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Everyman CD-ROM Sale Ten Everyman CD-ROM titles - all priced at the special sale price of only £8.80! (plus postage and packing)

BCM, MAY 2008 In stock • £3.70 click here

Fritz 11 In stock £36.50 click here

Hiarcs 12 In stock £34.99 Also Deep Hiarcs 12 £74.99 click here

New In Chess Magazine 2008/3
(New in Chess, 2008)
£6.50 plus postage 10% UK, 20% overseas

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In this issue: coverage of Morelia/Linares - Vishy Anand thoroughly enjoyed a tournament that he described in his fluent Spanish as ‘un classico’ • Melody Amber, reported by John Nunn • Wang Hao wins in Reykjavik • Abram Khasin talks to Genna Sosonko • Hou Yifan wins in Istanbul • Rowson's Reviews • and much more.
 

ChessBase Magazine 123 (ChessBase DVD-ROM, 2008)
£17.50 plus postage £1.50 UK, £3.00 overseas

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The main feature in this issue is the 'intercontinental' event Morelia/Linares. This year the tournament produced a remarkably large number of entertaining games of the very highest quality. Several of the world-class contestants have annotated their masterpieces for the readers of ChessBase Magazine. Also in this issue is coverage of the Aeroflot Open in Moscow and the German Bundesliga. Amongst the openings surveyed, it is Alekhine's Defence which has attracted the greatest attention from the theoreticians - plenty more besides...
 

Play 1 b4!
by Yury Lapshun and Nick Conticello (Everyman, 2008)
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Do you wish to surprise your opponent on the first move? Do you enjoy playing creatively from the beginning of the game? Look no further than 1 b4! With this aggressive pawn lunge White takes the game into relatively unknown territory and forces Black players onto their own devices. In this landmark book, Yury Lapshun and Nick Conticello take an in-depth look at 1 b4. The authors provide a practical and fun-to-play repertoire for White, offering options against all of Black's main possibilities. Read this book and confound your opponents with 1 b4! • 173 pages, softback
  

Attacking Manual 1
by Jacob Aagaard (Quality Chess, 2008)
£19.99 plus postage 10% UK, 20% overseas

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Is it possible to develop chess intuition? Do rules for dynamic attacking play exist? Author Jacob Aagaard believes that it is possible to develop a flair for attacking play based on intuitive ideas which will be relevant to every game played. In this book he introduces seven important attacking concepts such as momentum, colour schemes and weak points. Each chapter begins with a "diagram introduction" to introduce the reader to some key positions from the ofrthcoming chapter. The relevant idea is then explained with lively text and diagrammed examples. Chapter 8 is a deep analysis of 12 of the author's favourite attacking games (these are probably games you haven't seen before) whilst chapter 9 contains 50 diagrammed test positions together with solutions. This is not a book for beginners, being aimed at ELO 1700-2500 (ECF 140-240) rated players, for whom a thorough study of the ideas and examples here will benefit their attacking play. Jacob Aagaard is a leading author and has written several highly recommended coaching books. He became a Grandmaster and won the British Chess Championship in 2007 • 260 pages, softback • Read the May 2008 review
  

Forcing Chess Moves
by Charles Hertan (New in Chess, 2008)
£18.95 plus postage 10% UK, 20% overseas

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Every chess fan marvels at the wonderful combinations with which famous masters win games. How do they find those fantastic moves? Do they have a special vision? And why do computers outwit us tactically? This rich book on chess tactics proposes a revolutionary method for finding winning moves. Charles Hertan has made an astonishing discovery: the failure to consider key moves is often due to human bias. Your brain tends to disregard many winning moves because they are counter-intuitive or look unnatural. We can no longer deny it, computers outdo us humans when it comes to tactical vision and brute force calculation. So why not learn from them? Charles Hertan’s radically different approach is: use COMPUTER EYES and always look for the most forcing move first! By studying forcing sequences according to Hertan’s method you will: -- develop analytical precision -- improve your tactical vision -- overcome human bias and staleness -- enjoy the calculation of difficult positions • 382 pages, softback
  

Opening for White According to Kramnik Vol. 2 (2nd Edition) by Alexander Khalifman (Olms, 2008)
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This is a completely new book, which replaces the first edition of 2001. Contains an extra 113 pages. It covers the Black Knights’ Tango, Romanishin Variation, Queen’s Indian English, Hedgehog Defence English, Double Fianchetto Defence, Semi-Tarrasch Defence. New systems covered in this book include the Romanishin Variation and the Semi-Tarrasch • 352 pages, softback
  

Secrets of Endgame Technique by Mark Dvoretsky & Artur Yusupov (Olms, 2008)
£18.00 plus postage 10% UK, 20% overseas

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Successful endgame play is all about technique. In this third volume of the series the authors explain how to study the endgame and to analyse endgame positions, and illustrate the highly important technique of converting an advantage. This book was first published in the 1990s. During the preparation of this book the authors checked all the games and the endings on a computer, which gave rise to numerous improvements and additions. Also an extra chapter has been added, one which was written many years after the first edition was published. In it some useful instructive examples of the successful or unsuccessful solving of complicated technical problems are analysed - they are intended to help the reader understand more deeply the technique for converting an advantage, a problem which is exceptionally important for every player • 227 pages, softback
  

