Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The Final Countdown - Books and Chessbase Format

     Containing more than 100 examples, a fresh look at King and Pawn endings, a part of the chess game which, the author claims, every ambitious player needs to master. Explains the fundamental principles of pawn endings, and features numerous self-test exercises.
     "Unfortunately chess books that teach individuals how to think and how to evaluate a position are in the minority ("Best Lessons of a Chess Coach" is one of these exceptional books, and I highly recommend it). "The Final Countdown" falls short in this regard, but it could be rewritten with the examples used and be a five star book. Jeremy Silman recommends this book (maybe he should rewrite it!!), and he is perhaps the best chess teacher of his peers." - Amazon.com

A Startling Chess Opening Repertoire


A Startling Chess Opening Repertoire
Tired of being surprised in the opening by your opponents? Horrified by the idea of studying many hours each week to keep up to date with main-line openings? Then this is the book for you!
For here is a repertoire of opening lines for White, based on starting with Bobby Fischer's favorite move 1 e4, that are slightly off the beaten track, but full of practical sting and cunning traps for unwary opponents. All are based on rapid, healthy development, central control and play against the enemy king. You go straight form the opening in to a sharp, little-explored middlegame where you will be better prepared than your opponent.
Chris Baker is a strong English player who achieved his final norm for the International Master title in the British League in 1995/6. He is a full-time chess trainer and a regular tournament competitor.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Chessbase Magazine 145 - December 2011

     • Magnus Carlsen catches up with Vassily Ivanchuk
at the Grand Slam Final to win the tiebreak. The Norwegian
superstar comments on one of his wins
against the magician from the Ukraine.
     • St. Petersburg wins European Cup 2011 ahead of
SOCAR. Top-scorer Nikita Vitiugov analyses his two
most important games. More annotated games by Eljanov,
Volokitin, Sutovsky, Bartel etc.
     • Peter Svidler wins the FIDE World Cup ahead of
Grischuk and Ivanchuk, qualifies for the next Candidates
Tournament. Lots of high-class games and annotations
by Judit Polgar, Fabiano Caruana, Vugar
Gashimov and others.
     • 12 opening articles. For instance Igor Stohl: The
direct 6.e5 in the Austrian Attack (Pirc B09), Evgeny
Postny: 6.Bg5 – a pawn sacrifice in the Caro-Kann
Panov Attack, Viktor Moskalenko: Radical discoveries
in the French Advance Variation, Lubomir Ftacnik:
Latest trends in the Semi Slav Marshall Gambit, Leonid
Kritz: French Defence with 3...dxe4, 4...Bd7 – a
universal variation etc.

Every Russian Schoolboy Knows

All volumes: