The Life & Games of Akiva Rubinstein - VOLUME 2

Secrets of Opening Surprises brings you a wide variety of unusual opening ideas.

Our new book 1000 TN!! collects the best of the best 1,000 theoretical novelties from Chess Informants 11 to 110 and provides an adventurous journey through the development of chess openings during the last forty years. Moreover, in every theoretical line, we add the latest word on the state of theory.

Publisher: ISHI Press
Author: Ludek Pachman
Year of Publication: 2012 (Reprint) Pages: 185
Notation Type: Descriptive (DN)


Book Description Continuing his major work on strategy and tactics in modern chess, the internationalyl renowned Grandmaster, Ludek Pachman, now turns his attention to the play of the pawns and the achievement of control of the center squares. Though the pawns are the weakest pieces in chess, their importance in determining the character of the attack (and defense) and the development of strategic play cannot be underestimated. Pawns are essential to the protection of important squares and pieces. They are the best means of blockading enemy pawns and when correctly deployed, their advance can open vital files and diagonals, thereby creating weaknesses in the opposite position. Despite its limited power, the pawn has one special advantage over other pieces in that it can be promoted when it reaches the eighth rank; a successful pawn advance can completely change the balance of power and the outcome of a game. Pawns have aptly been described as "the soul of chess." Vital of chess mastery is a basic understanding of the importance of control of the center squares. The effectiveness of the pieces depend upon the strength of their position and center control creates a vital sapatial superiority. The effective play of the pawns and center control have been touched upon on other works, but seldom with the insight and lucidity revealed in this second volume of Pachman's masterwork.

Chess players are offered an ambitious repertoire for White with 1.d4 in two volumes, with this book covering all lines except 1...d5. The repertoire is based on classical lines and inspired by Botvinnik’s approach.

In Thinking with Chess, Dr. Alexey Root connects chess with skills important to academic success, such as classifying, pattern recognition, decoding, creating, and predicting.

In the first part of this volume, we have analyzed positions of the four knights system (1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.g3). It is worth mentioning that starting from the moment our first volume came out of print, the focus of attention in this system has changed radically. The discussion earlier, particularly at a higher level, was centered on the moves 4...d5 and 4...e6, but later 4...g6 began to be played by Black much more often.

The Kaufman Repertoire for Black and White contains many improvements on existing opening theory and offers a good balance between narrative and variations.

The Four Knights is an opening with a long and distinguished history. Despite its deceptively quiet appearance, it can lead to extremely sharp play