One of the best and most popular ways to meet White’s first move 1.e4 remains the tried and tested 1...e5. After this move the majority of games steer for the Ruy Lopez. A perfectly fine choice for White, but one that requires you to study the countless different setups and follow the continuously evolving theory in that opening. Karsten Müller and Georgios Souleidis present an alternative that is ideal for the average club player: a complete repertoire for White in the Italian Opening. This modern version of the age-old ‘Giuoco Piano’, with the innocent looking pawn moves c3 and d3, is not only popular at club level, but is also regularly adopted by many strong Grandmasters including the very best, such as Magnus Carlsen and Anish Giri. The set-up is easy to learn and understand, and theoretical novelties are much less important than the sound principles it is based on, such as the pawn push d3-d4 or bringing the b1 knight over to the kingside and into the attack. The Slow Italian may look innocent, but is actually full of venom, because White has a lot of options to create aggressive play by making natural looking moves with his pieces. Müller and Souleidis have created a solid weapon that every amateur chess player will delight in playing. With a foreword by Anish Giri.

This is the first truly modern one-volume endgame encyclopaedia. It makes full use of endgame tablebases and analytical engines that access these tablebases; where previous authors could only make educated guesses, Muller and Lamprecht have often been able to state the definitive truth, or get much closer to it. New time-controls involve competitive games being played to a finish in one session, so it is especially important that chess-players understand the key endgame principles. This book provides comprehensive assistance for any players wishing to study the endgame. In addition to a feast of detailed analysis, the authors emphasize the practical side of endgame play, describing rules of thumb, principles, and thinking methods. Fundamental Chess Endings is both the ideal endgame reference work, and a book that can profitably and enjoyably be read from start to finish. Book jacket.

This very instructive book combines clear discussions of tactical themes with over 600 well-chosen positions to test, challenge and teach. Although the classic combinations are not ignored, the emphasis here is on positions from modern tournament practice of the last decade. Tactics is a very important part of the game of chess and conscientious study and application of tactical principles is crucial to success. This book offers every type of tactical motif imaginable, from the more common back rank mates, pins, skewers, forks, up to and including some beautiful and rare combinations. This tactical book will prove exceptionally useful for a wide range of players, intermediate through master strength and beyond.

Magnus Carlsen’s brilliant endgame play has been one of the key reasons for his success. At the age of 13 the Norwegian became the youngest grandmaster in the world, at 19 the youngest number one in the FIDE world rankings, and at 22 the second youngest World Champion in history. With his fine technique, great inventiveness an iron determination Magnus has won countless endgame positions in which almost everyone else would have settled for a draw. He also has saved endgames that seemed impossible to hold. International Master Tibor Karolyi has studied Carlsen’s career and selected more than 90 of his best endgames. He reviews them in chronological order to show how Magnus developed his skills. His technique and his choices are being explained in a manner that is easy to understand for club players. Endgame Virtuoso Magnus Carlsen will help you to appreciate Magnus’ endgame magic and shows you how to become a better endgame player yourself. A highly instructive, inspiring and entertaining book.

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

Understanding = Mastery! Knowing the abilities and limitations of the minor pieces is very valuable for mastering the secrets of the royal game, and this can be studied best in the endgame. It is essential to understand the management of the long-range bishop, albeit confined to one color, as well as the short-range, ubiquitous knight. This book is the second volume in the authors’ acclaimed Understanding Endgames series. It follows a dual philosophy, like their previous work, Understanding Rook Endgames. It deals with seven-piece minor-piece endings in some detail. These endgames are often so deep that pre-tablebase analysis almost always contained errors. Many new discoveries are revealed here. In addition, the authors emphasize the important five- and six-piece endings every club player should know. But to really understand minor piece endings, these theoretical positions are of course not enough. Sub-chapters on the principles of each material configuration have therefore been added. Understanding Minor Piece Endgames will take you a long way to mastering these important endings. “Having had the pleasure to preview this book, I can tell you that you are in for a treat. Careful study of this book will benefit your chess immensely...” From the Foreword by GM Jacob Aagaard

The first edition of Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual was immediately recognized by novice and master alike as one of the best books ever published on the endgame. The second edition is revised and enlarged - now over 400 pages - covering all the most important concepts required for endgame mastery. "I am sure that those who study this work carefully will not only play the endgame better, but overall, their play will improve. One of the secrets of the Russian chess school is now before you, dear reader!" - From the Foreword to the First Edition by Grandmaster Artur Yusupov "Going through this book will certainly improve your endgame knowledge, but just as important, it will also greatly improve your ability to calculate variations... What really impresses me is the deep level of analysis in the book... All I can say is: This is a great book. I hope it will bring you as much pleasure as it has me." - From the Preface to the First Edition by International Grandmaster Jacob Aagaard Here's what they had to say about the First Edition: "Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual ... may well be the chess book of the year... [It] comes close to an ultimate one-volume manual on the endgame." - Lubomir Kavalek in his chess column of December 1, 2003 in the Washington Post. "Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual is quite simply a masterpiece of research and insight. It is a tremendous contribution to endgame literature, certainly the most important one in many years, and destined to be a classic of the literature (if it isn't already one). The famous trainer Mark Dvoretsky has put together a vast number of examples that he has not only collected, but analysed and tested with some of the world's strongest players. This is a particularly important book from the standpoint of clarifying, correcting, and extending the theory of endings. Most of all, Dvoretsky's analysis is staggering in its depth and accuracy." - John Watson, reviewing DEM at The Week In Chess 2003 Book of the Year - JeremySilman.com 2003 Book of the Year - Seagaard Chess Reviews: "This is an extraordinary good chess book. To call this the best book on endgames ever written seems to be an opinion shared by almost all reviewers and commentators. And I must say that I am not to disagree." - Erik Sobjerg