Chess Life Magazine - December 2010 Issue

Quite simply, the quickest way to learn chess the right way. Great is the disappointment to the library patron who browses for a chess instructional and finds only picked-over bones from the pre-Fischer, pre-Kasparov eras. These books by a U.S. champion and a chess magazine editor offer something more. A range of abilities, from novice to entrants in a local tournament, can learn tactics and strategies that improve their play.

Publisher: Dover
Author: T. D. Harding
Year of Publication: 2001 Pages: 208
Notation Type: Algebraic (AN)


Book Description As noted British chess author T. D. Harding explains in the preface to Counter Gambits: Black to Play and Win, the aim of this book is to show you how to win games with Black. The method? Calculated aggression, right from move one! To offset the distinct advantage White is thought to have because it moves first, Black can engage in dynamic counterplay to avoid those openings that give White the opportunity of early exchanges. Following a brief explanation of symbols, this excellent guide covers such topics as dynamic counterplay, counter-gambits in open games, Black sacrifices in the half-open games, counters to the Queen's Gambit, Indian counter-gambits, and an index to openings and variations. Seventy-seven games, including ten new to this edition, are fully annotated, while more are found in the theoretical notes, with commentary. Among the counter-gambits used in the quest for dynamic counterplay are the Budapest, Blumenfeld, Falkbeer, and Latvian — all illustrated in great detail. A new update "Update 2001," written especially for this edition, examines developments in the field since this book was first published in the 1970s. Players at all skill levels — beginner to advanced — are sure to benefit from this expert analysis of gambits and counter-gambits.