INSTRUCTIVE NAJDORF MINIATURES "An opening book based only on miniatures? Perhaps it sounds odd at first, but it works well in the sharp Najdorf, and even in the more positional Queen's Indian Defense. As usual Carsten's theoretical coverage is thorough, and the books are not repertoire based, but gives a full examination of these topical openings. Is it limiting only to show miniatures? Maybe, but one somehow get the purified version of a successful strategy, when the games are not complex battles, but a slam-dunk! - Grandmaster Peter Heine Nielsen, Coach & Second to World Champion Magnus Carlsen The purpose of the book is to entertain and educate you. The entertainment consists of 100 main games all of which are 25 moves or less. In addition to the main games, you will find miniatures included in the notes, along with many other complete games. The education part involves solving tactical puzzles, reasoning your way to the right move, spotting combinations and studying the theory associated with these lines. While the theoretical coverage may not necessarily be as deep as in opening monographs or repertoire books, there’s usually more than enough to give you a good understanding of the particular line, making it easier for you to incorporate it into your opening repertoire. We have also tried to include some key alternatives with analysis to give you an idea of other possibilities for both sides. As for the games, they are typically between players with a rating of at least 2350 and in fact are often stronger. However, we have made some exceptions to this guiding principle when a lower-rated player beats a player rated above the magical 2350 number. So that the performances of the players may be evaluated better, their ELO ratings have been included. The subject of this book is the Najdorf Sicilian, which arises after 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6. The Najdorf has been and continues to be a tremendously popular opening at all levels. It is sharp, unbalanced, with many theory-laden lines – and fun. The main lines after 6 Bg5 e6 7 f4 are steeped in theory, making them tricky to play, especially for players with limited time to study.

This book covers fifty brilliant games with their analysis from the author. Understanding every bits of its position, move by move, can delight the reader introducing them the realization behind, enhance their critical thinking, and truly feel the essence of every idea the creator want to indicate.

The Queenside Fianchetto Factor In the first full book to examine 2.b3 against the Sicilian, French and Caro-Kann, mainlines, interesting sidelines and current theory are reviewed. In addition, what actually happens in modern practice is surveyed. The authors are optimistic for White, and concentrate on the best continuations while trying to be objective. It is in that spirit that they conclude that 2.b3 is sound against the Sicilian, fun against the French, and curious against the Caro-Kann. In all three cases, the objective is to sabotage Black’s play, to take him out of his comfort zone. The word “sabotage” has historically derived from throwing a clog into machinery, or in other words, throwing a monkey wrench in the works; here the wrench is a queenside fianchetto. White aims his light-square bishop toward the right flank; he typically delays Ng1-f3 so that he may play Qd1-f3 or advance his f-pawn, and use his light-square bishop to build a full-scale kingside attack. Queenside castling often occurs, hoping for a kingside pawn storm. Yet, despite all these characteristics of 2.b3, White may still retains the option of d2-d4 for a more conventional-looking 1.e4 opening. With 2.b3, you will have one more arrow in your theoretical quiver to battle Black. And, like it or not, Black will be compelled to do deal with the queenside fianchetto factor.

Man vs. Machine Technology continues to advance at a rapid pace. It may sound quaint today, but not so long ago, computers battled humans for supremacy at the game of chess. The challenge of building a computer program capable of defeating the best of human-kind at chess was one of the original grand challenges of the fledgling field of artificial intelligence. On one side were dedicated scientists and hobbyists who invested decades of effort developing the software and hardware technology; on the other side were incredibly talented humans with only their determination and preparation to withstand the onslaught of technology. The man versus machine battle in chess is a landmark in the history of technology. There are numerous books that document the technical aspects of this epic story. The human side is not often told. Few chess players are inclined to write about their man-machine encounters, other than annotating the games played. This book brings the two sides together. It tells the stories of many of the key scientists and chess players that participated in a 50-year research project to advance the understanding of computing technology. “Grandmaster Karsten Müller and Professor Jonathan Schaeffer have managed to describe the fascinating history of the unequal fight of man against machine in an entertaining and instructive way. It evoked pleasant and not so pleasant memories of my own fights against the monsters. I hope that their work gives you as much pleasure as it has given me.” – From the Foreword by Vladimir Kramnik, 14th World Chess Champion

