Grandmaster Secrets: Counter-Attack!

Grandmaster Secrets: Counter-Attack!
Author: Zenon Franco
Publisher: Gambit Publications
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2009
Genre: Chess
ISBN: 9781906454098

Superb defensive technique is a hallmark of all great chess-players. With a few deft counterstrokes, they not only deflect what looked like an overwhelming offensive, but also expose the darker side of their opponent's build-up. Is this sheer black magic, or are these skills that ordinary players can develop? While some of the key defensive skills follow well-established principles, modern players ally this with an appreciation of chess dynamics that is a good deal more subtle. Zenon Franco provides a wide-ranging course in how to handle difficult positions, seeking not only to hold them together but to go on the counteroffensive, exploiting to the full the commitments and concessions the opponent has made to launch his attack. The methods he advocates are varied: often a countersacrifice is the key, while simplification can also employed as a subtler, but equally deadly weapon. Chapters include: * Lasker, the Master of Defence and Counter-Attack * Refuting Premature Attacks * Fighting Blow by Blow * Regrouping * Prophylactic Thinking * Simplification

Secrets of Chess Defence

Secrets of Chess Defence
Author: Mihail Marin
Publisher: Gambit Publications
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2003
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 9781901983913

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.

Grandmaster Secrets- The Caro-Kann

Grandmaster Secrets- The Caro-Kann
Author: Peter Wells
Publisher: Gambit Publications
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2007-10-25
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 9781904600619

The Caro-Kann is one of the most popular responses to 1 e4. Black stakes a claim to the central squares and seeks free development for all his pieces. While solid, it is by no means a drawing weapon - the resulting positions generally contain at least a degree of imbalance and the critical lines lead to sharp positions with chances for both sides. Many new approaches for both sides have been developed in recent years, and a good understanding of these ideas is vital for anyone looking to handle either side of the Caro with success.

The Art of Attacking Chess

The Art of Attacking Chess
Author: Zenon Franco
Publisher: Attacking Chess
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2008
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 9781904600978

All chess-players love to play a smooth attacking game, flowing from start to finish, and sprinkled with spectacular ideas and sacrifices. However, few can do so regularly, and for most players, their collection of brilliancies missed far outweighs their creative successes. Innate talent plays an important role, but many of the skills needed for attacking chess can be learnt by study and practice. Here, one of the world's most experienced annotators has selected 33 superb examples, and explained them in a way that strips away the mystery. We see how the decision to attack is made, and which positional factors led to that decision being justified. We observe either a gradual build-up, or a lightning-fast storm, and understand why one approach or the other was necessary. Finally, we witness the final execution of the tactical blows. To check that we have truly grasped the ideas, Franco presents us with plentiful exercises, where it is we who have to perform the heroics.

Chess Self-Improvement

Chess Self-Improvement
Author: Zenon Franco
Publisher: Gambit Publications
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2005
Genre: Chess
ISBN: 9781904600299

Zenon Franco guides readers through 50 top-level games, challenges them to guess key moves correctly, and poses questions at critical moments. Points are awarded for good answers, and at the end of each game, a score-chart rates the reader's performance. This material has never appeared in the English language before, and represents the pick of monthly articles that Franco has written for a quarter of a century in Spanish-language magazines, revised and rechecked for this book.

Sacrifice and Initiative in Chess

Sacrifice and Initiative in Chess
Author: Ivan Sokolov
Publisher: New In Chess
Total Pages: 253
Release: 2014-05-28
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 9056914774

lThe sacrifice is one of the most beautiful, rewarding and complex aspects of chess. During a game the decision to give up material in order to get an advantage is probably the most difficult one a player has to take. Often, you have to burn your bridges without being able to fully calculate the consequences. Risks and rewards are racing through your mind, fighting for precedence while the clock keeps ticking. Now is the moment, because after the next move the window for this opportunity may be closed. In this book Ivan Sokolov presents a set of practical tools that will help you to master the art of sacrifice. By concentrating on the aim you are trying to achieve, rather than on the opening you are playing or the piece you might be going to sack, he teaches you how to come to a reasonable risk assessment and how to trust your intuition. There is a separate part on seizing the initiative without actually giving up material. Ivan Sokolov has written an entertaining and instructive guide, packed with useful advice and lots of practical examples.

Winning Chess Explained

Winning Chess Explained
Author: Zenon Franco
Publisher: Gambit Publications
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2006
Genre: Chess
ISBN: 9781904600466

Grandmaster Franco presents 50 instructive games illustrating a variety of chess ideas. Key themes are illustrated by several games, so that readers gain an appreciation of the relevant ideas, and develop foresight that will enable them to make the right decisions at the board by anticipating problems before they arise.

Secrets of Attacking Chess

Secrets of Attacking Chess
Author: Mihail Marin
Publisher: Gambit Publications
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2005
Genre: Chess
ISBN: 9781904600305

Understand when, where, and how to attack Features numerous practical examples from top-level play In his celebrated Secrets of Chess Defence, Marin examined the task facing the defender. He now turns his prodigious expertise to the other side of the coin. In this wide-ranging treatise, he discusses many topics including: the balance between attack and defence the premises for initiating an attack advantage in development intuitive sacrifices ...and much more Looks at all aspects of attacking play, from the decision to attack right through to the finish

100 Chess Master Trade Secrets

100 Chess Master Trade Secrets
Author: Andrew Soltis
Publisher: Batsford Books
Total Pages: 217
Release: 2013-10-30
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 1849941556

If you want to become a chess master, there are certain things you need to know – essential tips and techniques that the masters know, and you need to learn. This incredibly useful book collects all these techniques together in one volume, so you can try them out, tick them off, and start on your path towards chess greatness. Arranged in chapters covering every aspect of chess, from openings to endgames, renowned chess author Andrew Soltis provides top 20 rundowns of these specific positions and techniques: chapters include Top 20 Sacrifices, Top 20 Crucial Middlegame Decisions, Top 20 Endgame Techniques and Top 20 Exact Endgames. Written in Andrew Soltis's eternally engaging and accessible style, this book will prove invaluable to any player who wants to become a chess master.

Techniques of Positional Play

Techniques of Positional Play
Author: Valeri Bronznik
Publisher: New In Chess
Total Pages: 255
Release: 2014-02-18
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 9056914731

Opening preparation is useful, but understanding the middlegame is much more important. This book, an improved edition of a Russian classic, teaches amateur chess players 45 extremely effective skills in a crystal-clear manner. Quite a few of the ideas presented here will surprise the reader, because they offer solutions for problems the club player is only subconsciously aware. How do you activate your rook pawn? How do you prevent your opponent from opening a file? How do you restrict the efficacy of your opponents pieces? Which rook belongs on the c-, d- or e-file? What is the best way to exchange a piece? How do you castle artificially? In most cases the techniques are easy to understand and memorize. Bronznik and Terekhin do not burden the reader with deep analysis and only present those variations that are really necessary to get the point. There is a special training section at the end of the book where you can test your skills. ,