The Art of Defence in Chess


Book Description

Most players prefer to attack, resulting in defensive technique being the weakest part of their game. There are a number of methods of playing against an attacker, which include passive defense, simplification, blockade, stalemate, or a trap. Alternatively a player can defend actively or launch a counterattack. These and many other techniques are described in this thoroughly practical book. Lev Polugaevsky was one of the world's leading grandmasters for nearly three decades. Iakov Damsky was a chess writer and chess commentator for Soviet TV and radio.




New Art of Defence in Chess


Book Description

Most chess games are not won – they are lost. Many instructional chess books tell you how to improve a position when it is already (or may be) favourable. This book offers help when you definitely do not have the advantage. Every chess player needs a sound arsenal of defensive techniques. This book covers them all – counterplay, when to accept sacrifices, how to anticipate short- and long-term threats, and how to minimise losses. It also helps you create a strong underlying psychological framework for defensive technique – it teaches you how to stay cool under fire, how to stonewall and how to exploit your opponent's weaknesses.




The Art of the Tarrasch Defence


Book Description

The Tarrasch Defence is one of the most ambitious ways to play against 1.d4. Black immediately fights for the centre, gets a lot of space and develops his pieces without many problems. Great fighters like Boris Spassky, Paul Keres and Garry Kasparov have played the Tarrasch Defence. Former Russian Champion Alexey Bezgodov has more than 30 years of experience with the Tarrasch and is one of the world’s greatest experts. The Art of the Tarrasch Defence is a deeply researched journey into the positional structures, the key moments in the fight for the initiative, the players and the variations. Bezgodov has injected his main line, the neglected Kasparov System, with a lot of surprising ideas and presents new ways to handle White’s offbeat variations. He also shows that quite a few lines for Black with a bad reputation are actually good. He teaches how the giants of chess have exploited the many dynamic possibilities of the Tarrasch Defence, and he includes plenty of practical exercises. This is a must-have book for fearless players who wish to surprise their opponents and who like to play aggressively with Black – but only with a reliable opening with a sound positional foundation.




Secrets of Chess Defence


Book Description

Good defensive abilities earn players a great many half-points and full-points. The climax of the defense is the launch of a devastating counter-attack, a skill at which all the great chess champions have been adept. Of particular interest to club players is Marin's discussion of how to defend against unsound attacks, and the problem of how to parry the attack while retaining winning chances. Other topics include attack and defense in equal positions, where both sides must judge carefully how much of their resources to devote to the attack and the counter-attack. The main subject, though, is the case where the defender is fighting for his life, and must decide how to maximize his chances of survival. Marin considers psychological issues and explains the main options available to the defender: simplification, cold-blooded defense, a positional sacrifice, 'blackmailing' the attacker, or a counter-attack.




Dynamic Defence


Book Description

Every chessplayer, from beginner to world champion, loves to win a game with a brilliant attacking display. However many, if not most, attacks that end in victory do so due to inaccurate defence. This may be due to simple tactical miscalculation or perhaps a more fundamental misunderstanding of the important principles of defence. Furthermore, many attacks that are launched are simply unsound but succeed because many players feel uncomfortable when forced to defend, get flustered and make mistakes. In this book, highly experienced chess author and coach, Neil McDonald addresses these issues. Defensive skill is crucial in chess. Good, accurate defence can win a game just as well as a fine attacking display can, so expertise in this department is essential for any player wishing to improve their game. With thorough explanations, questions, and exercises, this book provides fascinating material to enable you to hone your defensive skill and not feel intimidated when your opponent hurls pieces at your king.




Grandmaster Chess Strategy


Book Description

What Amateurs Can Learn from Ulf Andersson's Positional Masterpieces One of the most effective ways to improve your chess is to take a world class-player as your example. By collecting his games, studying his choices and examining his style, you will understand what made him rise to the very top. This is what Guido Kern and Jurgen Kaufeld have done with Swedish chess legend Ulf Andersson, a positional genius with a crystal-clear style, who rose to the number 4 spot of the FIDE world rankings. Kaufeld and Kern have selected 80 of Andersson’s games and grouped them into 15 thematic strategy lessons, pinpointing exactly how the Swede made the difference in each case. Their instructive verbal explanations will improve your strategic skills and your positional feeling. Every chess player knows how difficult it can be to convert an advantage into a win. Positional technique is what you need and Grandmaster Chess Strategy teaches you exactly that. Throughout the book the authors have selected dozens of test positions at particularly instructive stages of the games.




