In 1851, Horwitz & Kling published the first edition of the book. The collection of endgame studies was truly monumental, covering endgames of all types, often uncovering previously unknown truths about a variety of endgames, both simple and more complex ones.
After the passing of his colleague Kling, Horwitz started preparing a manuscript for a new, expanded edition. However, in 1885, he passed as well, and it was only through the effort of William Wayte that the second edition was published in 1889.
In this new edition, all of their compositions and analysis have been thoroughly reanalyzed by FIDE Master Carsten Hansen. 182 pages

Everyone knows that the Petroff is one of Black's most solid options to King's Pawn openings, which has endured for centuries. Most people DON'T know that the Damiano Variation - a subset of Petroff - is equally sound and not a beginner's trap into which we fell. The lines of the Damiano may be tailored from the same cloth as Petroff, yet they are quite different. One "Damiano-is-bad" critic wrote on my page: "...selling the Petroff Damiano line as a sure-fire draw for Black seems to me to be overselling it." Actually, incorrect. You CAN hold a draw with the Damiano if you are willing to put in some work of learning the critical lines and the defensive ideas. When I began to look deeper into the line, I came to the shocking realization that there is zero reason to believe in the "refuted" verdict since the engines are on the Damiano's side, not White's! 235 pages

Q&A with the author, Alexander Delchev:

What does it take to become an expert in opening preparation? 

How can we learn the secret methods which allow the top players to dominate everyone else in the opening? 

Books can hardly be useful in this regard because modern books on openings, regardless of the level of the author, are very standard and straightforward. The title of this book claims to answer this question. Your author will then back up his claim with proof in the form of analysis from a strong engine. You are then left to decide whether or not to include these ideas in your opening repertoire. 

What is missing is some sort of guidance and advice relating to what sorts of tour­naments and against what sorts of players this idea should be employed. Moreover, every one of you has likely noticed that even the best opening idea still has a rela­tively short life span and can hardly be used in more than a few games. So far I have published about 10 books on openings and for me it is not a problem to publish another 10 or even more. However, in the modern era I believe the lifespan of an opening book is incredibly short as new games are constantly being played and new ideas are being found. 1 feel it would be much more useful to you if I uncover a new approach to opening preparation, which will be more long-lasting and will improve your play as well. 

The method of opening preparation I have used throughout my entire chess-playing career {1997 - 2018) allowed me, with relatively little effort, to be unpredictable the re by winning the psychological battle of the opening. Luring my opponents into prepared opening tricks and traps was great fun !  314 p.

In the method which I will introduce you to in this book, the first and most im­portant aspect is adapting your approach to each individual opponent and perfect prediction of the opponent's opening choice, to the smallest details. 

Selected popular chess problems, combining ease of construction with an ingenious and effective solution. The author of the collection, the 14-time world champion in drawing up and solving, the international grandmaster, not only leads the decisions, but also tells about the history, theory, the subject of modern chess composition, the famous compilers of the past and the present. Hardcover 373 pages

This book – the sequel to Studies for Practical Players released over a decade ago – is mostly aimed at practical players who wish to improve their chess skills by developing imaginative and preventive thinking, while perfecting calculation of variations and knowledge of basic endings. In addition, this work will certainly be appreciated by every lover of beauty, logic and paradoxicality of the game. 176 pages

In my first book I wanted to enlighten the reader on those various lines that were

less explored, and those that have been almost forgotten but were nevertheless

interesting.

However this time the book is about cutting-edge lines, which is a very

modern approach to this fascinating opening. Moreover it is important to say that

when I was writing my first book a few years ago, surprisingly, some of these current

lines simply didn’t exist, or were only discussed in a very minor way.

It is true that the Grünfeld fits in very well with the engines’ way of playing chess,

and in that sense it’s almost the perfect opening with which to implement and generate

such ideas.

Let’s have a look now at what I mean and start reading my findings!

GM Milos Pavlovic, January 2024.

