Lakdawala - Queen's Gambit Declined : Tarrasch

Zwischenzug! is the first-ever comprehensive guide to the chess tactic also known as the intermediate move, or intermezzo. This exciting manoeuvre can catch opponents off guard because it is against the expected run of play. You will learn how to spot Zwischenzugs, when to look out for them, and how to set them up in your games.

The authors have studied thousands of games and have identified the patterns that appear frequently in practical play. The book categorizes the different types of Zwischenzugs and distils them into easily accessible themes. The concepts are given catchy names to make them more memorable, and historical details and anecdotes are added throughout the book.

Included is an extensive mix of sample puzzles for learning and practice.

When published on Chessable, the course was received very enthusiastically and awarded an average rating of 4.82 out of a possible five stars. Another welcome effect is that the authors are now finding a lot of Zwischenzugs in their own games! 280 pages

The best combination for opening training: The big ChessBase opening encyclopaedia with thousands of opening articles plus Fritz19 at a special price! This is how modern opening training works: Test the repertoire recommendations from the encyclopaedia directly against Fritz19! Take the practical test in a game against the Fritz19 player types. Or memorise the variations in the Opening app (with Fritz19 you also get a premium account for 6 months): In drill mode, practise the variation until you remember all the moves perfectly!

•  A classic but never gone out of fashion. 2 players
• Set contains: Folding wooden backgammon board, thirty wooden game pieces, four dice, doubling cube and instruction leaflet
• Open field dimensions: 28 x 28 x 1,5 cm / 11 x 11 x 1,25 inches

In an ideal world, any aspiring chess player, at almost any level, would get better with a coach. If that’s not possible, having chess champion coach Thomas Engqvist’s book at your side is the next best thing.

In his series of lessons, Engqvist guides you through not only the most important elements of chess to master but also the psychology, how to marry knowledge with imagination, and how to stay motivated.

Suitable for older children through to adults, the lessons are drawn from chess games through history, from the 16th century to Magnus Carlsen and latest Alpha Zero computer chess. It features a range of key players, including Steinitz, Lasker, Nimzowistch, Botvinnik (Soviet chess school), and Fischer. With clear and accessible annotations to give clarity, the games highlight the most important lessons to learn and, just as importantly, how to ‘practise’ chess. 

International Master Thomas Engqvist has travelled the world teaching and coaching chess to a very high level for decades – and with this book, he can be your coach too.

About the Author
Thomas Engqvist is an International Master from Sweden. He has over 30 years’ experience as a chess coach and teacher. He has worked with players at world championship level in both junior and correspondence chess. He is the author of 300 Most Important Chess Positions and 300 Most Important Tactical Chess Positions, both published by Batsford.

The Scotch Game is a solid opening that has been tried and tested in practice by some of the strongest chessplayers in the world for more than two centuries. The idea behind the Scotch Game is simple and easily understandable. White eliminates – in a purely mechanical fashion – Black’s e5-pawn which initially impedes his ambition to dominate in the center.

This is very appealing for White, as he controls the direction of the struggle’s development, while Black can only try to keep pace. Furthermore, there are relatively simple schemes in the white repertoire in which it is enough to remember the main plans of both sides and typical maneuvers.

This is the second edition of Vladimir Barsky’s book that first appeared in 2009. The new edition consists of seven chapters dealing with the core ideas and variations of the Scotch, supplemented by 79 Illustrative Games. The authors not only present detailed analysis of all lines but are also careful to discuss the ideas behind the opening. If you already play the Scotch, you need this book. If you don’t, find out what you have been missing. 224 pages