Mastering Chess Strategy


Book Description

Grandmaster Johan Hellsten is convinced that mastering chess strategy - just like chess tactics - requires practice, practice and yet more practice! This outstanding book is a product of his many years' work as a full-time chess teacher, and is specifically designed as part of a structured training programme to improve strategic thinking. It focuses on a wide range of key subjects and provides a basic foundation for strategic play. Furthermore, in addition to the many examples, there's an abundance of carefully selected exercises which allow readers to monitor their progress and put into practice what they have just learned. Following such a course is an ideal way for players of all standards to improve. Although designed mainly for students, this book is also an excellent resource for chess teachers and trainers. An essential course in chess strategyContains over 400 pages of Grandmaster adviceIncludes more than 350 training exercises




Unbeatable!


Book Description

Choosing the subject wasn't easy at all, since the topic of defense requires a comprehensive analysis from different angles in order to give the chess player under pressure useful guidelines during a game. Of course, the technical part is a matter of finding challenging, new and interesting positions. I was struggling with describing the emotions that we have during the game, how they influence our decision-making process and what we can do about that. Hence, I tried the best I could to define the issues the defender encounters during a stressful game. Finally I am confidently sharing with you the lessons that I learned from sport psychologists and literature, and my experience as a player over 30 years. GM Jan Werle November 2021




How Life Imitates Chess


Book Description

Garry Kasparov was the highest-rated chess player in the world for over twenty years and is widely considered the greatest player that ever lived. In How Life Imitates Chess Kasparov distills the lessons he learned over a lifetime as a Grandmaster to offer a primer on successful decision-making: how to evaluate opportunities, anticipate the future, devise winning strategies. He relates in a lively, original way all the fundamentals, from the nuts and bolts of strategy, evaluation, and preparation to the subtler, more human arts of developing a personal style and using memory, intuition, imagination and even fantasy. Kasparov takes us through the great matches of his career, including legendary duels against both man (Grandmaster Anatoly Karpov) and machine (IBM chess supercomputer Deep Blue), enhancing the lessons of his many experiences with examples from politics, literature, sports and military history. With candor, wisdom, and humor, Kasparov recounts his victories and his blunders, both from his years as a world-class competitor as well as his new life as a political leader in Russia. An inspiring book that combines unique strategic insight with personal memoir, How Life Imitates Chess is a glimpse inside the mind of one of today's greatest and most innovative thinkers.




The Art of Sacrifice in Chess


Book Description

The 21st Century Edition of Spielmann’s Classic Work Austrian Grandmaster Rudolf Spielmann’s The Art of Sacrifice in Chess first appeared in the mid-1930s. It was immediately recognized as a classic, a masterpiece that examined the nature of chess sacrifices. In this modernized, 21st century edition, all of Spielmann’s original work has been preserved. The antiquated English Descriptive Notation has been replaced with modern Figurine Algebraic, and German grandmaster Karsten Müller has added his own notes to Spielmann’s original text. But the German grandmaster has gone far beyond simply inserting clarifying commentary. Müller has virtually doubled the size of the original work by adding eleven new chapters, including: The Greek Gift Sacrifice Bxh2/7+; Disaster on g7; The Achilles’ Heel f7; Strike at the Edge; Destroying the King’s Shelter; Sacrifices on f6; Sacrifices on e6; The Magic of Mikhail Tal; Shirov’s Sacrifices; and The Fine Art of Defense. There are exercises at the end of each new chapter to help you hone your skill of sacrificing. “Grandmaster Karsten Müller’s notes to the original text, along with the new material, brilliantly complements Spielmann’s classic work. A welcome addition to any chessplayer’s library...” – Garry Kasparov