There are many secrets in chess, knowledge of which distinguishes a chess virtuoso from an amateur. One of these secrets is the ability to play positions with opposite-colored bishops.

Why is it so important? The point is that the presence of opposite-colored bishops is not always a sign of an impending draw. Due to a number of factors, one of the bishops may turn out to be stronger than its opposite number. This can lead to a successful attack, material gains or obtaining some other advantages that contribute to winning the game.

Grandmaster Alexey Bezgodov has written a book analyzing 174 endgame positions with opposite-colored bishops as training material for advanced players who wish to deepen their endgame skills. Endgame theory, tactics and strategy are all covered, and this will help strong improvers to grind out wins instead of draws, and to avoid losing in difficult positions. Most positions are taken from modern games, and they mostly feature world champions and top grandmasters, including Carlsen, Anand, Kramnik, Kasparov, Karpov, Fischer, Tal, Korchnoi, Andersson, Shirov, Gelfand, Caruana, Nepomniachtchi, and others.

The book is in three parts. Part One, besides introducing the book generally, covers the very first moves of the Scandinavian Defense and White’s early deviations. Anyone who plays the Scandinavian will find this section quite helpful. Then Part Two covers Qd6 + g6 systems, while Part Three covers the very different Nf6 system. 176 pages

Have you ever wondered why it takes grandmasters just seconds to see what's happening in a chess position? It's all about pawn structures, as Ivan Sokolov explained in his groundbreaking book Winning Chess Middlegames.

In his 2010 bestseller, Grandmaster Sokolov focused on structures arising from 1.d4 openings; in this new companion guide, 1.e4 players get their turn. This new volume covers a dozen topical structures including various pawn formations in the flexible Ruy Lopez, Italian and Petroff openings. But also Black's doubled f-pawn in the Rauzer Sicilian, the notorious Maroczy Bind, the mysterious Hedgehog, the versatile Sveshnikov and the paradoxical French Winawer. Deeply analysed top-level games illustrate the motifs in all these structures.

Club players who study Winning Chess Middlegames 1.e4 or 1.d4 will:

• significantly improve their middlegame skills
• develop an accurate sense of which positions suit their style
• gain new strategic and practical knowledge of openings

Ivan Sokolov's analysis is profound but accessible, and he doesn't take anything for granted. As reviewer Sean Marsh wrote of the first volume: "The lucid and informative explanations convey a large amount of genuine Grandmasterly wisdom. This is easily one of the best middlegame books of recent times."

Ivan Sokolov is a top grandmaster who was born in Bosnia and lives in the Netherlands. He is a former Yugoslav and Dutch Champion and has beaten World Champions Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik and Viswanathan Anand. As a coach, he led Uzbekistan to victory at the 2022 Chennai Olympiad. Sokolov has written a dozen highly acclaimed books.

The author Bruno Dieu is a FIDE Master and became French Correspondence Chess Champion in 2000. He has a rich experience in chess, having participated in various chess tournaments, both over the board and in correspondence.
It's fascinating that he has competed with notable experts and writers on the 1 Nc3, such as Dick Van Geet, Anker Aasum, and Harald Keilhack. The mention of a book being a token of his experience suggests that he has documented his insights and knowledge about this opening.
Overall, this is a most promising exploration for those interested in chess and this specific opening.
We are convinced you will enjoy the chess ride Bruno provided in his excellent researched book. 470 pages

Andrew Burnett is a Scottish FM who has represented his country on several occasions. He is the author of cult classic Streetfighting Chess and his love of the Dragon opening stretches back to his teenage years when he was looking to escape from 1.e4 e5! He is currently working on the second volume of DragonMasters.
DragonMasters volume 1 charts the history of the most exciting and dangerous opening known to chess: the Dragon variation of the Sicilian Defence.
Unlike almost all other books on the Dragon, the focus is not purely on theoretical developments. Instead, the author has combined the most historically important games, the famous players who chose to fight either side (sometimes both sides!) of the opening, and the most unexpected and interesting stories featuring the Dragon. World champions, contenders for the crown, codebreakers, revolutionaries in every sense of the word, all feature in this remarkable and entirely unique look into the history of an opening variation. As the ancient maps say: Here be Dragons! 404 pages Hardcover

