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CHESS OPENING BOOKS

The first phase of a chess game is known as the Chess Opening. It is during this phase of the chess game that the initial moves are made. Similarly, those moves are commonly referred to in the chess world as the “Chess Opening”. While there are literally billions of possible positions after the first 4 moves have been made in a game of chess (288 billion to be exact), only a small number of these chess openings have been studied by chess professionals and chess computers and deemed to be sound for practical play.

To help differentiate one chess opening from another, each chess opening is given a unique name to identify it. While it is common for a chess opening to be named after the player/s that introduced them to popular play, including the Benko Gambit (after Grandmaster Pal Benko), the Sicilian Najdorf (named after Grandmaster Miguel Najdorf) and the Philidor Defense (named after Francois-Andre Danican Philidor), this is not always the case Some chess openings are named after the locations and/or cultures in which they originated, including the London System, the French Defense, the Sicilian Defense, The English Opening and the Vienna Game. While others are named after the pieces that are moved during that opening, including the Queen’s Pawn Gambit and the King’s Indian Defense.

There are 6 basic objectives during the chess opening. They are Piece Development, Control of the Center of the Board, King Safety, Prevention of Pawn Weakness, Piece Coordination and to Create positions in which the player is more comfortable than the opponent.

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Accelerated Dragons

Many players are attracted to the Dragon Sicilian, but are put off by the fierce mating attacks that White can launch. In the Accelerated Dragon, Black aims for an improved version, saving a move with his queen's pawn. If White tries to ignore the difference, Black's instant detonation of the centre will come as an unwelcome cold shower! The authors show that White's main reply, the Maroczy Bind, is not so fearsome as was once thought Black has many ways to break out, while quite often it is possible to manoeuvre around White's 'binding pawns' and show that they imprison White's pieces as much as they do Black's.

Accelerated Dragons

Catalog Code: B0145EM

Our Price: $19.95

Complete Defense to Queen Pawn Openings
Essential Opening Moves

This aggressive counterattacking repertoire covers Black opening systems against virtually every opening except for 1.e4 (plus most flank games), based on the exciting and powerful Tarrasch Defense, which helped win Kasparov and Spassky championships.

Complete Defense to Queen Pawn Openings

Essential Opening Moves

Catalog Code: B0001CZ

Our Price: $16.95

Gambit Opening Repertoire for White
Essential Opening Moves

Chess players who enjoy attacking from the very first move are rewarded here with a powerful repertoire of brilliant gambits. Starting off with 1.e4 or 1.d4 and then using sharp weapons such as the Goring gambit (accepted and declined), Halasz Gambit, Alapin Gambit, Ulysses Gambit, Short Attack and more, you'll learn how to put pressure on opponents.

Gambit Opening Repertoire for White

Essential Opening Moves

Catalog Code: B0040CZ

Our Price: $14.95

English Defence

Grandmaster Daniel King explains the basic elements, strategies and tactics of the popular English Defence, on which he is a renowned expert. This book, the first on the English Defence for many years, provides everything you need to know to start playing the opening straightaway. It focuses on explaining the key themes and provides a backbone of essential theoretical knowledge. This is an ideal battle manual for club and tournament players .

English Defence

Catalog Code: B0108EM

Our Price: $19.95

101 Chess Opening Traps
A Collection of Deadly Traps, New and Old, to Catch Opponents of All Standards

101 Chess Opening Traps

A Collection of Deadly Traps, New and Old, to Catch Opponents of All Standards

Catalog Code: B0127GB

Our Price: $14.95

Queen's Gambit Declined 5. Bf4

The Orthodox Defense to the Queen's Gambit is an extremely resilient system for Black, and a solid favorite of many world champions. As Black's main ideas are easily grasped, it is also a very popular option at club level. In this, the first major work on the subject, the flexible and powerful move 5 Bf4! is explained. While far less hackneyed than the standard systems in which the bishop goes to g5, the move denies Black the standard simplifying maneuvers and sets an entirely new set of problems.

Queen's Gambit Declined 5. Bf4

Catalog Code: B0131EM

Our Price: $19.95

Semi-Slav

The Semi-Slav Defense (1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 c6) has been one of Black's most reliable defenses to the queen's pawn since the 1920s, having withstood decades of scrutiny at the highest level. Nowadays it is very popular at grandmaster level (it is used regularly by such imaginative players as Shirov and Kramnik) as well as with club and tournament players.

