Sokolov - Chess Middlegame Strategies, Volume 2 : Opening meets Middlegame

Un CD entier sur une ouverture bien marginale : le début Van Geet, i.e. 1.Cc3. L'idée principale du début, c'est la variante 1.Cc3 d5 2.e4 (qui peut évidemment aussi être choisie contre la Scandinave). Face aux autres principales réponses noires (1...e5, 1...c5), le joueur peu désireux de rentrer dans les ouvertures classiques (Sicilienne, Viennoise...) peut essayer des systèmes incluant le fianchetto-roi accompagné soit du modeste d3, soit plus ambitieusement de Cf3 suivi de d4, amenant des positions certes proches desdites ouvertures classiques... mais suffisamment différentes pour se révéler piégeuses pour le joueur noir mal préparé et peu méfiant. En attendant la parution annoncée de la version anglaise de Der Linksspringer, ce CD vous permettra de faire le tour des possibilités de ce premier coup inhabituel.

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

Suite et fin de la somme watsonienne - que l'on ne présente plus. Comme on l'avait déjà expliqué à propos de l'édition anglaise, ce 4ème tome (d'une série prévue en 2) explore tout ce qui avait encore été laissé de côté - la Reti, les débuts irréguliers, divers gambits - et se termine par un petit chapitre pratique sur le choix et la préparation de votre répertoire d'ouvertures. Moins essentiel que les deux premiers tomes, mais quand même indispensable.

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.

World Chess Champion Max Euwe, who held the title from 1935-1937, is one of the greatest chess players in history. Much has been written about him, and he authored dozens of books himself. But missing was an outstanding collection of games of this 'efficient, man-eating tiger' as the chess player William Napier once called Euwe.

Max Euwe's Best Games fills this gap. And it couldn't have been written by anyone else than Euwe's successor in Dutch chess – Jan Timman, World Champion finalist and arguably one of the leading chess analysts of our time.

This book offers eighty of Max Euwe's games annotated with great clarity, starting in his early twenties when he worked his way to the world top, up until his late seventies when he was still a force to be reckoned with. It is incredible how high Euwe's level of play was for over fifty years – and how attractive his attacking style was.

Timman made many discoveries in Euwe's best and most famous games but has also unearthed several lesser-known brilliancies. Some interesting paradoxes are addressed along the line. For example, although he was an amateur almost his entire life, Euwe was better versed in opening theory than most of his top-level opponents. Although he was the underdog, he beat the mighty Alexander Alekhine in an epic World Championship Match in 1935. At 52, he could still beat top players like Geller and Najdorf with fantastic attacking play in the Zürich Candidates Tournament. And when he was over seventy, he was still highly dangerous for the new upcoming Dutch generation.

This game collection of an often underrated World Champion, annotated by top grandmaster Jan Timman, is a must-have for anyone interested in World Championship chess.