The English Opening is very popular nowadays, but 1.c4 e5! is a serious challenge and not to everyone's taste. Here comes 1.Nf3, with the idea to transfer the game into the English with c2-c4 to follow. The only hurdle on that path is 1...d5. Then White is at a crossroads. 2.c4 allows 2...d4 3.b4, while 2.e3 is an attempt to deny ...d4. Black can revive the threat with 2...c5, and again, White has a choice. 3.c4 d4 4.b4! leads to the Blumenfeld with reversed colours. Or he can continue to fight against ...d4 with 3.b3. White's decisions on the second and third move depends on the way he wants to meet the Queen's Gambit and the Slav/Meran/Chebanenko. Semkov covers in detail the different options, and also devotes several chapters on 1.Nf3 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 and 3...e6 4.b3! (avoiding the innocuous version of the QGA after 4.Nc3 dxc4). There is another chapter on 1.Nf3 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.c4 dxc4, where the absence of Nc3 allows White to get some pressure by refraining from d2-d4.   244 pages

There are already many endgame books, so why this one? Well, most books deal with elementary endgames, or are very advanced and contain few exercises. But you have only really learned something when you can execute it at the board, with the clock ticking. And solving exercises is very close to this scenario.
The authors present 450 endgame exercises designed to improve your understanding of endgame theory and sharpen your endgame expertise. Starting with the chapter “Specific Positions to Know,” they take you on a journey with just the right mix of practical advice and theoretical knowledge.
Endgame Corner is detailed, well-researched, informative and in-depth, with both authors sharing their experiences, recent games and new examples... I really like this material and hope that you will as well. If you are fascinated by endings, or feel the need to improve this part of your game, this book is a “must” addition to your library. – From the Foreword by Wesley So 

336 PAGES

An informative guide to understanding and implementing the fundamentals of the Caro-Kann, the easy way.

The Caro-Kann defence, named after the German chess players Horatio Caro and Marcus Kann, is notorious for its simple solidity and is a popular chess opening that players of all levels benefit from having in their arsenal. It is a firm favourite of grand masters past and present, including Karpov, Petrosian, Capablanca and Anand.

This is the fifth book from International Master Thomas Engqvist, and it avoids overcomplicated details and endless computer variations, focusing instead on key variations of the Caro-Kann that can be committed to memory. Examining classic games to demonstrate key moves in action, Engqvist brings the defence to life and provides you with the knowledge you need to put strategy into practice. 330 pages

A completely revised edition, which retains the structure of the first edition but is based on new analysis of all critical lines.

This book presents a Black repertoire based on the Scandinavian Defence with 3...Qd6. This is the safest yet aggressive queen retreat. It allows Black to increase pressure on d4 with ...0-0-0 or ...Rd8 while keeping coordination in the centre. Kotronias offers new plans for Black in the most topical lines. They are backed with deep analysis based on solid chess understanding.

As Kotronias puts in the introduction chapter:
"(...) Instead of reprinting the book, the publisher offered me to make a new, revised edition. It took me almost a year to analyse all the new developments and repertoire books that proposed dangerous new weapons against the Qd6 Scandinavian. Meanwhile the AI engines surged, with their original view on some positions. The result is a completely rewritten book, with major corrections, especially in its second half. The structure of variations remained the same, but I introduced many improvements in the subsequent play. I also added some games of mine from the last year."  300 pages

Coach Christof has thoroughly revised and updated his 2018 best-selling chess opening manual. It covers everything you need to know when opening with 1.e4. You will get a complete White chess opening repertoire.

Why is this opening repertoire called simple? For the simple reason that the variations are easy to remember and require little or no maintenance.

