All Chess Books A-Z

The Four Knights has the distinction of being one of the oldest openings in the history of chess. In a king's pawn opening, both players bring out their knights before contemplating further development. Despite its deceptively peaceful appearance, the Four Knights can lead to wild gambit play as well as calmer positional waters. Adherents include the renowned tactician from Latvia, Alexei Shiro...

This book continues the coverage of the French Defence that was begun by Pedersen in The Main Line French: 3 Nc3. It is essential reading for all those who play the French, and for those who meet it with the popular and flexible Tarrasch Variation. The Tarrasch Variation provides a stern test for the French Defence, and has always been a favourite of strategically minded players, such as Michae...

My banner makes an attractive headline; but I would humbly opine that this book is sort of like Kotov's classic "Think like a GM" and Pal Benko's "Winning Chess Psychology" combined. I was at the prestigious HB Tournament as a spectator; and there was the widest array of chess books I had ever seen were on sale. Opening books, ones on tactics, games collections, etc. but I wanted something a bi...

The Grunfeld Defence is a dynamic and popular weapon for Black against queen's pawn openings. Former World Champion Bobby Fischer and current world number one Garry Kasparov head a long list of grandmasters that have utilize this opening with continued success. In this book, grandmaster and renowned chess teacher Nigel Davies explains the key ideas and tactics for both White and Black. Using il...

The French is a sound and resilient defense, which also provides abundant opportunities for counter play. As a result it has been favored by such great fighting players as Lasker, Botvinnik and Korchnoi. Current adherents include Short, Shirov, Morozevich and Khalifman. By playing 3 Nc3, White confronts the French head-on. The upshot is often a ferocious battle as Black tries to destroy or dama...

The Marshall Attack is one of the oldest and most important openings in the history of chess. Black sacrifices a pawn against the Ruy Lopez in exchange for a long-lasting attack. Generations of the world's top players have fought on the Marshall battleground, but the final verdict on its soundness has not yet been reached. However, of one thing you can be sure: Black certainly has a lot of fun ...

Boris Spassky is a true chess legend, a World Champion who, thanks to his monumental battles with Bobby Fischer, raised the popularity of the game to a level that had never been seen before. Although at the height of his powers many saw Spassky as a complete and universal player, adept at outplaying his opponents in any type of position, it is no secret that from an early age he thrived on shar...

The Meran is an opening rich in both strategy and tactics, making it ideal for players seeking to win with either color. It occupies an important place in the repertoires of many of the world's top players, with Anand, Kramnik, Kasparov and Karpov regularly taking one side or the other. The book provides the most detailed coverage to date of the Meran, together with several related variations, ...

This book by Grandmaster David Bronstein, one of the most original and influential players of the post-war period, is not a self-tutor in the conventional sense, where the basics of opening, middlegame and endgame play are drily explained. Instead, the author engages in a frank conversation with the reader, discussing how strong players decide on their moves.

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Very occasionally, a chess move is played that astonishes the whole world. It may be a move of astounding complexity, unearthly beauty, deep paradox... or all three. The move is discussed and analyzed around the world as chess-players attempt to fathom both why the move works, and how on earth anyone thought of it in the first place. In this book John Emms has selected, from hundreds of candida...

Grandmaster and well-known Sicilian Dragon expert Simon Williams takes a totally fresh look at this famous opening. Concentrating on his favourite Dragadorf Variation, Williams constructs a cutting-edge repertoire for Black, one which is perfect for the modern Dragon player who wishes to cause his opponents maximum problems in the opening.<br> <br> The Sicilian Dragon is a highly popular openin...

Ever since Nimzowitsch introduced his flexible, dynamic defense to the queen's pawn, debate has raged over White's best reply. Many variations have been in and out of fashion, but one line in particular has proved an enduring weapon - the sound and solid 4 e3 line, known as the Rubinstein Variation. The 4 e3 Nimzo is extraordinarily rich in strategy. All manner of different central pawn-structu...

The Petroff has for a long time been regarded as a very solid defense. Black avoids the perils of the Scotch, the Italian Game and above all the dreaded Ruy Lopez, and instead opts to neutralize White's initiative with active piece-play. In the Petroff, it is quite common for Black to launch an early counterattack, often gambiting a pawn to do so. For many years, the Petroff enjoyed a steady fo...

Every chess-player needs a reliable defense against the Queen's Pawn Opening. The fundamental question is whether to go all-out for counter play, which may involve a great deal of risk, or to adopt a more solid, classical approach, and first carefully neutralize White's initiative.This book shows the potential of the latter approach. By defending the Queen's Gambit Declined, Black puts a firm r...

Everyone loses chess games occasionally, but all too often we lose a game due to moves that, deep down, we knew were flawed. Why do we commit these chess-board sins? Are they the result of general misconceptions about chess and how it should be played? And how can we recognize the warning signs better? In this thought-provoking and entertaining book, Jonathan Rowson investigates, in his inimita...

The Slav's great popularity is due to its extreme solidity and abundant possibilities for dynamic counter play. This book provides detailed coverage to help players as both White and Black face the challenges of this tough yet rewarding opening. All lines after 1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 are discussed, except those that transpose to the Semi-Slav. The sharpest tactical lines of the Slav receive especially...

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Starting in 1920 and running through to the early 1990s, when the political break-up of the USSR meant the end of the competition, the prestigious Soviet Championships were truly representative events with all of the top Soviet players participating. Because of the enormous State support for the game in the old USSR, these Championships were usually gladiatorial, all-play-all contests lasting w...

For all chess-players - from beginners to grandmasters, and whatever their style of play - one thing is certain: rook endings will arise in a great many of their games. Yet it is precisely in this area of the game that many players give away hard-earned points, either through lack of knowledge or inadequate understanding. Previous books on the subject have been extremely technical and theoretic...

The Sveshnikov variation of the Sicilian Defense leads to dynamic positions with free piece play and provides enterprising players with the type of active game on which they can thrive. It became fashionable in the 1970s under the influence of Evgeny Sveshnikov and other grandmasters from Chelyabinsk, and has remained at the cutting edge of opening theory ever since. In recent years it has been...

The Symmetrical systems of the English Opening constitute a large and important area of modern opening theory. The strategic variety to be found within this book is staggering: from the sedate Symmetrical Variation to the wild gambit lines of the Anti-Benoni, and almost everything in between! The book provides detailed coverage of the theory of all lines stemming from 1 c4 c5. It includes many ...