"My aim in this book, as well as its two predecessors, is not only to help you improve your middlegame understanding but to give you new and different ideas/concepts to employ in your own play." ~ Ivan Sokolov
The book before you engages the reader in useful calculations all the while expanding the player’s perception and confidence in a phase of the game where computer theory and preparation are of little value. ~ Alexander Hart
"Clearly there were some triumphs and failures during this period of my chess career, but ultimately I feel that I have left a certain mark on the generation from which the world’s current top players have emerged." ~ Gata Kamsky
Do you prefer to avoid symmetrical games against white's 1. d4? And do sharp and complex positions not frighten you? If the answer is yes, the Modernized Dutch Defense might be a worthy surprise weapon to add to your opening repertoire!
Hans Böhm & Yochanan Afek - The Royal Chess Couple in Action. ISBN 9789492510570. 384 pages. "The Royal Chess Couple is a combined attempt to introduce the various traits of the most significant piece with the most powerful piece on the chessboard." ~ Yochanan Afek Teaser [PDF] - The Royal Chess Couple in Action
Paul van der Sterren - Kings of the Chessboard, 264 pages - ISBN 9789492510532. Teaser [PDF] - Paul van der Sterren - Kings of the Chessboard "This book is about the greatest chess players who ever lived, who dominated their era and were looked upon as World Champions even at a time when this term, this very concept, did not…
"A lot of the topics listed demand a very straightforward type of thinking or approach. However it also happens that chess players often discover significant resources which formally exist outside the typical rules of chess. Those who know how to break all the rules and work around those specific guidelines reach the very top." ~ Evgeny Bareev
"Many of the chess players who appear in these pages are still young; their whole life, including their sports career, lies ahead. That is why I tried to avoid purely personal details and did not reveal any professional secrets. I hope that these players, like me, will be curious to reflect on their own achievements and mistakes, and to take…
"What you are going to find in this first volume is a selection of my most memorable battles on the chessboard during the first of two different periods. It covers the time from my arrival in the USA as an up-and-coming young talent in early 1989, acquiring the freedom to play in any open tournament in the world and quickly…
"This book is about the practical approach to the game of chess. It shaped me as a player and now I would like to share my philosophy with you. My objective is to combat several generally accepted misconceptions, such as a) only studying opening theory will make you a better player, b) one should always follow the first or second…
"If he thinks an idea will work over the board, the notion of risk is irrelevant to him. He wants to be on the attack and believes an objectively inferior position isn’t necessarily bad if his opponent needs to find several difficult defensive moves. “If that’s the only move for my opponent, let’s enter the line and see if he…
"During my chess career I have played almost 4000 classical games, a good deal of them against grandmasters, including world's top players, a number of which I managed to defeat. A lot of these games are interesting and instructive, and studying them will definitely help any player to get new expertise, learn new ideas and therefore improve their chess skill."~…
"The key to each pattern is the status of the squares surrounding the king: which ones are obstructed, which are potential flight squares that can be controlled with the available pieces. Players are advised to know these patterns forwards, backwards and upside down!" ~ Efstratios Grivas