International Master Christof Sielecki has created a hit series with his reliable opening lines for chess players of almost all levels. He developed this repertoire by working with students looking for something easy to understand and learn. Sielecki always clearly explains the plans and counter plans and keeps you focused on the position's requirements. Ambitious players rated 1500 or higher will benefit from studying this extremely accessible book.

Christof Sielecki is an International Master from Germany. He has taught and trained chess for many years and runs a popular YouTube channel called ChessExplained. He won numerous awards with his course on Chessable and has created three volumes of the Keep it Simple opening manuals.

Hardcover 630 pages

The variation of the French that starts 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 (or 3 Nd2) 3 ... dxe4 is often called the Rubinstein Variation. It is a great way to simplify the position and ensure that the middlegame battle rewards strategic understanding rather than rote memorisation of opening moves. It is also a very useful weapon to defuse the attacking intentions of aggressive White players who plan an all-out assault in the main lines of the French Defence. 367 pages

OUT OF STOCK

The Queen’s Gambit Accepted (1 d4 d5 2 c4 dxc4) has a long history and has always been popular at all levels of play. However, in the past few years it has undergone an explosion of interest, thanks to many new discoveries of possibilities for very dynamic play from Black. One of these is the line 1 d4 d5 2 c4 dxc4 3 e4 b5!?. This was previously thought to be a very poor line for Black but numerous recent games and investigations have completely changed this assessment. This is now almost the main line of the Queen’s Gambit Accepted and there is currently very little theoretical material on it.
Nicolas Yap analyses this line in forensic detail and also investigates other popular, counterattacking lines such as 3 e3 e5!?. The book is rounded off with suggestions to meet other White systems that involve 1 d4 but not 2 c4 (such as the London, Colle etc.) This makes the book a complete repertoire to face 1 d4.
- A complete repertoire for Black to counter 1 d4.
- The question and answer approach provides an excellent study method.  448 pages

 Endgame Labyrinths presents the reader with 1002 challenging studies selected and truncated, with their usefulness for the practical player in mind. It is common for studies to be extended by less interesting manoeuvres or by incomprehensible sequences, before the main themes come into play. The studies in this book have been pruned to leave the reader with 1002 clear and solvable challenges.

 A few years of extensive selection, analysis, reselection, reanalysis and refining have gone into putting together the study book for the practical player with the most value ever.

 Steffen Nielsen is the reigning World Champion in endgame composition. His creativity and aesthetics in his compositions have had a massive influence on modern competition. He is a strong club player, with a good understanding of the difficulties practical players face over the board. Steffen is also a life-long supporter of the football club AaB, which is less successful...

 GM Jacob Aagaard is one of the leading chess writers and trainers of his generation. His students have played successfully at all levels and continue to do so. His books are used all over the world, by top players and amateurs alike.  Hardcover . 424 pages

Rook endgames are the most important to study, because they are the type of endgame you will face most often over the board. Working on rook endgames gives the biggest bang for your buck.

World-class grandmaster Sam Shankland explains technical rook endgames in a way that is clearer, better organized, more concise, and easier to understand than any previous work. After learning the vital set positions, the reader is offered lots of rules and guidelines to correctly assess any theoretical rook endgame they have not yet memorized.

Theoretical Rook Endgames is the ideal guide to a vital topic in chess. After reading this book, you will know which positions must be memorized, and which positions are best handled by considering general principles.

The sister volume – Conceptual Rook Endgames by Jacob Aagaard – shows how the theoretical knowledge shown in the present book is used in advanced practical play.

GM Sam Shankland is the 2018 US Champion, 2016 Olympiad gold medal winner for teams and 2014 individual gold medal winner. He has played Board 1 for the US in the World Team Championship and competed with the best players in the world in Wijk aan Zee, St. Louis, Prague and elsewhere.  Hardcover 448 pages

Rook endgames are the most frequently recurring endgames and also one of the most exciting areas of chess, with mind bending tactical opportunities and dizzying nuances available. They have unsurprisingly been a big topic in endgame literature, with a heavy focus on the set theoretical positions and their logic and fixed conclusions (see the excellent Theoretical Rook Endgames by GM Sam Shankland, published as a sister volume to this book as the peak example of this).

