General tips
After a long break from writing, mostly due to the lack of classical chess national events with available games, as well as personal health issues, I decided to reactivate this habit with some sort of responsibility and duty. Watching some games live of national players and friends, as well as reading some chatting on social Medias, not to mention the Corona issue, forcing recluse of people at home, were the main motives behind writing this article.
Most of the questions posed by the new comers to our chess community were focused around the openings (what to play and which opening is better for me) and how to improve their level of play. All this is accompanied by a will to play and win, and raising their online ratings.
I will try in what follow to give a guide of how to choose or construct your opening repertoire, give some hints and tips on making a training-weekly schedule, recommend some books to improve and/or fill the gaps in their chess knowledge and education, as well as opening the path to reach their goal.
Firstly, some technical terms that dominate certain openings:
- Pawn structure: pawn chain, isolated pawn, hanging pawns, backward pawn, double pawns, etc.
- Space: lack of space (not necessarily lack of active play) from one side or another
- Fianchetto: putting the bishop on the long diagonal
- Closed position: the pawns in the center are fixed
- Imbalance: unequal exchange of pieces (like bishop vs knight)
Openings and defences with structural similarities |
Factors in common |
Slav, Caro-Kann, Scandinavian, Torre, London |
Pawn structure, queen’sbishop outside the chain |
Dutch Stonewall, French, Open Spanish |
Pawn structure,opposing pawns in the centre |
Benoni, Pirc, Closed Spanish |
Pawn structure, dark square play |
Nimzo-Indian, Queen’s Indian, Bogo-Indian, Sicilian Scheveningen, Taimanov and Kan |
Pawn structure, queenside fianchetto |
King’s Indian, Pirc, Modern, Sicilian Dragon |
Pawn structure, kingside fianchetto |
Queen’s Gambit Accepted, Petroff |
Pawn structure, open game |
Grunfeld, Catalan (some lines) |
Pawn structure, kingside fianchetto |
Sicilian Dragon Accelerated, English with g3, Symetrical English (with Black) |
Pawn structure, kingside fianchetto |
Sicilian Rossolimo, English with 1..e5 and Bb4 (with Black) |
Pawn structure |
Colle, Semi-Slav |
Pawn structure |
King’s Indian Attack, King’s Indian, Pirc, Old Indian |
Pawn structure |
Tarrasch, Petroff, Sicilian Alapin, Queen’s Gambit Accepted, Caro-Kann Panov Attack |
Pawn structure (IQP) |
Openings and defences with general (style) similarities |
Factors in common |
Queen’s Gambit Accepted, Petroff, Spanish Berlin, Sicilian Alapin, Spanish Exchange, French Tarrasch |
Solidity, Piece exchanges, endgame perspective |
King’s Indian, Sicilian Dragon, Dutch Leningrad, French with 3 Nc3, Open Sicilian |
Aggressiveness, closed or semi-open positions |
Semi-Slav, Spanish Marshall, Arkhangelsk and Schlimann, Caro-Kann with 3 f3, Open Sicilian |
Aggressiveness, open or semi-open positions |
French, King’s Indian, Czech Benoni |
Closed positions, pawn chain battle |
Queen’s Gambit Declined, French |
Solidity, closed positions |
Dutch Stonewall, Sicilian Sveshnikov |
Weak points, activity |
Sicilian Najdorf, Grunfeld, Sicilian Dragon, semi-Slav Botvinnik var. |
Theoretical battle, sharp play |
Nimzo-Indian, French Winawer, Sicilian Rossolimo, Englisj with 1…e5 and ..Bb4 |
Surrender of the king’s bishop, doubled enemy pawns |
Catalan, Benko Gambit, other gambits |
Pawn sacrifices, activity |
Sicilian Scheveningen, Kan and Taimanov, Alekhine, Pirc, English Hedgehog |
Space disadvantage, flexibility, few pieces exchanges |
Trompowsky, Chigorin |
Surrender of the queen’s bishop, imbalance play |
King’s Indian Samisch, Classical Nimzo-Indian |
Space advantage, slow development |
I think that now you are asking yourself the important question: what should I adopt from the somewhat scary list above? Well, first off all, you can’t study everything, as you may need 3 or 4 lives (may be more) to do it. There are some books that recommend this or that repertoire. But do the authors of those books know your personality or potential? Do they cover every need? I will assure you, dear reader, that there is no book that can cover everything. So, here come in the concept of making your own library that contains not just your opening repertoire books, but also books that help in increasing your tactical vision, understanding of middle game motives, the technical phase of the endgame, as well as practical and psychological hints of over-the-board play.
