Lakdawala- In the zone

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. 

Système requis:
Pentium 300 Mhz, 64 Mo RAM, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, lecteur DVD-ROM, souris, carte son.

Books on how to improve your results over the board have been written before but in these changing times when chess has propelled onto the public consciousness, an update is badly needed. Grandmaster Daniel Gormally uses his 25+ years of experience to take the readers through the fires of the tournament cauldron, while illustrating some of his battles with the best players in England.
Along the way he tackles how to approach online play, an increasingly important issue as this form of chess has increased in popularity. Do you need a coach ? Will streamers relly help you to improve ? And should you turn off your computer ? Gormally emphasizes the importance of independent analysis in enabling the player to make progress and explains how he himself suffered in his results due to an over-reliance in chess engines.
And then there is the nitty gritty of tournament play itself. Gormally grapples with subjects that aren't covered in normal tournament books, from what hotels you should choose, to what kind of diet you need to follow, while also concluding that he lacks the awesome physical fitness of the Norwegian chess god Magnus Carlsen.
It all culminates in an explosive Hastings diary, where the author uses his acerbic wit to pull apart the vagaries of preparing for international competition in an account that verges on comic-tragic. 348 pages

Système requis:
Pentium 300 Mhz, 64 Mo RAM, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, lecteur DVD-ROM, souris, carte son.

Coffret d'échecs magnétique ultra plat en plastique noir

Il s'agit de la version française du bouquin anglais,  Mammoth Book of Chess.

Un livre extrèmement dense, qui parle un peu de tout, ouvertures, tactique, finales, stratégie, jeu en ligne, ordinateurs.

Bien que tout à fait adapté à l'apprentissage des échecs, ce livre n'est pas destiné aux grands débutants. Pour autant, il n'est pas réservé aux supers forts joueurs. 

Plutôt à l'amateur éclairé, qui pourra s'y plonger à loisir pendant de longues années, même si il progresse.

Son auteur est loin d'être un inconnu, Graham Burgess a écrit plus d'une trentaine de livres en anglais.

587 pages

In Black and White is probably the most honest autobiography ever published by a chess grandmaster. It covers Paul van der Sterren’s rise to the chess elite, but above all, his struggle to become a better player, his insecurities and the difficulties he encountered.

This book provides a hugely illuminating insight into the life of a chess professional, but there is a lot in his story that will resonate with players of any level. From his first moves on the chess board to his Candidates Match against Gata Kamsky, only four steps away from the World title – everything is described in great detail and with the utmost frankness by the Dutch grandmaster. The story doesn’t end there – the book’s final part describes the slow decline of an ageing pro and his eventual shift to meditation and mindfulness.

The Dutch edition of In Black and White, which contains more than 300 deeply analysed games and fragments, was published in 2011 and has achieved cult status. With this English translation, it will finally get a well-deserved wider audience.

Paul van der Sterren (1956) was a professional chess player for over twenty years. He won the Dutch Championship in 1985 and 1993 and played for the Dutch team at eight Olympiads. Van der Sterren lost to Gata Kamsky after a great fight in a Candidates Match in 1994. He has written several chess books, of which Fundamental Chess Openings (2009) is the best known. In Dutch, he has also written several books on mindfulness. 768 pages