Conceptual Rook Endgames goes in a different direction. Focused on two dozen major concepts, the book explains the mechanisms of rook endgames in a novel way, by building foundations with simple examples, which can be seen in the most complicated examples as well. Rook endgames will remain rich and surprising, as they are for the greats, but armed with this book, your comprehension of them will skyrocket.

Grandmaster Jacob Aagaard is the most talented chess writer of his generation. He won the British Championship in 2007, but is mostly known for his multi-award winning books and his work with students that have won club, country, state, national, continental and world championships, as well as Olympiad golds (board and overall), the World Cup and Candidates tournament. Hardcover. 416 p.

A reprint of two iconic Botvinnik books combined in one. In this book, Botvinnik writes the story of the three clashes with his compatriot Vasily Smyslov, matches full of tension between two virtually equal opponents, and his match with Tigran Petrosian, which marks the end of an era: the mighty Botvinnik lost his world title fifteen years after he conquered the highest crown for the first time.

A unique look behind the scenes of World Championship Chess. 476 pages

All through his career Jan Timman has been captivated by the mystery and splendour of endgame studies. Even during his most successful and busy years as a world class player, Timman continued to compose studies and admire those of others.

For him there has never been any doubt that the journeys in this magical world helped him to grow as a player.

In this fascinating book, Timman has collected a wide range of the finest endgame studies by other composers and explains in his lucid style how they inspired him to create dozens of brand-new studies himself.

As Timman writes in the preface: ‘Never before have I been so productive as an endgame study composer as in the seven months that I wrote this book. It was a sensational experience.’

The Art of the Endgame is a treasure-trove for the lovers of beauty in chess. But it is also of great value for competitive players. Solving endgame studies is a vital part of improving one’s endgame technique: it develops general understanding, calculation skills and resourcefulness.

It is amazing how much play you can create in a seemingly equal chess position - if you persevere. In this book, the greatest chess player of all time, Magnus Carlsen, and his friend, Grandmaster David Howell, explain how to win these kinds of chess games.

Carlsen and Howell show how you can keep a game alive, how you can keep posing problems to your opponent, how you can recognize the first small mistakes, and how you can grind your opponent down until he cracks.

New In Chess has converted this book from a popular Chessable video and MoveTrainer ® course with the help of Carlsen and Howell. The lively conversations of the two friends translate very well into a highly instructive chess manual. It is top-level chess, using grandmaster games as examples, but the insights are accessible to players of all levels.

Magnus Carlsen won the World Chess Championship in 2013 and gave up his title in 2023. He is regarded as the greatest player of all time and holds the #1 spot in the world ranking. He has read dozens of books published by New In Chess, but this is the first book with Carlsen as an author. Carlsen (1990) lives in Oslo, Norway.

David Howell is an elite chess Grandmaster with a 2700+ peak rating and an individual gold medal winner at the Olympiad. He is a well-known and popular commentator on live chess streams. Howell (1990) is two weeks older than Carlsen, was born in Eastbourne, United Kingdom, and lives in Oslo, Norway.

205 PAGES

The English Opening arises after 1.c4, and is a great practical weapon for players of all levels. White dictates the opening from the very first move, and often reaches positions where understanding themes and plans is more important than the latest computer-generated analysis.

Nikolaos Ntirlis has been Playing the English successfully for many years in high-level correspondence events, as well as teaching it to students ranging from club players to Grandmasters. While his analysis is first-rate, Ntirlis also understands the differing needs between correspondence and human play, and this repertoire is specifically tailored towards practical players.