My Best Games with Black by Alexei Shirov (ChessBase DVD-ROM, 2008)
£25.99 plus postage £1.50 UK, £3.00 overseas

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If you want to win with Black, you must decide which is the best strategy to achieve your aim. Should you take risks and go for the win right from move one, or should you patiently set about achieving equality and then wait for mistakes by White? Which opening should you choose and what is the role played by opening preparation? What can you do when you have to win with Black – a situation which has become all the more familiar because of the ever-rising number of knock-out tournaments? Alexei Shirov tries to answer these questions by referring to his own games as Black. In doing so, he describes how his own attitude to this problem has changed over his career, right up to his successes in the 2007 World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, in which he reached the final. Alexei Shirov was born in Riga just like world champion Mikhail Tal, and also his playing style reminds many chess fans of the young Tal. At the beginning of the 90s, his comet-like rise took him to the world elite within a very short time. Since then Shirov has been one of the best players in the world, delighting chess fans with original and amazing ideas on the board. Video running time: 6 h 45 m. System requirements: Pentium-Processor at 300 Mhz or higher, 64 MB RAM, Windows XP, Windows Vista, DVD drive, mouse, soundcard
 

Beating the Open Games - 2nd Edition by Mihail Marin (Quality Chess, 2008)
£17.99 plus postage 10% UK, 20% overseas

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Many players would like to play the main lines of the Spanish with Black, but fear answering 1 e4 with 1...e5 because of White’s great variety of deviations. Acclaimed author GM Mihail Marin presents a repertoire for Black against the Open Games. This means providing an answer to 1 e4, but not considering the main lines of the Ruy Lopez/Spanish Opening. This includes openings such as the Scotch, Giuoco Piano, Vienna, Spanish Exchange Variation and even the notorious King’s Gambit. Marin reveals his own opening repertoire, which he prepared for high-level international competition. But besides giving concrete answers to any worries players might have about facing the Open Games, Marin uses his renowned skills to lucidly convey the main strategic ideas. This way Marin has succeeded in writing a middlegame book disguised as an opening book. No one can read this book without being entertained and educated at the same time. First edition published June 2007 - the second edition has 48 extra pages • 331 pages, softback
  

Chess for Scoundrels by Nigel Davies (ChessBase DVD-ROM, 2008)
£19.99 plus postage £1.50 UK, £3.00 overseas

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Psychology is one of the most important aspects of chess, yet most players put themselves at a serious disadvantage by ignoring this aspect of the game. Being ‘nice’ is all very well in civilian life, but in the war zone of the chess board a more ruthless approach is required. The fact of the matter is that a good chess player must be something of a scoundrel in order to survive. On this DVD Davies discusses the various ways by which a player can conduct psychological warfare, from inducing Pavlovian responses to insulting the opposition with provocative moves. A knowledge of these methods is essential for the serious tournament competitor, if only to avoid becoming another victim. Video running time: more than 4 hours. System requirements: Pentium-Processor at 300 Mhz or higher, 64 MB RAM, Windows XP, Windows Vista, DVD drive, mouse, soundcard • Read the May 2008 review
 

Strategy: Step by Step by Rustam Kasimdzhanov (ChessBase DVD-ROM, 2008)
£22.99 plus postage £1.50 UK, £3.00 overseas

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Making the right strategic decisions belongs to the most difficult tasks at the chessboard. But how can one enhance one’s strategic understanding and methodical play? For the present video course Rustam has carefully selected games from his own practice which are dominated by positional and strategic considerations, clarifying in extensive annotations which thoughts the decisions of the grandmasters are based upon. He shows how the game plan is made already in the first moves of the opening and then - in the ideal case - purposefully continued step by step in the middlegame. At the end of this entertaining and practically relevant course, you will be familiar with many positional elements like e.g. open lines, strong and weak squares, pawn chains, isolated pawns, space advantage, pawn majorities, hanging pawns etc., making you ready to use them for your own play. Video running time: 3 hrs 54 min. System requirements: Pentium-Processor at 300 Mhz or higher, 64 MB RAM, Windows XP, Windows Vista, DVD drive, mouse, soundcard
 

Jon Speelman's Chess Puzzle Book by Jon Speelman (Gambit, 2008)
£10.99 plus postage 10% UK, 20% overseas

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Jon Speelman is one of the most successful British chess-players of all time, and is renowned for the creativity of his play and his remarkable calculating ability. He is also an extremely experienced writer and chess coach. His personal selection of chess puzzles will infuriate, entertain, test and instruct chess-players of all levels • 141 pages, softback • Read the May 2008 review
  

Practical Endgame Play - Mastering the Basics by Efstratios Grivas (Everyman, 2008)
£15.99 plus postage 10% UK, 20% overseas

