Salade de cafards

Folding tournament chess board, with alphanumeric markings, finished with mahogany and sycamore marquetry. The overall size of the unfolded chessboard is 50 x 50 cm

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.

With this work, the author aims to illustrate the modern ideas of the Italian Opening to players at a medium level. It deals with positions based on White's slow plan, i.e. if he chooses a calm approach characterized by positional ideas. The author does not attempt to offer the reader a complete repertoire, but rather to explain the ideas of the emerging middlegame positions. The material primarily includes the systems 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 h6 6.0-0 d6 7.Re1 a6 8.a4 Ba7 9.Nbd2 0-0 10.h3 and 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.0-0 0-0 7.h3 h6 8.Re1 a5, where especially the latter has gained enormous popularity in current practice

This chess set package includes a set of our Parker Staunton chess pieces in boxwood matched with our Classic  walnut  Chess Board. Imagine you and a good friend sitting at a table playing a game of chess on this stunning chess board with these elegant chess pieces. The Parker offers a traditional Staunton design but with a unique burnt design carved into the pieces. To create the black, chess pieces are actually burnt followed by the final carving and design work which creates a beautiful contrast in colors between the blackened areas and the natural golden wood colors underneath. Chess pieces are then finished in high gloss lacquer giving the chess pieces a glass-like finish. We include 2 extra queens for pawn promotion, size of the king is 9,3 cm and size of the board is 50 cm and square is 5 cm.

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

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

L'éditeur Praxéo qui s'est spécialisé dans l'édition de livres d'initiation et de perfectionnement des jeux de stratégie asiatiques notamment, nous propose un nouvel opus sur le jeu de go, L'Usage de la Force,  voici ci-dessous, le message de l'auteur Motoki Noguchi, 7-dan et quintuple champion de France

La force, essence du go, critère absolu de direction de jeu, révélée et déclinée par deux proverbes connus de tous : « Un coup urgent avant un gros coup » et « Jouer loin de la force ».

Dans ce cinquième opus, nous faisons de nouveau appel à Sensei et Ludo qui vous ont accompagnés dans Le langage des pierres et Tsumego. Ludo a progressé, il est motivé, il joue en club et en ligne. Malheureusement, son niveau stagne. Il faut dire que Ludo a des tas d’occupations, et pas assez de temps à consacrer au go pour affiner son jeu. Au Japon, on dirait que Ludo est un « gros paresseux » !

Pendant vingt ans de pédagogie en France, j’ai rencontré beaucoup de Ludo. C’est pourquoi je relève le défi de vous donner les clés pour développer un style simple et efficace.