A comprehensive study book for players who would like to cultivate a reliable yet initiative-seeking opening repertoire as White, based on the opening moves 1 d4 followed by 2 c4. Specific main lines and side-variations are given to combat Black's possible choices of the King's, Queen's and Bogoljubow-Indian defences as well as the modern Benoni and Benko Gambit. The author also recommends promising methods against the various Black defences to the Queen's Gambit as well as a number of offbeat lines. A practical opening guide for competitive players who prefer to build their games on solid foundations rather than indulge in risky speculation.

After the success of his award-winning book ‘Keep it Simple 1.e4’ International Master Christof Sielecki is back. His new repertoire based on 1.d4 has a similar profile: variations that are straightforward and easy to remember, and require little or no maintenance. Sielecki has created a reliable set of opening lines for chess players of almost all levels. The major objective is to dominate Black from the opening, by simple means. You don’t need to sacrifice anything or memorize long tactical lines. His main concept is for White to play 1.d4, 2.Nf3, 3.g3, 4.Bg2, 5.0-0 and in most cases 6.c4. Sielecki developed this repertoire while working with students who were looking for something that was easy to understand and easy to learn. This new 1.d4 repertoire may be even easier to master than his 1.e4 recommendations, because it is such a coherent system. Sielecki always clearly explains the plans and counterplans and keeps you focussed on what the position requires. Ambitious players rated 1500 or higher will get great value out of studying this extremely accessible book.

All the average club player needs is a small and manageable chess opening repertoire. They don’t have time and energy to study hundreds of pages of chess opening theory. And why would they? Amateur games are rarely decided in the opening. Understanding structures and finding tactics are much more important. Renowned German chess trainers Erik Zude and Jörg Hickl have created an ideal club player’s repertoire for Black. This compact manual presents a set of lines that is conveniently limited in scope, yet varied, solid and complete. The core repertoire is based on lines that the authors have successfully played at (grand)master level for decades: the Antoshin variation of the Philidor Defence against 1.e4 and the Old-Indian Defence against 1.d4. There is only a limited number of plans, ideas and structures that you need to learn, and very few forcing variations. After an initial phase in which Black may at first sight look slightly passive, you will develop your position with a sequence of strong standard moves and start your highly effective counterplay. Zude and Hickl provide common sense guidance, explain all typical characteristics and give practical examples. If you have an Elo rating between 1400 and 2200, you don’t need to look further because you can Play 1..d6 Against Everything!

A Complete Fighting Repertoire against 1.d4! Do you like active piece play? Fighting for the initiative from move one? The Tarrasch Defense just may be what you are looking for. Its advantages include: (1) It can be played against pretty much anything: 1.Nf3, 1.c4, 1.g3, 1.d4. Play 1...e6, 2...d5 and 3...c5 and you are there! (2) It leads most of the time to a typical IQP pawn structure, and it is difficult for White to change the course of the opening. (3) Black’s pieces naturally enjoy open lines and active posts so it’s easy to play the opening moves quickly and successfully! This book is exceptional! Tarrasch exponents have been blessed in the past years with some excellent works, and this book continues this happy trend. It is both a detailed reference manual and a source of inspiration. For example, in the main line 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.g3 Nf6 7.Bg2 Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.dxc5, I was intrigued to see such interesting analysis of the unusual gambit line 9...d4 as well as the main line 9...Bxc5. I was also very impressed by the work that Vassilios put into the awkward sidelines such as 3.Nf3 c5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5, discovering a wealth of active possibilities in quiet-looking positions. I am certain that this book will become an essential tool both for experienced Tarrasch players and future aficionados! – Grandmaster Matthew Sadler in his Foreword Greek grandmaster Vassilios Kotronias is well-known for his excellent analytical work and writing style which presents the material in a way that is comprehensive and easy to understand. In this book – his first for Russell Enterprises – he offers a thorough system for Black against 1.d4. That includes responses to other systems such as the Colle, Trompowsky, London, etc. So, are you ready to stake your claim as Black, fighting from the first move? The Tarrasch may be just what you are looking for!

The number of hours you can spend on opening preparation is endless. Books, videos and databases offer hundreds of ever-widening variations. But how do you find your way through this labyrinth? Where do you start? And, maybe even more importantly: where do you stop? International Master Jeroen Bosch provides a solution to those answers. He presents a structured approach to the study of openings and the preparation for a club match or a tournament game. Every time-strapped chess improver will love Bosch’s approach: instead of studying more hours or memorizing more lines he advises you to start making smart choices. The goal is not to reach a slight advantage in every possible line. The goal is to dictate what will happen on the board. You want to get a position you understand and are happy to play, and make your opponent feel uncomfortable. Jeroen Bosch provides you with all the tools you need to dominate the opening phase of the game: how to use move order and how to use tactics. He explains when to play a main line, when to come up with an opening surprise, or when to risk a gambit. And much, much more.

Computational Analysis and Understanding of Natural Languages: Principles, Methods and Applications, Volume 38, the latest release in this monograph that provides a cohesive and integrated exposition of these advances and associated applications, includes new chapters on Linguistics: Core Concepts and Principles, Grammars, Open-Source Libraries, Application Frameworks, Workflow Systems, Mathematical Essentials, Probability, Inference and Prediction Methods, Random Processes, Bayesian Methods, Machine Learning, Artificial Neural Networks for Natural Language Processing, Information Retrieval, Language Core Tasks, Language Understanding Applications, and more. The synergistic confluence of linguistics, statistics, big data, and high-performance computing is the underlying force for the recent and dramatic advances in analyzing and understanding natural languages, hence making this series all the more important. - Provides a thorough treatment of open-source libraries, application frameworks and workflow systems for natural language analysis and understanding - Presents new chapters on Linguistics: Core Concepts and Principles, Grammars, Open-Source Libraries, Application Frameworks, Workflow Systems, Mathematical Essentials, Probability, and more

The Stuff of Legend A great tournament deserves a great book. That's what grandmaster Miguel Najdorf produced in his account of one of the greatest and most important chess events of all time, the 1953 Zürich Candidates Tournament, in which 15 of the world's top players battled for the right to challenge the world champion, Mikhail Botvinnik. After two months and 210 games, many of which rank among the best ever played, Russian grandmaster Vassily Smyslov finally came out at the head of a star-studded field that included Sam Reshevsky, Paul Keres, David Bronstein, Tigran Petrosian, Efim Geller, Alexander Kotov, Mark Taimanov, Yuri Averbakh, Isaac Boleslavsky, Laszló Szabó, Svetozar Gligoric, Max Euwe, Gideon Ståhlberg, and Najdorf himself. This is the first English edition of this classic work, until now available only in its original Spanish. It includes all 210 games with Najdorf's full and extensive notes, plus all the original introductory material, biographical sketches of the players, round-by-round accounts of the action, closing summary, and a survey of the tournament's impact on opening theory. Additionally this edition has many more diagrams and photos, an introduction by Yuri Averbakh (one of the last surviving participants) and a foreword by Andy Soltis.

The Chess Traveler and Pioneer by Michael Abron __________________________________