players very often going straight for each other's throats in search of a quick-fire knockout blow. In these razor-sharp encounters, it goes without saying that one slip by either side can prove to be fatal. Because of its aggressive nature, the...

International Master Craig Pritchett studies the Sicilian Scheveningen in a clear-cut way introducing the crucial initial moves and ideas and taking care to explain the reasoning behind them something that is sometimes neglected or taken for granted

Opening experts Alexander Raetsky and Maxim Chetverik study the Queen's Gambit Accepted in a clear-cut way, introducing the vital early moves and ideas and taking care to explain the reasoning behind them, something that is sometimes neglected or taken fo

In Starting Out with 1 e4 Grandmaster Neil McDonald provides the reader with a strong and trustworthy repertoire with the white pieces based on the opening move 1 e4. The recommended lines given here have stood the test of time and are regularly employed

Once a chess player has figured out how all the chess pieces move, what is the next step on the chess ladder? This helpful and entertaining book provides players with the complete answer. In this easy-to-follow guide, renowned chess teacher Chris Ward explains all the crucial checkmating patterns, plus how to catch out opponents with an assortment of tricks and traps, commonly known as chess tactics. There is something for everyone in this book: improving players can benefit from learning the basic checkmates and the key tactics such as attacking and defending pieces, forks, pins, and...