WINNING FAST IS FUN! This book is a collection of games played by the best players in the world in which either White or Black wins in 15 moves or less either a result of brilliant chess tactics, an accumulation of mistakes or blunders. Through the study of the games in this volume, you will improve your opening play, opening repertoire, strategies and tactical ability. The chess opening variations in this volume are all the variations of the Sicilian Defense, such as: 1) The Najdorf Variation 2) The Scheveningen Variation 3) The Dragon & Accelerated Dragon Variations 4) The Classical Variation including the Richter-Rauzer & Sozin Attack 5) The Taimanov, Kan & Paulsen Variations 6) The Sveshnikov & Kalashnikov Variations Short games in chess have always fascinated me; what is it that is causing a player to go so wrong that he or she loses within 15 moves (or 25 moves as in my Chess Miniatures Series)?The games in this book illustrate the making of and punishment of a lot of typical mistakes: Loose pawns & pieces Not calculating far enough Over-burdened pieces Overlooked intermediary moves Misevaluations Not sensing danger And much more of that kind But the names also include a surprising amount of tactics (see the front cover - White to move), sometimes even missed tactical opportunities. I have chosen only from games of players that were rated 2350 and above (or would have rated as such, but it was before the rating system was put in place), because I felt that if mistakes like these can be played by such strong players, then there are lessons to be learned for the majority of the rest us. Further, I sorted away the worst games, such as when one side a piece is threatened and the other side forgets to move a threatened piece, even that happens among strong players. Through the study of the games in this book should help you avoid a lot of mistakes in your own games, help you to take advantage of the mistakes of your opponents and ultimately sharpen your tactics and tactical awareness by answering the prompts to the diagrammed positions. Enjoy!

WINNING FAST IS FUN! This book is a collection of games played by the best players in the world in which either White or Black wins in 15 moves or less either a result of brilliant chess tactics, an accumulation of mistakes or blunders. Through the study of the games in this volume, you will improve your opening play, opening repertoire, strategies and tactical ability. The chess opening variations in this volume are all the variations of the Sicilian Defense, such as: 1) Alapin Variation 2 c3 2) The Grand Prix Attack 3) The Closed Sicilians 4) The Rossolimo (2...Nc6 3 Bb5) with 3...g65) The Rossolimo Attack with other 3rd Moves6) Moscow Attack (2...d6 3 Bb5+) 5) 2.Nf3 d6 Specialties 6) 2.Nf3 e6 Specialties 9) O'Kelly (2...a6), Ultra-Fianchetto (2...g6) and Nimzowitch (2...Nf6) 10) Other Specialties

The follow-up to the internationally bestselling volume 1. Are you ready to seriously improve your game? It has been said that chess is 99% tactics but whether that is an accurate reflection is hard to tell. Nevertheless, it is important. But if you are like most players, you only discover the tactics after you come home and run through your game with a chess engine. So what to do? In the present book, you will be challenged 404 times but unlike most tactics puzzle books you don't know what your objective is: do I need to find a mate, find an opportunity skewer or pin a piece, use a tactical turn to gain a positional advantage and how far do I need to calculate? These questions are you are faced with when you play your own games and therefore this book tries to replicate this position. Your one advantage over the players in the respective positions is that you know that there is supposed to be something in there for you to find. The puzzles vary a lot in difficulty, some are relatively easy, some are incredibly difficult, but most are somewhere in between. However, most of the puzzles are layered so that even when you think the answer is obvious, it is worth looking further because your idea may be the decoy left there for you to get distracted from the actual solution. Working through the puzzles and then carefully play through the thoroughly annotated solutions will help you to up your tactical radar as well as your calculation skills. So if you are up for the challenge, here is the opportunity to take the leap forward. Good luck!

