Fed up with having to learn so much opening theory? Struggling to keep up with all the latest developments? Then this book may well be the answer to all your problems Grandmaster John Emms offers a new arsenal of opening weapons with which to attack to your unaware opponents. Starting with the move 1 e4, the reader is armed with systems against all possible black defences. In each case learning ideas is more important than memorising long variations, so this repertoire should be ideal for players who don t have the luxury of being able to spend countless hours studying theory. Each line is...

The Sicilian Kan is one of the most flexible and easy-to-play variations of the entire Sicilian complex. In contrast to opening monsters such as the infamous Dragon and Najdorf Variations, Black players are not forced to memorize massive chunks of opening theory. Success in the Sicilian Kan is more dependent on understanding certain principles and a system of development. Another point in its favor is that even more experienced White players are often flummoxed by Black s elastic approach. Recently the Kan has received a seal of approval from the highest places, with both Kasparov and Kramnik...

From a theoretical backwater to a fully blown main line opening, the rise of the Scandinavian Defence (1 e4 d5) has been nothing short of meteoric. Over the past 15 years the Scandinavian has become more and more popular both at club and Grandmaster level. It even managed to obtain an ultimate seal of approval when Vishy Anand employed it in his World Championship match with Garry Kasparov This book provides a complete update of Emms's original and best-selling edition of The Scandinavian, published in 1997. Since then there have been many new and important discoveries from both sides of the...

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...

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...

John Emms reveals the secrets of how to maximize potential and improve results in competitive play. Drawing upon years of his own experience, Emms tackles the all-important practical aspects of chess playing: studying ones own strengths and weaknesses, and those of prospective opponents; concentration and manner at the chessboard; handling time trouble; tackling cheats; playing for a win or a draw; saving difficult positions; avoiding silly mistakes; building an opening repertoire; using chess computers and software; choosing the right tournaments and much more besides.

In Discovering Chess Openings John Emms argues that studying openings doesn't have to be hard work - it can be both enjoyable and enlightening. The key to successful opening play is not simply learning lines off by heart; instead it's the understanding of the basic principles, and here the reader is guided through the vital themes: swift development, central control and king safety.

In Dangerous Weapons: The Sicilian, John Emms and Richard Palliser team up to investigate by far the most popular and widely-played chess opening, but in a revolutionary way. They select an abundance of opening weapons for both White and Black, many of wh

In this book, opening experts John Emms, Chris Ward and Richard Palliser team up to examine one of the most popular and respected openings at all levels of chess: the Nimzo-Indian. However, instead of pursuing the well-trodden paths, they choose an origin

In Dangerous Weapons: 1 e4 e5, renowned opening experts John Emms, Glenn Flear and Andrew Greet take a revolutionary look at one of the most famous and widely-played chess openings. Instead of travelling down well-trodden and analysed paths, the authors c