My
One Hundred Best Games - $49.95by
Alexey Dreev, 300 pages + colour photos
Alexey Dreev is one of the most popular contemporary Russian grandmasters. He
is famous for his deep understanding of chess and fine endgame technique. Many
of his games are milestones in the theory of the Slav Defence, the King's Indian
Defence and others. He was twice World junior champion and three times Olympic
gold medalist. Dreev played in the match Russia-Rest of the world in 2002, won
the World team championships in 1997 and 2005. Dreev starts the first chapter
with the following words:
"I have chosen and commented on 100 games for this book. I have played them
in a period of more than 20 years. These games are so different from each other
that there will be some to everybody’s liking – there are sacrifices, there are
quiet moves, there are sharp tactical games as well as tough positional fights.
You can also find instructive examples of how to play in the various stages of
the game. In general, I have devoted a great attention to the openings and my
comments about them are from the point of view of the contemporary theory.
A chess professional’s life is not only the games played over the board. You go
to different countries, you visit various continents; you see picturesque places
and ancient towns and you come into contact with chess-fans all over the world.
In my notes to some of the games, I have shared with my readers (as much as the
size of the book allows) my impressions of these journeys and encounters.
While working on the story of my first steps in chess, it was as if I re-lived
again everything I came through during all these times. Naturally, my memory is
not perfect. I have had to omit many things also because this book is not an
autobiography, it is not memoirs, and it is supposed to be a collection of
games. Still I tried to tell in earnest about my development as a player, about
my problems and hardships (some of them due to the surroundings and some of them
just personal). I have shared with my readers my joy about my victories in my
first tournaments and I have told about people who have helped me and to whom I
owe my deepest gratitude..."
Challenging the
Nimzo-Indian by
David Vigorito -
$49.95
Every competitive chess player needs a sound grasp of how to
play this opening -- and especially how to meet the most popular lines. The
Nimzo-Indian is Black’s most respected answer to 1.d4 and is immensely popular
at all levels, from club championship to world championship. In fact, the
reputation of the Nimzo is so high that some players prefer simply to avoid it.
American International master David Vigorito shows that this negative approach
is unnecessary. Challenging the Nimzo-Indian provides White with a complete
repertoire based on 4.Qc2. The chess is certainly at a high level, but
Vigorito’s logical approach and clear conclusions means that
• readers can easily grasp the concepts
• less-experienced players can play through the high-quality example games that
are comprehensively explained
See an excerpt from the book in PDF format here:
Challenging the Open Games
San Luis 2005 by
Alik Gershon
& Igor Nor - $59.95
San Luis 2005 is the most celebrated chess tournament of the
decade. Bulgarian Grandmaster Veselin Topalov triumphed and proved that he is a
worthy successor to World Champions such as Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov. In
this ambitious work Gershon and Nor analyse all the games from the tournament,
but there is no danger of the reader drowning in masses of variations, as the
authors clearly explain the ideas behind the moves. Tournament books used to be
a familiar part of chess literature with Zurich 1953 a classic example, however
such books are now rare because of the huge effort they demand from the authors.
Gershon and Nor have risen to the challenge and produced a book that is destined
to become a modern classic, a magnificent book worthy of an extraordinary
tournament. Many colour photographs of the event and the surrounding Argentinean
scenery help the reader feel what it was like to be at San Luis 2005.
Beating the Open
Games by
Mihail Marin -
$49.95
Acclaimed author and chess grandmaster Mihail Marin presents an opening
repertoire for Black against the Open Games. This means providing an answer to
1.e4, but not considering the main lines of the Spanish Opening. This includes
openings such as the Scotch, the Vienna, the Spanish Exchange Variation, and
even the notorious King’s Gambit. Marin uses his renowned writing skills to
explain the ideas behind each move, so Beating the Open Games escapes the
standard opening book trap of being a boring list of analysis. Marin has based
the book mainly on his own repertoire and reveals many original moves and ideas.
After studying this book the reader will not only have an excellent repertoire
but also a deeper understanding of chess.
See an excerpt from the book in PDF format here:
Beating the Open Games
My System by Aron Nimzowitsch - $44.95
Aron Nimzowitsch was one of the greatest chess players
of the 1920s and
1930s, ranked just behind the famous World Champions Alekhine and Capablanca.
His reputation as an author is higher still.
My System is at the top of a very short list of chess classics. Nimzowitsch’s
ideas have had a profound influence on modern chess thinking. Most chess
masters will at some point have studied Nimzowitsch’s work, and not to have read
My System is by many regarded as a shocking gap in a chess player’s education.
The problem for an English-speaking audience has been that My System was
written in German more than eighty years ago. The commonly-used
contemporary translations have sounded dated for some time, and were
always questionable: the translators frequently toned down many passages,
fearing Nimzowitsch’s biting wit would be too controversial.
This edition uses a brand-new translation that recreates the author’s
original intentions. For the first time an English-speaking audience can
appreciate the true nature of a famous chess book.
See an excerpt from the book in PDF format here:
My System
Practical Chess
Defence by
Jacob Aagaard -
$49.95
Chess is developing faster now than ever before in history,
and the appearance of strong chess computers has changed the way players think.
In the past many positions would have been rejected on principle as impossible
to defend, and even the best players would shy away from capturing material if
it meant that they would have to face a difficult defence. This attitude has
changed, and today’s top players are not afraid of walking a very fine line in
defence. This book gives practical advice on various methods of defence,
offering readers the chance to test and train with 200 challenging examples.
While not for the faint-hearted, this book will help the reader greatly improve
in this vital part of the game.
Jacob Aagaard is one of the most respected chess authors in
the world, 33 years old, born in Denmark, but resident in Glasgow, Scotland. His
best results are his three GM-norms, all attained in 2004. Jacob has written
many highly regarded chess books. Especially close to his heart is the Excelling
at Chess series of 5 books, from which the first, Excelling at Chess,
(translated into numerous languages), won Book of the Year at chesscafe.com,
while the final two received even better reviews.
See an excerpt from the book in PDF format here:
Practical Chess Defence
