Following on from his successful books Understanding Chess Endgames and Understanding Chess Middlegames, John Nunn fleshes out the theory by showing how World Champion Emanuel Lasker handled a wide variety of practical situations. We see how Lasker's play, which his opponents found so unfathomable, was based on logic, extreme pragmatism and a deep understanding of how chess-players think. - Covers topics not usually considered, such as queenless middlegames and manoeuvring - Dissects strategic issues including piece activity, pawn-structure and bishop vs knight - Looks at psychological aspects of chess, such as choosing lines which are most uncomfortable for the opponent - Discusses how to handle inferior positions - Explanations focus on general ideas rather than detailed analysis - Features more than 100 of the most instructive examples from Lasker's career - Concludes with a selection of exercises, with full commentary and explanation Emanuel Lasker from Germany - chess player, mathematician and philosopher - held the world title for 27 years, longer than any other champion. His victories against many of the all-time greats were based on an ahead-of-his-time understanding and had a subtle but profound influence on modern chess thinking.

Most chess puzzle books put you in an artificial situation: you are told a combination exists, what the theme is and what you are required to achieve. This one is different. In a real game, a player may sometimes need to find a combination. On the other hand he may have to reject a tactical idea and simply find a good positional move. His task is to find the right move, whatever it may be. The 300 puzzles in this book put you precisely in that situation. Spectacular ideas abound in these positions, but it is for you to decide whether to go in for them, or whether you would be falling into a trap. If you need them, there are hints to help you on your way. The book ends with a series of tests to measure your skills against those of other players. For this new edition, John Nunn, a top-class grandmaster and a solving world champion, has added 50 new puzzles (with hints and detailed solutions) to test your skills to the full. For ease of following, extra diagrams have been added to the solutions throughout. Overall the book is 60 per cent bigger than the first edition.

This book teaches basic tactical ideas such as the fork, pin, and discovered attack, and introduces general ideas such as elimination, immobilization and compulsion. A basic knowledge of simple tactics will enable a novice to start winning games, by giving checkmate or capturing material. As the player progresses, his tactical arsenal will broaden, and he will start to play sacrifices and combinations, and develop a deeper understanding of the game. Players who fail to study tactics systematically tend to suffer from tactical blind-spots that plague them throughout their playing career, and thus they fail to realize their full potential.

Starting with the very basics, this book tells you everything you need to know to become a successful chess-player. No prior knowledge is assumed. The reader learns step-by-step, with each new point illustrated by clear examples. By the end of the book, the reader will be fully ready to take on opponents across the board, or on the Internet, and start winning.

The three-times World Chess Solving Champion distils the most useful middlegame concepts and knowledge into 100 lessons that everyone can understand. Following on from his successful Understanding Chess Endgames, John Nunn turns his attention to the middlegame - the phase of the chess battle where most games are decided, yet the one that has received the least systematic treatment from chess writers. With the outstanding clarity for which he is famous, Nunn breaks down complex problems into bite-sized pieces. In the case of attacking play, we are shown how to decide where to attack, and the specific methods that can be used to pursue the enemy king. Positional play is described in terms of the major structural issues, and how the pieces work around and with the pawns. Nunn explains how to assess when certain pieces are better than others, and how we can make use of this understanding at the board. Readers will never be short of a plan, whatever type of position arises. Each lesson features two inspiring examples from modern chess, annotated honestly and with a keen focus on the main instructive points. Both sides' ideas are emphasized, so we get a clear picture of the ways to disrupt typical plans as well as how to form them.

This is a book for those who know the rules of chess and are keen to start winning games. The quickest way to improve your chess is to learn tactics. But not just knowing the themes - you need to get used to using them in real positions. Master tactician John Nunn has thoughtfully crafted a course that gives you the basic nuggets of knowledge and immediately invites you to start finding tactical ideas for yourself. Chess Tactics Workbook for Kids is the first in a new series of books that help players gain chess skills by tackling hundreds of carefully chosen exercises. The themes are similar to those in Gambit's best-selling 'Chess for Kids' series, but the focus is on getting vital hands-on experience. Many positions build on ones given earlier, showing how advanced ideas are normally made up of simpler ones that we can all grasp. Each chapter introduces a basic theme and features dozens of exercises, with solutions that highlight the key points. In each chapter there are tips on what to look out for to help spot tactical ideas. As the chapters progress, we increasingly see how tactical ideas are combined together, with ideas from previous sections repeatedly appearing as part of a deadly one-two punch. The book ends with a series of six test papers where you are given no clues about the themes involved. Dr John Nunn is one of the best-respected figures in world chess. He was among the world's leading grandmasters for nearly twenty years and won four gold medals in chess Olympiads. In 2004, 2007 and 2010, Nunn was crowned World Chess Solving Champion, ahead of many former champions.

In this major two-volume work, renowned endgame theoretician John Nunn teaches the skills that are most important to success in practical endgames. Going beyond standard texts, Dr Nunn shows how to apply knowledge of standard endgames to find the right methods in tricky real-life practical situations - even when they differ greatly from the idealized forms given by traditional endgame manuals. * Identifies new and important motifs which occur repeatedly in over-the-board play * Tactical elements are heavily featured * In many examples, previous analysis is corrected * Focuses on endgames that are susceptible to concrete analysis * Geared to the over-the-board player - no composed or artificial positions * Ideas underlying analysis - however complex - are richly explained in words Nunn shows that lack of familiarity with key ideas can cause important ideas and themes to be missed even by very strong players. We discover that a staggering amount of previously published endgame analysis is simply wrong, and that many of the standard guidelines are at best partially true. This first volume covers general topics and discusses in detail pawn endings, queen endings and minor-piece endings.