Iontzeff - Les coups à l'atout

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

Same as previous one's, but black pieces are in rosewood.

Capablanca's Endgame Technique : The Astonishing Chess Logic of the Third World Champion by Alex Colovic. Although Jose Raul Capablanca was the World Chess Champion a century ago, his games remain among the most interesting to study. The clear logic and simplicity of his moves inspired other great players such as Mikhail Botvinnik and Bobby Fischer. And the clarity of his play will boost the confidence of any chess student. It all seems so easy when you read the explanations, says a student in a comment on Chessable, so much so that you really believe you can play like Capablanca.

Capablanca's most instructive endgames will help you to understand:
    •    The principle of two weaknesses - the art of creating a second weakness, leaving opponents helpless because they cannot deal with both at the same time.
    •    How to convert an advantage in the endgame, not by brute calculation, but by knowing where best to position your pieces.
    •    Sharpen your intuition in double rook endgames and avoid wasting energy calculating everything and making mistakes.
    •    The key concept of prophylaxis when it comes to trading pieces, a remarkable aspect of all Capablanca's games. You will learn when to trade off unnecessary pieces.

Capablanca's Endgame Technique will help you play with precision at all levels of the game, not just in the endgame. It was Capablanca himself who said, 'To improve your game, you must study the endgame before anything else.'
Alex Colovic is a grandmaster from Macedonia who has won 18 national championships and represented his country in three chess Olympiads. He is a prolific chess writer, drawing on his thirty years of experience as a tournament player and chess coach.