Playing the English – A World-Class Repertoire provides a complete repertoire with 1.c4, showing how to meet every major option that Black may try. Each section of the book begins with an introduction outlining the main plans and concepts, so you will be equipped with both the strategic and theoretical knowledge needed to crush your opponents.

Nikolaos Ntirlis is an award-winning author, openings expert, and Correspondence IM. He has worked as an openings adviser to numerous GMs, including the Danish Olympiad team.

440 pages

OUT OF PRINT

Although the London System was first played almost 200 years ago, it lay dormant until the beginning of the 21st century. Then chessplayers rediscovered it, realizing that the London could be played against most responses by Black, obtaining a good game with little preparation.

Nowadays the London has evolved into an opening taken up by both club players and world champions. Magnus Carlsen has played it regularly and the new word champion Ding Liren used it to convincingly defeat Ian Nepomniachtchi in game six of their 2023 title match.

Literature on the London has focused primarily on play from White’s side. However, this new book by grandmasters Vassilios Kotronias and Mikhail Ivanov changes all that. Thea authors present four (!) separate ways to combat the London: (1)  King’s Indian Setups; (2) the London Benoni; (3) the London Nimzo- and Queen’s Indian; and (4) the London Orthodox System.

The London Files presents Black many good and flexible options for neutralizing White, while also giving us Londoners many new problems to contend with ... Without a doubt, this book will give Black players highly effective means to deal with the London System for a long time to come and may even have players completely rethinking their approach with the white pieces. – From the Foreword by Ian Harris

Defang the London System and fear it no more!  272 pages

The Pirc Defence and the Modern Defence are two naturally entwined chess openings that are both flexible and rich in strategic and tactical ideas. They feature in the repertoire of great players like Grischuk, Ivanchuk, Nakamura and Carlsen.

In The Perfect Pirc-Modern, Viktor Moskalenko, a renowned propagator of dynamic chess who has championed the Pirc-Modern for many years, explains:

• the ideas and plans that matter
• the various pawn structures and how to handle them
• tricky transpositions: opportunities and risks
• a wealth of new resources for both Black and White.

In this updated version of Moskalenko’s 2013 book of the same name, 33 of the 42 games are new, the structure has been updated in places, and there are fresh ideas on every page.

Moskalenko expertly guides you through this ground-breaking opening book with the enthusiasm, ease and humour that characterize his style.

255 pages

Viktor Moskalenko (1960) is an International Grandmaster and a well-known chess coach. The former Ukraine champion has won many tournaments in Spain, his current home country. For New In Chess, he wrote, among others, The Fabulous Budapest Gambit (2007), Revolutionize Your Chess (2009), The Diamond Dutch (2014), Training with Moska (2017), The Fully-Fledged French (2021) and Trompowsky Attack & London System (2022).

Do you want a simple and practical method to counter Black’s kingside fianchetto defences after 1 d4? A line that takes the initiative from a very early stage and creates difficult practical problems? If so, then The Harry Attack (1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 h4!) is for you.

At first this looks like some sort of joke or, at the very least, a weird outlandish line. Aren’t we all taught to focus on development and control of the centre in the early stages? What’s 3 h4 got to do with that?

Perhaps surprisingly, this is a very difficult line for Black to counter effectively. This applies not just in practical play but also theoretically, where it is far from straightforward for Black even to find a route to equality. And when Black gets it wrong they are often on the receiving end of a very unpleasant miniature.

You may be thinking that surely the best chess engines can show how to counter this line? No! One of the unexpected features of leading engine play is their enthusiasm for shoving the h-pawn up the board and they fully concur that 3 h4! is a very decent move for White. Many leading players have taken the hint and 3 h4 is frequently seen at elite level.

Richard Palliser and Simon Williams (the GingerGM) provide a thorough guide to this fascinating line. They show how to adapt when Black chooses a King’s Indian set-up, a Grünfeld set-up, a Benoni set-up or even plays in Benko style.