WINNING FAST IS FUN! This book is a collection of games played by the best players in the world in which either White or Black wins in 15 moves or less either a result of brilliant chess tactics, an accumulation of mistakes or blunders. Through the study of the games in this volume, you will improve your: Opening play Opening repertoire Tactical vision Tactical ability.The chess opening variations in this volume are all the variations of the minor Semi-Open Games such as: 1) The Pirc Defence 2) Modern Defenses 2) The King's Fianchetto 3) The Alekhine Defense 4) The Scandinavian Defense 5) Owen's Defense, Nimzowitsch Defense Short games in chess have always fascinated me; what is it that is causing a player to go so wrong that he or she loses within 15 moves (or 25 moves as in my Chess Miniatures Series)?The games in this book illustrate the making of and punishment of a lot of typical mistakes: Loose pawns & pieces Not calculating far enough Over-burdened pieces Overlooked intermediary moves Misevaluations Not sensing danger And much more of that kind But the names also include a surprising amount of tactics (see the front cover - White to move), sometimes even missed tactical opportunities. I have chosen only from games of players that were rated 2350 and above (or would have rated as such, but it was before the rating system was put in place), because I felt that if mistakes like these can be played by such strong players, then there are lessons to be learned for the majority of the rest us. Further, I sorted away the worst games, such as when one side a piece is threatened and the other side forgets to move a threatened piece, even that happens among strong players. Through the study of the games in this book should help you avoid a lot of mistakes in your own games, help you to take advantage of the mistakes of your opponents and ultimately sharpen your tactics and tactical awareness by answering the prompts to the diagrammed positions. Enjoy!

WINNING FAST IS FUN! This book is a collection of games played by the best players in the world in which either White or Black wins in 15 moves or less either a result of brilliant chess tactics, an accumulation of mistakes or blunders. Through the study of the games in this volume, you will improve your opening play, opening repertoire, strategies and tactical ability. The chess opening variations in this volume are all the variations of the Caro-Kann & French Defenses, such as: 1) French Defense - Minor Variations 2) French Defense - Advance Variation 3) French Defense - Tarrasch Variation: 3.Nd2 4) French Defense - Various 3.Nc3 Variations 5) French Defense - Winawer Variation: 3.Nc3 Bb4 6) Caro-Kann Defense - Main Lines: 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 7) Caro-Kann Defense - Panov Attack 8) Caro-Kann Defense - Advance Variation 9) Caro-Kann Defense - Minor Lines Short games in chess have always fascinated me; what is it that is causing a player to go so wrong that he or she loses within 15 moves (or 25 moves as in my Chess Miniatures Series)?The games in this book illustrate the making of and punishment of a lot of typical mistakes: Loose pawns & pieces Not calculating far enough Over-burdened pieces Overlooked intermediary moves Misevaluations Not sensing danger And much more of that kind But the names also include a surprising amount of tactics (see the front cover - White to move), sometimes even missed tactical opportunities. I have chosen only from games of players that were rated 2350 and above (or would have rated as such, but it was before the rating system was put in place), because I felt that if mistakes like these can be played by such strong players, then there are lessons to be learned for the majority of the rest us. Further, I sorted away the worst games, such as when one side a piece is threatened and the other side forgets to move a threatened piece, even that happens among strong players. Through the study of the games in this book should help you avoid a lot of mistakes in your own games, help you to take advantage of the mistakes of your opponents and ultimately sharpen your tactics and tactical awareness by answering the prompts to the diagrammed positions. Enjoy!

Everybody wants to win fast, preferably straight out of the chess opening. This book is a collection of games played by top players in which either White or Black wins in 15 moves or less either a result of blunders, an accumulation of mistakes or brilliant chess tactics. Through the study of the games in this volume, you will improve your opening play, opening repertoire, strategies and tactical ability. The chess openings covered in this volume are: 1) Minor Flank Openings such as Larsen Attack, Bird Opening, Dunst Opening 2) Reti Opening & King's Indian Attack 3) English Opening - Slav, Dutch, Indian Lines 4) English Opening with 1...e5 5) Symmetrical English After sorting games with the worst mistakes & blunders away, there remains a collection of games showing a catalog of typical mistakes, misunderstandings, misevaluations and how to exploit these: either through simple execution or brilliant chess tactics.