Generations of chess players have grown up on Fred Reinfeld's books. He has a way of reducing the most intricate, complicated combinations to their basic components. Absorb the material included in this volume and you will play chess at a fairly high level. Or read through it all and enjoy Fred's masterful explanations. In either case, you will be entranced by his enthusiasm for the intricate relationships the pieces experience in the context of a game.

Generations of chess players have grown up on Fred Reinfeld’s books. He has a way of reducing the most intricate, complicated combinations to their basic components. After Reinfeld explains a combination, it makes sense. Reinfeld not only taught us how to play the game well, but also implanted in us his enthusiastic passion for learning. His books are peppered throughout with words and phrases in italics to emphasize ideas. Moves are punctuated with single, double, and even triple exclamation marks and question marks to span the entire spectrum of emotions the moves conjure up. The Complete Chess Course is filled with advice on how to play better chess, regardless of how strong or weak a player you may be. It begins with the most fundamental ideas, reviewing the basic moves of the pieces and pawns, and continues with fantastic examples from the very best players. We are taken through a full course of chess strategy and tactics; he introduces us to the nine bad moves and how to refute them as well as how to avoid making them. We learn how to handle the white pieces and how to fight back with the black pieces. We get a much-needed lesson on how to win the game when we have gained a big advantage, and another, equally important lesson on how to put up the stiffest resistance when in an inferior position. We get treated to a full spectrum of the many ways to make the most of whatever position we get in one of the best chapters of any book I’ve seen: Book Six on How to Fight Back. Fred guides us through some master games, revealing the secrets of their struggles to overcome strong resistance. These secrets include how to meet the crisis; how to simplify; and the point of no return. Finally, we are treated to an introduction to the major openings, including what to strive for in gambits, classical structures, hypermodern structures, as well as off beat lines. Hint: play to control the center and develop your pieces. Absorb the material included in this volume and you will play chess at a fairly high level. Or read through it all and enjoy Fred’s masterful explanations. In either case, you will be entranced by his enthusiasm for the intricate relationships the pieces experience in the context of a game or even a standout plan or combination.

Chess is a cruel game. We all know that feeling when your position has gone awry and everything seems hopeless. You feel like resigning. But don’t give up! This is precisely the moment to switch to swindle mode. Master the art of provoking errors and you will be able to turn the tables and escape with a draw – or sometimes even steal the full point! Swindling is a skill that can be trained. In this book, David Smerdon shows how you can use tricks from psychology to marshal hidden resources and exploit your opponent’s biases. In a lost position, your best practical chance often lies not in the computer’s best moves, but in playing your opponent – however bad the evaluation! With an abundance of eye-popping examples and training exercises, Smerdon identifies the four best friends of every chess swindler: your opponent’s impatience, their hubris, their fear, and their need to stay in control. You’ll also learn about such cunning swindling motifs as the Trojan Horse, the decoy trap, the berserk attack, and ‘window-ledging’. So, come and join the Swindlers’ Club, become a great escape artist and dramatically improve your results. In this instructive and wildly entertaining guide, Smerdon shows you how.

This book portrays British chess life in the nineteenth century through biographical studies of ten players who shaped the modern game. From Captain Evans, inventor of the famous gambit, to Isidor Gunsberg, England's first challenger for the world championship, personal narratives are blended with game annotations to reassess players' achievements and character. The author has combined deep reading in primary sources with genealogical research to reveal new facts and correct previous misunderstandings. Major chapters on Howard Staunton and William Steinitz, in particular, highlight the tensions between Englishmen and immigrants, amateurs and professionals. The contrasting long careers of Henry Bird and Joseph Blackburne provide a thread of continuity. The lives of several other important figures in Victorian chess are also presented. More than 160 games (with diagrams), several annotated in detail, and 50 photographs and line drawings are included. Appendices provide career records for all ten; there are extensive notes, a bibliography and indexes.