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.

    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.
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    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.
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    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.
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    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 .
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    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
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    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.
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    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.
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    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.
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    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.
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    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.
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    Colle System: Zukertort Variation 5. b3
    Catalog Code: CB0040CD
    Our Price: $7.95

    French Defense - Classical System
    French Defense - Classical System
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    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.
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    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.
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    The Colle System Koltanowski Variation: 5. c3
    Catalog Code: CB0079CD
    Our Price: $12.95

    Four Gambits to Beat the French
    Four Gambits to Beat the French
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    Four Gambits to Beat the French
    Catalog Code: CB0086CD
    Our Price: $12.95

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