Mr Holmes, save my sister from whatever nameless horror has just driven this friend of ours to her death! It is late on a foggy November afternoon and a desperate young woman arrives at Baker Street, imploring Sherlock Holmes to help her. She is terrified about what may be going on inside a secretive London refuge for Russian exiles, where her sister works. And so begins a frightening case which deeply strains both Holmes and Watson because of dreadful consequences of failure and the mystifying nature of the forces against them. The case leads into strange territory. Into the circles of Victorian London's radicals and idealists, where early feminists and socialists rub shoulders with exiled foreign revolutionaries. To a utopian anarchist commune in Essex wilderness, which imitates Tolstoy's farm communes in Russia. Into the dark political world from which London’s Russian exiles have fled. The trail leads on - to one shocking discovery after another, as Holmes unravels a conspiracy as evil and twisted as a labyrinth in hell. Lengthwise, The Case of the Russian Chessboard totals three original Sherlock Holmes Short Stories. Narrated by Dr Watson, the tale respects Sherlock Holmes traditions and 1890s historical facts. Mingling mystery with gaslight, it offers a gripping, atmospheric and thought-provoking read.

Daniel Johnson--journalist, scholar, and chess enthusiast--is the perfect guide to one of history's most remarkable periods, when chess matches were front-page news and captured the world's imagination.

Bestselling author and eminent foreign policy scholar Zbigniew Brzezinski's classic book on American's strategic mission in the modern world. In The Grand Chessboard, renowned geostrategist Zbigniew Brzezinski delivers a brutally honest and provocative vision for American preeminence in the twenty-first century. The task facing the United States, he argues, is to become the sole political arbiter in Eurasian lands and to prevent the emergence of any rival power threatening our material and diplomatic interests. The Eurasian landmass, home to the greatest part of the globe's population, natural resources, and economic activity, is the "grand chessboard" on which America's supremacy will be ratified and challenged in the years to come. In this landmark work of public policy and political science, Brzezinski outlines a groundbreaking and powerful blueprint for America's vital interests in the modern world. In this revised edition, Brzezinski addresses recent global developments including the war in Ukraine, the re-emergence of Russia, and the rise of China.

Ilya Maizelis's masterpiece is the definitive introduction to the game of chess. It has inspired generations of Russians to take up the game, including arguably the two greatest players of all time, the 12th and 13th World Champions. In the original Russian, this landmark work is simply called "Chess"--no other explanation was considered necessary. The Soviet Chess Primer is a modern English translation of Maizelis's witty introduction to the royal game. This new edition of a timeless classic includes an original foreword from the 2nd World Champion, Emanuel Lasker, as well as an introduction from the most celebrated chess trainer of modern times, Mark Dvoretsky.

This is a well-established training manual which encourages the average player to understand how a grandmaster thinks, and even more important, how he works. Kotov tackles fundamental issues such as knowing how and when to analyze, the tree of analysis, a selection of candidate moves and the factors of success.

ALEXANDER PICHUSHKIN: The Shocking True Story of The Chessboard KillerBorn into a poor family in a cramped apartment in forgotten Moscow suburb Alexander Pichushkin would achieve something that none of his contemporaries in the Konkovo District would ever manage. His actions between 1992 and 2006 ensured that his name would go down in history. To some he is the Bitsevsky Park Maniac. To others he is the Chessboard Killer. To the people he grew up with he is Alexander SashaPichushkin an ordinary boy who would become one of Russia's most feared serial killers. After his father left Alexander Pichushkin grew up in a single parent family. Initially a shy child a playground accident turned him into an angry young man, unable to control his temper. This event also helped to turn Pichushkin into an outsider. As the child became increasingly unhappy his mother, Natasha, ran out of options. It was then that her father, Alexander Pichushkin's grandfather, stepped in. For the next few years Pichushkin lived with his grandfather and learnt how to be a man. He also learnt how to play chess and drink vodka. After the death of his beloved grandfather and loyal pet dog Pichushkin found himself to be increasingly isolated. By now he was once again living in a cramped apartment with his mother and half-sister. During this period Pichushkin took to drinking heavily and looking at pornography. Itis reported that he also found enjoyment in scaring the young children who played in the nearby Bitsevsky Park. A few months after his 18th birthday Alexander Pichushkin committed his first murder, brutally killing a school friend, Mikhail Odichuk. Despite investigating the police did not have enough evidence to charge Pichushkin so he was allowed to go free. This is the true story of these brutal events, which later earned Pichushkin the label 'The Chessboard Killer'.

• One of the world's greatest chess players reveals the secrets of how he plans his play • Packed with invaluable information on how to mobilise your forces, avoid threats and win the game • Illustrated with a wealth of annotated examples from the author's own games The legendary Anatoly Karpov has won over 250 Grandmaster tournaments, many more than any other player in chess history, and his games are characterised by his gradually and patiently pushing an opponent back to the wall, before finally finishing him off with a deadly blow. In this unique book, aimed at ordinary club players, Karpov gives a wealth of tips on how to incorporate this dramatic style of play into your own repertoire, through careful planning and evaluation of positions: looking at the fire-power of your forces, being aware of threats to your own king and how to safeguard it, and careful control of open lines. As he says himself: 'Finding the right plan is the key to success'. Warmily and accessibly written, but with Karpov's usual air of authority, this book makes you feel like you are spending an evening with the man himself, and will help you to absorb a little bit of the Karpov magic.