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How can you improve your chess? It's not by chance that the top players say: 'Study the endgame!' This is because a great number of encounters reach the endgame, and studying these positions will teach you how to convert winning positions, and how to save or even overturn inferior ones. Moreover, it's a well-known fact that studying endgames undoubtedly enhances other aspects of your play. This is a comprehensive guide to all fundamental chess endings, and a godsend for those looking to improve their endgame play. Crucially, the emphasis is just as much on practical play as it is on theoretical understanding. Whenever an idea is introduced, GM Efstratios Grivas immediately illustrates it with a number of entertaining and instructive examples, a considerable number of which are drawn from his own over-the-board experiences. This is a companion volume to Everyman's earlier book Practical Endgame Play - Beyond the Basics, a work which specializes in more complex positions • 320 pages, softback • Read the May 2008 review
  

Starting Out: The Accelerated Dragon by Andrew Greet (Everyman, 2008)
£15.99 plus postage 10% UK, 20% overseas

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The Accelerated Dragon is a dynamic choice for Black and arguably the most natural way to play the Sicilian Defence: Black develops rapidly and chooses the most active squares to place his or her pieces. Unknowing white players looking for a direct attack similar to the one used against traditional Dragon are shocked by Black's increased options due to the flexible move order. Instead, White sometimes employs a more positional approach incorporating the famous Maroczy Bind, when the battle centres on White's impressive pawn structure against Black's lively pieces and the ability to create a pawn break. The Accelerated Dragon was brought to prominence by the Danish chess legend Bent Larsen, while in more recent years its advocates have included World Championship Candidate Sergey Tiviakov. This book is a further addition to Everyman's best-selling Starting Out series which has been acclaimed for its original approach to tackling chess openings. IM Andrew Greet, an Accelerated Dragon expert, revisits the basics of the opening, elaborating on the crucial early moves and ideas for both sides in a way that is often neglected in other texts. The reader is helped throughout with a plethora of notes, tips and warnings highlighting the vital characteristics of the Accelerated Dragon and of opening play in general. Starting Out: The Accelerated Dragon is a perfect guide for improving players and those new to this opening. User-friendly design to help readers absorb ideas. Includes coverage of the Hyper-Accelerated Dragon. Ideal for improvers, club players and tournament players • 320 pages, softback • Read the May 2008 review
  

Secrets of Spectacular Chess: 2nd edition by Jonathan Levitt and David Friedgood (Everyman, 2008)
£14.99 plus postage 10% UK, 20% overseas

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In the modern classic, Secrets of Spectacular Chess, Jonathan Levitt and David Friedgood shared their joy and appreciation of chess beauty, engulfing readers with a wealth of amazing and magnificent examples from the aesthetic side of the game. More than this, they showed how this fascinating subject could actually be analysed, and how this could help players improve the practical side of their game. Now the authors have produced a much awaited and largely expanded second edition, in which they present further thoughts, provide many new mesmerizing examples of games, studies and problems, and revisit previous material to explain how the theory has developed. This book captures the imagination; read it and become hypnotized by the power and beauty of chess! A new expanded edition, with 50% new material. An enthralling guide to the artistry of chess. Ideal for players of all levels • 287 pages, softback • Read the May 2008 review
  

English Defence by Ilia Odessky
(Russian Chess House, 2008)

£19.99 plus postage 10% UK, 20% overseas

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This book is devoted to the paradoxical opening 1 d4 e6 2 c4 b6. By playing 3 e4 White immediately wants to punish the 'disturber of the peace' for his neglect of opening principles, but in this case Black sets his opponent such a variety of mines and traps, that he can gain an advantage, even omitting the equalising stage! At the present day the statistics after 3 e4 are appalling for White: in 7 out of 10 games he suffers defeat! The author, a Russian IM, delves deeply in to the positions arising and finds many surprising resources for both sides in this highly original book • 270 pages, hardback • Read the April 2008 review
 

An Aggressive Opening Repertoire for the Club Player by Nikolai Kalinichenko
(Russian Chess House, 2008)

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The aggressive opening repertoire suggested is based on 1 e4 for White, with the Vienna Game against 1...e5 and 2 f4 against 1...c5, 3 e5 against both French and Caro-Kann, and the Austrian Attack versus 1...d6/1...g6. For Black, the major recommendations are the Dragon Sicilian against 1 e4 and the Leningrad Dutch against 1 d4 • 230 pages, hardback • Read the April 2008 review
 

A Positional Opening Repertoire for the Club Player by Nikolai Kalinichenko
(Russian Chess House, 2008)

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This companion to the above volume has a white repertoire of 1 e4 based around the Scotch Four Knights (against 1...e5), 2 c3 against 1...c5, 3 Nd2 (Tarrasch French) against 1...e6 2 d4 d5, 3 e5 and 4 Nf3 against the Caro-Kann, and the Pirc/Modern is countered with 3 f3. For Black, the main recommendations are the Sozin/Rauzer Sicilian against 1 e4 and the King’s Indian Defence against 1 d4 • 240 pages, hardback • Read the April 2008 review
 

New In Chess Magazine 2008/2
(New in Chess, 2008)
£6.50 plus postage 10% UK, 20% overseas

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Special Collector's Issue: Three weeks after the death of the Bobby Fischer, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam visited Reykjavik to speak to the people who generously welcomed the tormented genius in their midst - Jan Timman reflects on his 1990 meeting with Fischer in Brussels - Aronian and Carlsen are joint winners of Corus 2008, Movsesian win the B-Group - Simen Agdestein on the 'special' Gibraltar Chess Congress - and much more.
 