Did the big legends, like Karpov, Kasparov, Anand or Carlsen, study all those? Well, the reply is No. They did it, not just by reading chess books, but also by having a team of assistants composed of trainers and Grand Masters specialized in certain openings (and other practical phases) that let them reach the desired level and goals.
(I remember a chatting with a Grandmaster who was paired in a certain tournament against Vassily Ivantchuk. He was very glad about the pairing. When asked why you are so happy? You should go and prepare for your game against the legendary Ivantchuk. The Grandmaster replied: well, Ivantchuk knows everything, so I can’t prepare against everything. The best preparation that I can do is to get some rest and enjoy my time and my game with Ivantchuk!)
Another important question: what about the analysis of engines, the YouTube videos and the specialized DVDs?
Firstly, the engine will not explain to you how to think. It will give you what you missed tactically in your game. When it recommend as positional move, this will be part of a forced variation(s) that lead to material gain or part of a variation that it was trying to improve another one. Sometimes it will install a rook on an open file because it is programmed to do so.
Sometimes it misleads you. Take for example the theoretical endgame of Bishop and side pawn where the promoted square is of opposition color of the bishop. The engine with give you +5 or so, while theoretically it is a draw as the defending side, after blocking the promoting pawn or controlling the corresponding corner with his king, can easily snatch the half point. Of course the engines are now very strong and it was not a surprise when Carlsen adopted some of the AlphaZero approach after reading the book (Game Chalenger).
Concerning the YouTube videos and DVDs, some are useful, but some aren’t. It is important to know that most of them are on the market, even for free download or watch, for marketing purposes, especially the ones containing opening traps. And most of them are out of date from the theoretical evolution of openings. Let’s take an example. (My Black Secrets in the Modern Italian by Wesley So). A fantastic player explains how to play the black side of the Italian opening. The games collection used are huge, but based on what? What you can take from are the instructive games that explain the plan and ideas behind it, but also you can find all those games, and much more, in other books and DVDs. If you spend one week or 2 studying the DVD contents, you may get an idea of what is happening in the opening. But then, how to continue? How to think? You are not Wesley So!
Which lead us to more important approach: studying the different types of middle game issuing from a certain opening. Here you can get profit to the full from the author’s work.
One important thing: are you going to study those materials using just your computer? Or you are going sit in front of your screen, watching and listening to video in front of you? The answer depends on your level of ambition. Some players like to be a passive player, I mean, enjoying what they are watching and gathering some chess education without competing in tournaments. Not bad, but what is the age average of those players?
I have and had a lot of pupils that take sessions with me, but not for sporting/competing purposes. They want just to have a chess education, see some nice and instructive games that help in training their brain in making decision in critical situations in their lives. For sure, theoretical chess DVDs and YouTube videos are useless for them, at least from time consuming angle. Of course the sessions are done using board and pieces.
Which lead us to another topic: How to train? With computer or real chess board and pieces? Well, all depends on your level. Even if you have an advanced level, chess board and pieces are a must in the training. You have to make a feeling toward the pieces, the squares and its relations with the x-ray the pieces are generating. You have to create a connection between your inner and the pieces in front of you. This can come from practice and a good training guide.
How much time should I spend on my chess? The answer is not easy, as it depends of what you are lacking of, and your consistency. Let me give you a practical example: I will suppose that you know how the pieces moves, know some traps, but always nearly in your games, most of the time you face the Sicilian defense, and didn’t, or haven’t time to, study seriously the middle game phase of different openings that you may face.
Firstly, allocate some 20-25 minutes every day to practice some tactics, being from books or websites, preferably using a real chess board without indices (as this will increase your memory, and push you to save time with bad calculation as if all the squares have the same name: here and there, then I will go there and return back my queen to here, etc..). Try not to shuffle the pieces (like if you are playing in a real tournament). When you made your decision, write down the solutions and the variations that you propose so you can analyze them with your trainer (or checking the solutions located at the end of the book/chapter). I mentioned the (trainer) because he can improve your way/method of processing the variations. It is not important how many puzzles or exercises you worked on, but the quality of work that count.