Semi-Slav

Catalog Code: B0171EM

Our Price: $19.95

Fianchetto Grunfeld

By choosing the Fianchetto System against the Grunfeld, White aims to stifle Black's normal piece play. White avoids presenting Black with a target and instead looks to probe Black's sensitive queenside. White's strategy has been used to good effect by Karpov and Kasparov, reason enough to adopt it in one's own games. This new title offers the first complete coverage of this important chess opening and is ideal for King's Indian players looking for a way to meet the Fianchetto. It also includes up-to-the-minute theory from two top-class theoreticians. Grandmaster Adrian Mikhalchishin is a well-known Ukrainian writer and player, and arguably the worlds' leading expert on the Fianchetto Grunfeld. Alexander Belyavsky is also a Ukrainian grandmaster, who became World Junior Champion in 1973 and won the USSR Championship on many occasions. He has competed regularly and successfully in countless super-grandmaster events.

Fianchetto Grunfeld

Catalog Code: B0176EM

Regular Price: $19.95

Special Price: $7.98

Easy Guide to Queen's Gambit Accepted

The Queen's Gambit Accepted is one of Black's most trustworthy and yet dynamic ways of facing the Queen's Pawn Opening. Black immediately accepts the invitation to open the position, leading to positions rich in positional and tactical complexity. Now, for the first time, Graeme Buckley uncovers the secrets behind the opening which has become a firm favourite amongst many of today's top players. Everyman's new Easy Guide series represents a new approach to chess opening books: just enough detail and just enough explanation to enable readers to play an opening with confidence, without months of memorizing theory-the easy way to master a chess opening. Graeme Buckley caused quite a stir in his first year as a professional player, securing his International Master title in a matter of months, quickly followed by his first grandmaster norm. More recently he has also been involved in some major coaching projects.

Easy Guide to Queen's Gambit Accepted

Catalog Code: B0237EM

Regular Price: $18.95

Special Price: $7.58

Colle System: Zukertort Variation 5. b3

The variation is named after Johannes Hermann Zukertort, the first player to deminstrate the wonderful attacking potential of the white bishops lined up on the b1-h7 and b2-g7 diagonals. As we will see, there are many move orders by Black in the Colle-Zukertort, but white usually gets by with a single sequence: 1.d4, 2.e3, 3.Bd3, and 4.Nf3 - although in this book we will see a lot of other orders. The center is usually closed or semi-open in the Colle-Zukertort and this enables white to perform some elaborate maneuvers and execute long-range plans denied him when the center is open. Positional play is supreme. The chapters are: 1)Zukertort 5.b3 vs. Koltanowski 5.c3, 2)How White Wins, 3)How White Loses, 4)Common Strategic Mistakes, 5)Main Line Zukertort Vatiation 5.b3 Analysis.

Colle System: Zukertort Variation 5. b3

Catalog Code: CB0040CD

Our Price: $7.95

French Defense - Classical System

Catalog Code: CB0053CD

Our Price: $12.95

How to Play the Belgrade Gambit

After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nd5 the author examines both the accepted and declined. This gambit has been reinvigorated by some new ideas and is fully playable. An excellent edition to your fighting arsenal.

How to Play the Belgrade Gambit

Catalog Code: CB0072CD

Our Price: $4.95

The Colle System Koltanowski Variation: 5. c3

1.d4 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.Bd3 e6 4.Nf3 c5 5.c3 and other moves where Black does not play c5. There aren't as many strategic plans and positional themes as in the Queen's Gambit; but there are still quite a lot - and that's enough for 95 percent of serious players. Against an amateur opponent, the Colle is a deadly weapon, a quick killer. Edgar Colle and his fellow Belgian native, GM George Koltanowski, registered a string of sparkling victories, many of them in less than thirty moves, with this system. He even had the great Alekhine on the ropes with it.

The Colle System Koltanowski Variation: 5. c3

Catalog Code: CB0079CD

Our Price: $12.95

Four Gambits to Beat the French

Catalog Code: CB0086CD

Our Price: $12.95

Winning with the Slav

"Why do so many GM's play the Slav? Is it the opening's resilience? Its counterattacking potential? Or the ease with which all Black's pieces can find effective postings? Up-to-date and packed with new ideas. Covers all the main lines of the Slav."

Winning with the Slav

Catalog Code: B0091BT

Our Price: $9.95

Winning with the Hypermodern

Hypermodern chess strategy was the single most devastating innovation of the 20th century chess thought. Fueled by such towering figures as Aron Nimzowitsch and Richard Reti, hypermodern ideas forced their way into prominence and blazed the trail for the dynamic adoption by the Soviet chess school of defences such as the King's Indian and the Grunfeld. With both of these championed by Garry Kasparov, arguably the greatest player of all time, it is clear that hypermodern openings and defences are still setting the agenda in the 21st century.

Winning with the Hypermodern

Catalog Code: B0095BT

Our Price: $12.95

The Lisitsin Gambit

The Lisitsin Gambit is a bold, even savage attack against the Dutch. It in no way refutes the Dutch, but it places black on a tight rope, a rope the unwary may easily slip off to their doom on. Further the gambit is much easier to learn than the rest of the lines white may play against the Dutch." - US National Master Stephen Gordon. The Lisitsin Gambit, as well illustrated here, is a very good choice for the attacking player!