Anti-Moscow Gambit by Rustam Kasimdzhanov (ChessBase DVD-ROM, 2008)
£21.99 plus postage £1.50 UK, £3.00 overseas

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After the moves 1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Nc3 e6 5 Bg5 h6 6 Bh4 dxc4 7 e4 g5 8 Bg3 b5 (D43), the Anti-Moscow Gambit arises on the board which currently is one of the most hotly-contested openings in grandmaster practice. Ex-FIDE World Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov gives an introduction to the latest development of this variation, starting with the game Radjabov - Anand played in August 2006. His chronological presentation of events is as exciting as a thriller, the ‘scenes of crime’ being the top tournaments of the last two years and the actors the players of the absolute world elite. At the tournament in Wijk aan Zee 2008 Topalov opened a completely new chapter of the variation by beating his archrival Kramnik in the style of the masters of the 19th century, sacrificing a knight with 12 Nxf7 early on. Don’t miss this chess thriller (3½ hours of video). System requirements: Pentium-Processor at 300 Mhz or higher, 64 MB RAM, Windows XP, Windows Vista, DVD drive, mouse, soundcard • Read the May 2008 review
 

Power Play 6 - Pawns, Pieces & Plans by Daniel King (ChessBase DVD-ROM, 2008)
£21.99 plus postage £1.50 UK, £3.00 overseas

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If you want to be a well-rounded chess player, it is vital that you have a good understanding of positional play. In this 6th Power Play DVD, Daniel King discusses three classic questions: the Isolated Queen’s Pawn - central passed pawns - when to exchange pawns (and when not to exchange pawns). In each case, the slightest difference in the placement of pieces can make a massive difference to the assessment of the position. At the end of the lectures, you can test your understanding of these themes by examining a series of specially selected test positions. The Power Play series is suitable for anyone looking to improve their chess, but also provides ready-made lessons and exercises for a trainer. Video running time: 5 hours. System requirements: Pentium-Processor at 300 Mhz or higher, 64 MB RAM, Windows XP, Windows Vista, DVD drive, mouse, soundcard • Read the May 2008 review
 

Chessbase Opening Encyclopaedia 2008 (DVD-ROM)

BCM Price £69.99

The ChessBase Opening Encyclopaedia 2008 features the complete coverage of all opening sectors, offering an optimal start for opening training. Many well-known specialists have made contributions in their field of expertise, such as Anand, Dautov, Huebner, Jussupow, Korchnoi, Krasenkow, Marin, Nunn, Ribli and Rogozenko. For each of 500 opening sectors according to ECO standard there is at least one opening survey, so that the database is the ideal tool for building up a complete opening repertoire. The game database includes 3 million games, about 78.000 of them with annotations. Furthermore, the DVD-ROM contains a separate directory with 346 (64 are new) special theory databases from ChessBase Magazine.

• more than 3.05 million games, all featuring ECO codes
• more than 78.000 of them annotated
• more than 4.300 opening surveys
• access to the games with a big opening key
• 349 special theory databases
• big tree of all games for quick overview and statistics
• ChessBase 9 Reader with access to all databases

System requirements: Pentium Processor 300 MHz or higher, 64 MB RAM, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, DVD-ROM, drive, mouse, sound card. Upgrade from 2007 £37.99, PLEASE RETURN 2007 DVD • Read the April 2008 review
 

222 Opening Traps after 1 e4 by Karsten Müller & Rainer Knaak (Olms, 2008)
£14.99 plus postage 10% UK, 20% overseas

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Every chess player has gone through the experience of a game coming to an end before it ever really started. The reason is often one of the ubiquitous opening traps, which to the victim look quite ‘normal’ moves - a piece is developed, something is captured, or a threat is set up and parried. The reply, for the most part an unusual one and therefore totally unexpected, then almost inevitably leads to a rapid win for the ‘trapper’. The two internationally recognised grandmaster authors - Rainer Knaak is considered an expert on the openings, and Karsten Müller on the endgame - therefore propose two main objectives: the student should master the traps in the openings he plays, in order to avoid disasters; but he can also systematically try to expand his opening repertoire, in order himself to set traps. This first volume contains all the important openings after 1 e4, such as the Italian, French, Spanish, Sicilian etc., as well as introductory texts with their typical motifs, with which one should be familiar. In this way, as a welcome side effect, the reader is guaranteed to improve his combinative skill • 162 pages, softback • Read the April 2008 review
  

Carpathian Warrior, Book 2 by Bogdan Lalic & Vladimir Okhotnik (Valerija Padyaka, 2008)
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In Book One the authors covered the lines 1 e4 d6 2 d4 Nf6 3 Nc3 g6 4 Be2 Bg7 5 g4!?, the Spike Anti-Pirc, and 5 e5!?, the Murey Spike. In the new volume they have gone on to analyse the line 1 e4 g6 2 d4 Bg7 3 Nc3 d6 4 g4!?, the Golden Spike (Anti-Modern). Some years ago IM Okhotnik published an article in New in Chess Yearbook on the line 1 d4 g6 2 c4 Bg7 3 Nc3 c5 4 d5 Bxc3+ 5 bxc3 f5, known as the Chaos Counter Attack, here he attempts to update and expand upon his original ideas - the article gives you everthing you'll need to start playing this line for White or Black. Additional coverage is given to the Accelerated Chaos Counter Attack 1 d4 c5 2 d5 f5, also known as the Clarendon Court • 367 pages, softback • Read the April 2008 review
  