The Harry Attack is easy to learn and is perfect for unsettling players steeped in the theory of their favourite Indian defences.  238 pages

 In this book the highly experienced grandmaster Milos Pavlovic outlines a powerful repertoire for White based on 1 d4. The variations are very much based on strategic themes where an understanding of plans is far more important than memorisation of lines and move orders. The author focuses on important positional considerations such as:

•     Which pieces need to be traded off.
•     On which squares will pieces be most effective.
•     What is the best way to develop the initiative.

Nowadays many strong players try to beat opponents by learning sharp lines in the opening. However, it is also possible to do the same by obtaining positions where you have a great understanding of how to conduct the middlegame and thus can consistently outplay your opponent.

In Opening Repertoire: Strategic Play with 1 d4, Milos Pavlovic guides the reader through the chosen variations and carves out a complete repertoire for White. He examines all aspects of play and provides the reader with well-researched, fresh, and innovative analysis. Each annotated game has valuable lessons on the opening and contains instructive commentary on typical middlegame plans.

•     A complete repertoire for White with 1 d4.
•     A question and answer approach provides an excellent study method.
•     279 pages

This book is dedicated to the match-tournament of 1948, which gave rise to the first Soviet World Champion - Mikhail Botvinnik. The main content of the book is the detailed analysis of the fifty games played in this event. Detailed commentary to the games has been written for a very wide circle of qualified chessplayers, in which connection particular attention has been paid to the accessibility of the presentation and the appearance in the games of important turning points. The criticism of the mistakes committed by the participants could seem at times to be overly severe, but represents the fruits of painstaking analysis and should bring benefit to chessplayers who wish to draw the necessary theoretical and practical conclusions from the games of the match-tournament.It is very difficult, and often impossible, to claim absolute accuracy in chess analysis, but at any rate, I have endeavoured to fulfil my work with the maximum thoroughness. 257 pages Hardcover

Translator’s Foreword

It is exactly 75 years since one of the most significant events in chess history – the 1948 Match-Tournament for the World Chess Championship – took place in The Hague and Moscow. To mark this anniversary, my colleagues at Chess Informant have agreed to publish a new English translation of Paul Keres’ book on the tournament.

The original work has been extended to include historical context to the event – in this case, excerpts from the contemporary Soviet chess press and from the memoirs of Mikhail Botvinnik. Keres’ book on the event was first published in his native Estonian language in 1949. A year later it appeared in Russian translation and it came to be regarded as one of the best books on chess ever written. For instance, the likes of Garry Kasparov and Boris Gelfand are both on record as listing it among their favourites.

In this book, Keres’ annotations to the games have been faithfully reproduced. They have not been corrected by computer analysis; instead, they have been supplemented in some cases by the analysis of other masters – generally with that of the other players. In addition, historical context has occasionally been added in those cases where Keres’ assessments of certain openings have been overturned, or at least challenged, by many decades of tournament practice.

It has been a considerable pleasure to work on this project. Keres, as well as being an outstanding grandmaster, was also a superb analyst and annotator. His notes to the games represent a fine blend of general considerations and concrete variations; unlike in many books published today, the latter are never allowed to dominate. It is my sincere hope that the combination of these notes with the additional historical context will succeed in bringing Keres’ work to a new audience, and that this book will be a valuable addition to the libraries of chess enthusiasts of all abilities

Douglas Griffin

Encyclopedia of Chess Endings ECE V Minor Pieces (Bishop and Knights) - 2nd Edition. Hardcover

• New, completely revised and expanded edition
• 2020 examples of greatest historical and educational value
• Diligently checked with modern engines and endgame tools  
• 592 pages

OUT OF STOCK

Forging New Paths in an Ancient Opening

The Queen’s Gambit Accepted is one of the oldest known openings in chess. It was first mentioned in chess literature in the late 15th century. Over 500 years later, American Grandmaster Max Dlugy demonstrates in this groundbreaking work that the QGA is still a fighting, uncompromising opening that allows Black to play for a win from the very first move. 349 pages