The Lisitsin Gambit

Catalog Code: CB0003CD

Our Price: $9.95

A Black Defensive System with 1... d6

Grandmaster Soltis blends this defensive 1..d6 move into a coherent defensive system answering whatever white throws at black. This move frequently transposes into the sharp, attacking, ultra-dynamic King's Indian Defense when played against 1.d4. Against 1.e4, the Pirc(or sometimes also the Modern Defense) arises, bringing a very flexible setup which can vary wild, attacking chess to solid, positional maneuvering. 1..d6 is a flexible way to combat any white first move.

A Black Defensive System with 1... d6

Catalog Code: CB0005CD

Our Price: $9.95

Beating the Alekhine Defense with the Exchange Variation

Catalog Code: CB0006CD

Our Price: $9.95

The Veresov Attack

The Veresov Attack is a vigorous opening system which offers a wealth of interesting strategic and tactical chances for white. It is interesting to note that it sort of resembles a sort of "Queenside Ruy Lopez". This often leads to rapid queenside castling with sharpened play. Alternately, white can simply continue to develop his kingside pieces followed by kingside castling. This "dual castling" motif of the Veresov can keep black guessing as to white's true intentions.

The Veresov Attack

Catalog Code: CB0008CD

Our Price: $4.95

A Winning White Repertoire

The main system is the Torre Attack 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 or 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 followed by Bg5. Then you are taught how to meet the Nimzo-Indian, King's Indian, Pirc/Old Indian, Benoni, and Dutch Defenses. This opening is very solid and easy to learn and the non-professional players will find it very handy. However, it is a very powerful opening and has been employed by such chess superstars as Korchnoi, Kasparov, Timman, Petrosian, Bronstein, Yusupov, Keres, Smyslov, and Spassky! Most importantly, this book consists of more than just variations, but 100 deeply annotated complete games as well.

A Winning White Repertoire

Catalog Code: CB0015CD

Our Price: $6.95

Franco-Benoni Defenses

No matter what White plays, Black plays 1..e6 making believe he is going into a French defense. White is fooled for whatever he does, Black plays toward a Benoni 2..c5.

Franco-Benoni Defenses

Catalog Code: CB0021CD

Our Price: $7.95

Winning with the Benko Gambit

Smith & Hall: "The Benko Gambit is a rare sort of opening: Black offers a pawn on the third move to snatch the initiative from White. The psychological effect is instantaneous. White, who thought he would control the opening with the initial tempo is immediately faced with vexing decisions. 'Do I take the pawn and try to keep it?'(Accepted); 'Do I take it for a little white but offer to return it later?' (Semi-Accepted); 'Or do I avoid the gambit altogether?' (Declined). 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5!. In any event we show that whichever course white adopts, black will obtain fluid counter-play. If white commits inaccuracies(even relatively slight ones), Black can quickly seize the initiative. By first studying our familiarization section the student new to the Benko will be given a good overview of all the main variations in the Benko Gambit. Next we present a thorough and up-to-date survey of all the major variations to show how Black can steer play into dynamic counter-play-oriented positions, which will provide exciting games and good practical winning chances. Bash 'em with the Benko!"

Winning with the Benko Gambit

Catalog Code: CB0023CD

Our Price: $7.95

The Goring Gambit Accepted and Declined

The Goring Gambit is one of White's most dynamic choices after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6. With 3.d4! White immediately challenges Black's "pawn anchor" on e5 while prying open lines for rapid, aggressive development. After 3..exd4 White can, of course, opt for the Scotch Game with 3.Nxd4 - which is quite sound for White - but we recommend that you choose the gambit with 4.c3, daring Black to grab a pawn with 4..dxc3. If Black accepts, white will get a lead in development and many opportunities for a prolonged initiative. There is a line that modern theory favors black, but we show you how to avoid it. If your opponent is too scared to accept the gambit with 4..dxc3, then there are declining moves with 4..Nf6, 4..d5, and 4..d3. Against all these more sedate lines we will show how to keep Black under pressure. A number of top players have adopted the Goring gambit over time; among them are GM's Tal, Stein, Gufeld, Velimirovic, and Ljubojevic. FM Ken Smith, one of the authors, has been playing middle gambits(Danish, Goring, BDG, & Smith-Morra) all his 47-year chess career.

The Goring Gambit Accepted and Declined

Catalog Code: CB0036CD

Our Price: $9.95

Winning Against Flank Openings

Catalog Code: CB0060CD

Our Price: $4.95

Winning with the English Defense

Answers 1.e4 and all other openings. This is a very flexible system that allows White to build up a large center if so inclined. Black's aim is to attack White's center with all his forces, bringing about sharp, hypermodern play on the board.