New In Chess Yearbook 86 (New in Chess, 2008)
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Forum: contributions by Efstratios Grivas, Bogdan Lalic, Jose Vilela and many others • Genna Sosonko gives a lecture on the origins of the ‘gambit’ • Book reviews: Glenn Flear looks at Nigel Davies’s new Gambiteer series and also examines Peter Wells’s book Grandmaster Secrets: The Caro-Kann • 32 surveys: • Sicilian Defence - Najdorf Variation 7... Qb6 - SI 8.14 - Berg • Sicilian Defence - Najdorf Variation 9...h6 - SI 9.10 - Andriasian • Sicilian Defence - Scheveningen Variation 6. Be3 - SI 23.1 - Vladimirov • Sicilian Defence - Rauzer Variation 9. Nb3 - SI 28.2 - Van der Weide • Sicilian Defence - Kan Variation 5... Ne7 - SI 42.1 - Mchedlishvili • Sicilian Defence - Closed Variation 9...b6 - SI 45.11 - Grivas • French Defence - MacCutcheon Variation 6. Be3 - FR 5.3 - Finkel • Caro-Kann Defence - Advance Variation 4. Nd2 - CK 4.2 - Fogarasi • Scandinavian Defence - Main Line 3... Qa5 - SD 11.3 - Prié • Petroff Defence - Nimzowitsch Variation 5. Nc3 - RG 3.5 - Lukacs/Hazai • Petroff Defence - Jaenisch Variation 8.Re1 - RG 6.4 - Fridman/Olthof • Ruy Lopez - Anti-Marshall Variation 8.h3 - RL 17.2 - Greenfeld • Ruy Lopez - Marshall Attack 8...d5 - RL 17.4 - Finkel • Ruy Lopez - Marshall Attack 8...d5 - RL 17.5-11 - De Dovitiis • King’s Pawn Openings - Two Knights’ Defence 5... Na5 - KP 12.9 - Urcan/Ceteras • Slav Defence - Anti-Moscow Gambit 6. Bh4 - SL 6.6 - A. Kuzmin • Slav Defence - Moscow Variation 6. Bf6 - SL 6.7 - Boersma • Slav Defence - Meran Variation 5.e3 - SL 9.5 - L.B. Hansen • Catalan Opening - Open Variation 6...dc4 - CA 5.6 - Anka • Nimzo-Indian Defence - Classical Variation 4. Qc2 d5 - NI 23.7 - Ikonnikov • Nimzo-Indian Defence - Ragozin Variation 6. Bg5 0-0 - NI 27.2 - Morgado/Alvarez • Nimzo-Indian Defence - Ragozin Variation 9. Qc2 - NI 27.11 - Mchedlishvili • Queen’s Indian Defence - Nimzowitsch Variation 4... Ba6 - QI 14.7 - A. Kuzmin • Queen’s Indian Defence - Nimzowitsch Variation 4... Ba6 - QI 16.11 - Karolyi • Grünfeld Indian Defence - Anti-Grünfeld 3.f3 - GI 1.1 - Van der Tak • King's Indian Defence - Classical Main Line 9. Nd2 - KI 7.3 - Lukacs/Hazai • King’s Indian Defence - Sämisch Variation 7... Nh5 - KI 40.2 - Langeweg • King’s Indian Defence - Sämisch Variation 6...c5 - KI 48.8 - Miedema • Benoni Defence - Fianchetto Variation 7.g3 - BI 9.16 - Avrukh • Old Indian Defence - Pseudo-Volga Gambit 4. Bg5 - OI 15.7 - Fogarasi • Queen’s Pawn Openings - Trompowsky Opening 2...c5 - QP 7.14 - Vilela • English Opening - Four Knights Variation 4... Nd4 - EO 4.7 - C. Hansen • 248 pages, softcover • Read the April 2008 review
  

Chess Explained: The French by Viacheslav Eingorn & Valentin Bogdanov (Gambit, 2008)
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The French Defence is one of the most important chess openings. Its qualities are such that it appeals to a wide range of chess temperaments: it is solid yet uncompromising, and with a variety of chaotic variations to appeal to the most bloodthirsty of players, but also offering more tranquil lines to those seeking a quieter existence. While it is hard for White to avoid at least some imbalance in the position, he also has a wide choice. In some of the most critical lines, he accepts major structural weaknesses in return for piece-play and dynamic chances, while he can also seek to establish a modest space advantage without such heavy positional commitments • 127 pages, softback • Read the April 2008 review
  

Chess Explained: The Nimzo-Indian by Reinaldo Vera (Gambit, 2008)
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The Nimzo-Indian is one of the most important of all chess openings, and popular at all levels of play. Together with the Queen's Indian (also covered in this series), the Nimzo has provided the backbone of the opening repertoire of a large portion of the world's top players over the last 80 years. It is considered a fully reliable defence, and provides winning chances for both sides as it leads to structures of great strategic variety and complexity. Key battlegrounds in the Nimzo include the blockade, IQP positions, the handling of unbalanced pawn-structures, and the struggle between bishop and knight. All these topics are covered in depth in this book, and an understanding of them will prove valuable in a much broader context than just the Nimzo-Indian • 111 pages, softback • Read the April 2008 review
  

The Field 1905, Ed. Leopold Hoffer (Moravian Chess, 2008)
£24.99 plus postage 10% UK, 20% overseas

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Leopold Hoffer (1842-1913) was a famous chess columnist over many years. This book is a facsimile reprint of the collection of his chess columns from the UK country gentlemen’s newspaper The Field for the year 1905. He edited this column from 1882 until his death. It covered everything from world championships down to the minutiae of UK club and county chess • 473 pages, hardback • Read the April 2008 review
  

The Chess Player's Chronicle 1889-1891, Vol. 11 (Moravian Chess, 2008)
£29.99 plus postage 10% UK, 20% overseas

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The latest reprint in this series. All international and national chess club topics are included, and most top-ranking chess players of the day are contributors in one way or another • 416 pages, hardback • Read the April 2008 review
  

Dangerous Weapons: 1 e4 e5 by John Emms, Glenn Flear & Andrew Greet (Everyman, 2008)
£15.99 plus postage 10% UK, 20% overseas

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Do you need a well-deserved break from your normal chess openings? Are you tired of constantly having to keep up with modern chess theory? Or perhaps you simply wish to try out something new and inspiring, but cannot decide amongst the embarrassment of choices available? Look no further for the answer! Renowned opening experts John Emms, Glenn Flear and Andrew Greet take a revolutionary look at one of the most famous and widely-played chess openings. Instead of travelling down well-trodden and analysed paths, the authors concentrate on fresh or little-explored variations, selecting a wealth of 'dangerous' options for both colours. Whether playing White or Black, a study of this book will leave you confident and fully-armed, and your opponents running for cover! • 335 pages, softback • Read the April 2008 review
  

British Chess Magazine Bound Volume 2007 (Ed. John Saunders) (BCM, 2008)
£33.95 plus postage 10% UK, 20% overseas

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The 2007 bound volume has coverage of all major events, plus articles, letters, problems, studies, quotes and queries, book reviews, history, colour photos and much more. Featured articles: Kramnik vs Deep Fritz • Tribute to David Bronstein • Bronstein and the King's Indian Defence • Wijk aan Zee • Akopian wins in Gibraltar • Morelia/Linares • European Championships • Easter Congresses • Guildford-ADC wins the 4NCL • Candidates Matches in Elista • Kramnik wins in Dortmund • Ivanchuk's Hot Streak • Aagaard wins British Championship • UK vs China in Liverpool • Adams wins Staunton Memorial • Vishy Anand wins undisputed world title in Mexico • Russians dominate in Crete • Fischer and the Poisoned Pawn.. and much, much more. Contributors and annotators include Jonathan Speelman, Ian Rogers, Lubosh Kavalek, Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant, Mikhail Golubev, Sam Collins, Chris Ravilious, Steve Giddins, Gary Lane, Bernard Cafferty and many others. All bound in an attractive maroon cloth-bound hard cover and fully indexed. Your bookshelf would be incomplete without it! • 672 pages, hardback (note: the graphic shown above does not appear on the cover) • Read the April 2008 review
  

The Huddersfield College Chess Magazine, Vol. 1-4 (Oct 1872-Sept 1876)
Ed. John Watkinson (Moravian Chess, 2008)
£26.99 plus postage 10% UK, 20% overseas

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In 1872 a 39-year-old Yorkshire chess player called John Watkinson started a chess column in a publication called The Huddersfield College Magazine. So successful was he as a columnist that before long he was the editor of the entire magazine. And in less than ten years, his magazine was renamed British Chess Magazine - which remains its name 128 years later. These reprints of Watkinson's earliest work provide a fascinating insight into chess in the 1870s as well as the indefatigible and dynamic man who founded BCM - John Watkinson (1833-1923) • 289 pages, hardback • Read the April 2008 review
  

The Huddersfield College Chess Magazine, Vol. 5-6 (Oct 1876-Sept 1877)
Ed. John Watkinson (Moravian Chess, 2008)
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A further year's worth of the magazine that a few years later was to mutate into British Chess Magazine, with BCM's founding editor John Watkinson (1833-1923) • 289 pages, hardback • Read the April 2008 review
  

King’s Indian Attack by Nigel Davies (ChessBase DVD-ROM, 2008)
£18.99 plus postage £1.50 UK, £3.00 overseas

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The King’s Indian Attack is a unique opening system in that it offers White a dynamic and interesting game but without the need to know reams of theory. In addition to being easy to learn it has an excellent pedigree, leading exponents including great players such as Bobby Fischer, Tigran Petrosian, David Bronstein, Viktor Korchnoi, Leonid Stein and Lev Psakhis. It is playable as either a complete, self-contained opening system or as part of a regular 1.e4 repertoire. On this DVD Davies presents a complete repertoire for White as well as the lines he can use to supplement a King’s Pawn repertoire. Having had extensive experience in these positions he is able to communicate the plans and ideas in lucid fashion. Video running time: more than 5 hours. System requirements: Pentium-Processor at 300 Mhz or higher, 64 MB RAM, Windows XP, Windows Vista, DVD drive, mouse, soundcard
 

Chess Informant 98-100 (Informator CD-ROM, 2008)
£43.99 plus postage £1.50 UK, £3.00 overseas

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Chess Informants 98-100 brings a selection of 1,296 fully annotated theoretically important games and 1,479 accompanying part game played between September 2006 and August 2007. As usual there is the ten best games and the ten most important theoretical novelties (from Chess Informants 97, 98 & 99), theoretical surveys in ECO format (C19, B80 & D44), the most interesting combinations and endings from recent tournament practice, studies, tournament standings and crosstables, and the best of Boris Gelfand’s, Yasser Seirawan’s and Aleksandar Matanovic’s creative output. In four different formats (CIE, PGN, CBH, CA)
 

Chess Tips for the Improving Player by Amatzia Avni (Quality Chess, 2008)
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This book gives practical advice for club players who want to take the next step towards chess mastery. Amatzia Avni looks at life from an unusual angle. His approach is far more creative than merely offering the usual tips such as 'develop your pieces' and 'control the centre'. Instead of repeating clichés seen before in countless books, the author scrutinized a huge number of chess positions, asking himself, ‘What can be learned from them?’ The reader can now benefit from Avni's painstaking efforts • 233 pages, softback • Read the March 2008 review
  

Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings ABCDE (Informator CD-ROM, 2008)
£89.99 plus postage £1.50 UK, £3.00 overseas

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The five-volume Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings - A, B, C, D, E - consists of 500 sections based on opening codes. Its key quality, unique among openings books, is a system of elimination which helps the reader to find the critical lines in the midst of the abundance of information. It contains ECO A - 4th edition; ECO B - 4th edition; ECO C - 5th edition; ECO D - 4th edition; and ECO E - 3rd edition. In four different formats (CIE, PGN, CBH, CA)
 

The Ultimate Chess Strategy Book: Volume 1
by Alfonso Romero and Amador Gonzalez de la Nava (Gambit, 2008)
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The opening is reaching its end, and we must make a pivotal decision: what shall our middlegame strategy be? Do we seek an active plan to profit from our strengths and highlight the opponent's weaknesses? Or do we adopt prophylaxis, attending to our own position's shortcomings and hindering the opponent's plans? Alternatively, are there any ready-made plans that we know from other games that can be tailored to fit our position? The authors present 90 'multi-choice' tests where the reader faces this task. In detailed solutions, they explain the best solution, and why other possibilities are less convincing. We develop a feel for how the decision is made, while painlessly building our 'repertoire' of plans in typical positions. All the examples in this book arise from Queen's Pawn or Flank Openings, and are arranged by opening and level of difficulty. Many are drawn from games by virtuoso strategists such as Karpov and Petrosian. In all cases, the game is annotated in full, so we see the consequences of the critical decision, while also appreciating the finer points of some of the most instructive games in chess history • 207 pages, softback • Read the March 2008 review
  

Starting Out: Sicilian Grand Prix Attack by Gawain Jones (Everyman, 2008)
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The Grand Prix Attack is one of White's most aggressive ways of fighting the Sicilian. It leads to a sharp, complex battle in which White often launches a direct attack against the black king. The opening has become a powerful weapon in the cut and thrust of tournament chess, where victory is everything and draws are not enough. It has even gained the seal of approval from elite players such as Vishy Anand and Nigel Short, who have both utilized it with success. In this book Gawain Jones, one of the world' leading experts on the Grand Prix Attack, provides everything you need to know about this opening. Using illustrative games and drawing upon his own wealth of experience, he introduces the key moves and ideas for both sides, taking care to explain the reasoning behind them - something that has often been neglected or taken for granted. Covers all the main lines after 2 Nc3 and 3 f4 - includes bonus chapters on the fashionable 2 Nc3 Nc6 3 Bb5 - ideal for improvers, club players and tournament players • 174 pages, softback • Read the March 2008 review
  

My Best Games in the Sveshnikov by Alexei Shirov (ChessBase DVD-ROM, 2008)
£21.99 plus postage £1.50 UK, £3.00 overseas

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The Sveshnikov Variation of the Sicilian Defence is considered one of the most promising replies to 1 e4, often giving rise to sharp and complex positions which require precise and inventive play from both sides. Thus, an opening tailor-made for Alexei Shirov (FIDE World Cup finalist in 2007), who has included it into his repertoire with both White and Black and knows the mutual tricks and traps all too well. In more than four hours of video, the genius from Russia presents and explains his best Sveshnikov games, from his first successes in 1992 until his latest achievements in the year 2007. The spectator is shown typical opening plans for both sides, receives explanations on strategy and tactics in the middlegame and learns how to convert obtained advantages in the endgame - and all this in a most entertaining way. A masterful course on one of the most popular opening of our times by one of the best players of our times. Video running time: 4 hours. System requirements: Pentium-Processor at 300 Mhz or higher, 64 MB RAM, Windows XP, Windows Vista, DVD drive, mouse, soundcard
 

Bogo-Indian Defence by Boris Schipkov (ChessBase CD-ROM, 2008)
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The Bogo-Indian (1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 Bb4+) stands out for two reasons: the concept behind the opening is simple and therefore easy to learn; and the Bogo-Indian has the reputation of being a reliable drawing weapon (statistically backed up by a high number of draws with it). This makes it an excellent second choice opening and it is on occasion used as such even by many world-class players. Schipkov explains in 21 texts the ideas behind the Bogo-Indian Defence and provides links to the most important model games. The author has annotated some 400 of these exclusively for this CD. In addition it contains a training database with 20 games in it, which contain between them more than 250 training questions. The CD is rounded off with a tree of all the 17,500 games. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: Pentium-PC, 32 MB RAM, Windows XP, Windows Vista, CD-ROM drive
 

New In Chess Magazine 2008/1
(New in Chess, 2008)
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Coverage of Kamsky's victory at the Word Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk - Morozevich wins Russian Championship - Danny Gormally shares his experiences at Hastings - Ivanchuk triumphs once again at the Torre Memorial - A special article by Mark Dvoretsky to celebrate his 60th birthday • and much more.
 

A Strategic Opening Repertoire (2nd Enlarged Ed.) by John Donaldson & Carsten Hansen (Russell Enterprises, 2008)
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In 1998 a slim volume by IM John Donaldson explored the crafting of a sophisticated but easily assimilated group of interrelated opening strategies intending to establish small but lasting advantages. The result, A Strategic Opening Repertoire, was an instant success. Now this second edition, revised by Danish FM Carsten Hansen with the assistance of John Donaldson, is greatly expanded - twice the size - with many more games and detailed explanations. The lines presented here - based on 1 Nf3, 2 c4 and 3 g3 - will serve a player well throughout his career as they are based on solid positional ideas with an emphasis on understanding rather than memorizing. They will not fail because of one sharp novelty. The aim of playing 1 Nf3 is to head for queenside openings that restrict Black's counterplay. And using this repertoire, you will invariably find yourself on more familiar ground than your opponent • 272 pages, softback • Read the March 2008 review
  

SOS - Secrets of Opening Surprises 8 by Jeroen Bosch (New in Chess, 2008)
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Readers of this series can ignore large areas of ever-expanding chess opening theory. They can concentrate on these surprising ideas, because SOS variations deviate very early from the regular lines in mainstream openings. Ideal for players who don’t have enough time to keep abreast of mainline theory. Contents: 1 Jeroen Bosch - The SOS Files • 2 Ruben Felgaer - Meeting the Caro-Kann with 2.Ne2 • 3 Dimitri Reinderman - The Meszaros Variation of the Sicilian • 4 Jeroen Bosch - SOS versus Anti-Berlin • 5 Alexander Finkel - SOS versus the Paulsen • 6 Mazé & Cornette - Nimzo-Indian with 6...Qe8!? • 7 Arthur Kogan - The Budapest Gambit Can Still Surprise! • 8 Jeroen Bosch - French Prophylaxis • 9 Adrian Mikhalchishin - Caro-Kann: Dementiev Variation • 10 Dimitri Reinderman - The Porcupine Variation • 11 Jeroen Bosch - Gajewski’s Incredible Spanish Novelty • 12 Arthur Kogan - Play the Spielmann Attack • 13 Alexander Finkel - An Old Idea in the Modern Defence • 14 Jeroen Bosch - A Modest Indian • 15 Igor Glek - A 19th Century Weapon versus the French • 16 Leonid Gofshtein - A Dynamic Ruy Lopez Surprise • 17 Dorian Rogozenko - Kamsky’s ‘Spare’ Slav • 18 Who is Who? - Authors and their Subjects • 144 pages, softback• Read the March 2008 review
  

Hooked on Chess: A Memoir by Bill Hook (New in Chess, 2008)
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This is the story of Bill Hook’s life with his many passions: chess, painting, traveling, photography and blackjack. Bill Hook won a gold medal at the Chess Olympiad and his friends include street hustlers and world champions. He played with the likes of Stanley Kubrick, Harold Schonberg, Marcel Duchamp and Miguel Najdorf. After Bill Hook had beaten him four times in a row, a very young Bobby Fischer started crying. Now Hook lives and plays on the Virgin Islands. An admirable and colorful life • 191 pages, softback • Read the March 2008 review
  

Play the Semi-Slav by David Vigorito (Quality Chess, 2008)
£16.99 plus postage 10% UK, 20% overseas

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The Semi-Slav is on track to becoming the most popular 1 d4 response at the highest levels in the same way that the Marshall Attack is the most popular opening after 1 e4. In this book American IM and theoretical expert David Vigorito gives a full repertoire for Black with many possibilites to vary. If you want to play this topical opening you cannot do without this book • 277 pages, softback • Read the March 2008 review • Read the April 2008 review
  

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