Secondly, Opening repertoire: If you are lucky that you can afford to have a trainer, he will construct an opening repertoire for you, depending on your style, what type of game to like to play (though of course your opponent will try not to let you do it), with typical plan and games to study, with the issuing middle and end games that will normally issue from the mentioned repertoire. This type of work is most time consuming for you and our trainer. On average, you will need 2 to 3 sessions per week for duration of at least one year work (the average is 2 -2.5 years as all depends on the consistency of the player).
Thirdly, middle game themes: Here we enter the chess education where the joy of studying chess is far away from tiring study of opening theory. Of course there is tendency that you like to study games of your favorite player(s), but preferable that this will done under the supervision of the trainer, as the later knows what games to study and what to skip.
Fourthly, Endgame: some players find it very dull to open a book on endgame and start studying its contents. Each player must know the basics of the endgame phase, with different pieces, as well as the most theoretical ones. This is unavoidable. Try to study a page or certain endgame topic once per week.
If an endgame book takes a year or 2 from your schedule to finish, it is normal.
Check the books list below.
When you have advanced in the scheduled stage of constructing your repertoire, it will be time to reduce the related sessions, and replace some with middle game ones as guided by your trainer. May be he sees that it will be more appropriate to concentrate more on your calculations of variations rather than studying the endless theory of the Najdorf for example, or he remarks that your play is shaky on a certain types of color complex or you underestimate your opponents counter-play, or you overestimate your attack, or your endgame phase needs some rectification etc., so a certain adjustment is needed in your play.
Finally, how to prepare for your next tournament? This is a very complex topics, I will skip it for now (as I am afraid of revealing some secrets of itJ (are there some secrets?)). May be when the corona issue is resolved. Then we will be free to go out from our home to live back normally.
I sorted the following books titles by the level of the pupils, although a large set of it can be used from one level to another. I omitted intentionally a large set of titles (for example, New in Chess yearbooks series or psychology chess related), as they are too advanced and only a professional player can profit from it.
B: Biography
C: Collection
E: Endgame
M: Middle game
O: Openings
T: Tactics
Ref/Adv.: Reference/Advanced
L: Level
Title | Author | Type | Publisher | Level |
Alekhine move by move | Giddins | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Anand move by move | Franco | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Botvinnik move by move | Lakdawala | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Bronstein move by move | Giddins | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Capablanca move by move | Lakdawala | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Carlsen move by move | Lakdawala | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Fischer move by move | Lakdawala | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Ivanchuk move by move | Tay | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Karpov move by move | Collins | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Keres move by move | Franco | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Kramnik move by move | Lakdawala | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Larsen move by move | Lakdawala | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Morphy move by move | Franco | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Petrossian move by move | Engqvist | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Reti move by move | Engqvist | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Rubinstein move by move | Franco | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Spassky move by move | Franco | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Stein move by move | Engqvist | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Steinitz move by move | Pritchett | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Tal move by move | Lakdawala | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Victor Korchnoi Move by Move | Lakdawala | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
1..d6 move by move | Lakdawala | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Anti-Sicilian move by move | Lakdawala | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Bird’s Opening move by move | Lakdawala | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
First Steps: The Queens’ Gambit | Martin | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Starting out : The Sicilian | Emms | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Starting out: 1.d4! | Cox | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Starting out: sicilian Grand Prix Attack | Jones | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Starting out: sicilian Scheveningen | Emms | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Starting out: Sicilian Sveshnikov | Cox | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Starting out: the King’s indian | Gallagher | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Starting out: The Nimzo-Indian | Ward | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Starting out:Benoni systems | Raetsky | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Starting out:The Sicilian (2nd ed) | Emms | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The Alekhine defence move by move | Lakdawala | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The Benko Gambit move by move | Tay | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The caro-kann move by move | Lakdawala | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The Classical French move by move | Lakdawala | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The Colle Move by move | Lakdawala | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The English move by move | Giddins | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The Four Knights move by move | Lakdawala | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The French Winawer move by move | Giddins | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The King’s Indian Attack move by move | McDonald | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The Modern Defence move by move | Lakdawala | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The Nimzo-Indian move by move | Emms | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The Nimzo-Larsen attack move by move | Lakdawala | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The Old Indian Move by Move | Tay | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The Panov-Botvinnik attack move by move | D’ Costa | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The Petroff move by move | Lakdawala | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The Pirc Move by Move | Davies | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The Queen’s Indian move by move | D’ Costa | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The Ruy Lopez move by move | McDonald | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The Scandinavian move by move | Lakdawala | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The Sicilian Dragon move by move | Hansen | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The Sicilian Scheveningen move by move | D’ Costa | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The Sicilian Sveshnikov move by move | Lakdawala | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The Sicilian Taimanov move by move | Emms | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The Slav move by move | Lakdawala | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The Tarrasch Defence move by move | Collins | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The Torre Attack move by move | Palliser | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The Trompowsky Attack move by move | Lakdawala | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
The Versov move by move | Liew | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Basics |
Fundamental Checkmates | Gude | T | G A M B I T | Basics |
Learn Chess Tactics | Nunn | T | G A M B I T | Basics |
Chess Openings for Kids | Watson | O | G A M B I T | L1 |
Chess Tactics for Kids | Chandler | T | G A M B I T | L1 |
How to Beat your Dad at Chess | Chandler | T | G A M B I T | L1 |
Chess Endgames fro Kids | Muller | E | G A M B I T | L1-2 |
Chess Strategy for Kids | Engqvist | M | G A M B I T | L1-2 |
Power Chess for Kids Vol 1 | Hertan | M | New In Chess | L1-2 |
Power Chess for Kids Vol 2 | Hertan | M | New In Chess | L1-2 |
1001 Chess Exercises for Beginners | Masetti/Messa | T | New In Chess | L1-2 |
Tactics Time | Brennan/Carson | T | New In Chess | L1-2 |
Tactics Time 2 | Brennan/Carson | T | New In Chess | L1-2 |
A complete Chess Course | Gude | OMET | G A M B I T | L1-3 |
1001 Deadly Checkmates | Nunn | T | G A M B I T | L1-5 |
Basic Chess Openings for Kids | Hertan | OM | New In Chess | L2 |
Chess Puzzles for Kids | Chandler | T | G A M B I T | L2 |
101 chess Endgame tips | Giddins | E | G A M B I T | L2-4 |
The Art of Checkmate | Renaud/Kahn | M | Batsford Chess | L2-4 |
Instructuve Chess Miniatures | Ataman | M | G A M B I T | L2-4 |
A simple Chess Opening Repertoire for White | Collins | O | G A M B I T | L2-4 |
My first chess opening repertoire for White | Moret | O | New In Chess | L2-4 |
The Complete Chess Workout | Palliser | T | EVERYMANCHESS | L2-4 |
The Complete Chess Workout II | Palliser | T | EVERYMANCHESS | L2-4 |
50 essential chess lessons | Giddins | OME | G A M B I T | L3 |
Art of planning | McDonald | M | Batsford Chess | L3-4 |
Chess Success: Planing after the opening | McDonald | M | Batsford Chess | L3-4 |
Chess:The art of logical thinking | McDonald | M | Batsford Chess | L3-4 |
Logical Chess Move by Move | Chernev | M | Batsford Chess | L3-4 |
Art of attack in Chess | Vokovic | M | EVERYMANCHESS | L3-4 |
Chess Strategy move by move | Hunt | M | EVERYMANCHESS | L3-4 |
Fighting Chess move by move | Crouch | M | EVERYMANCHESS | L3-4 |
How to win at chess quickly! | Williams | M | EVERYMANCHESS | L3-4 |
Improve your positional chess | C. hansen | M | G A M B I T | L3-4 |
Understanding Chess Middlegames | Nunn | M | G A M B I T | L3-4 |
Understanding Your Chess | Rizzitano | M | G A M B I T | L3-4 |
Attacking Chess for Club Players | Grooten | M | New In Chess | L3-4 |
Chess Strategy for Club players | Grooten | M | New In Chess | L3-4 |
Chess Training for Post-Beginners | Srokovski | M | New In Chess | L3-4 |
Techniques of positional play | Bronznik | M | New In Chess | L3-4 |
The Power of Pawns | Hickl | M | New In Chess | L3-4 |
100 chess master trade secrets | Soltis | ME | Batsford Chess | L3-4 |
Chess Explained: Classical Sicilian | Yermolinsky | O | G A M B I T | L3-4 |
Chess Explained: Sicilain taimanov | Rizzitano | O | G A M B I T | L3-4 |
Chess Explained: The English Opening | Franco | O | G A M B I T | L3-4 |
chess explained: the french | Eingorn | O | G A M B I T | L3-4 |
chess explained: the Grunfeld | Bogdanov | O | G A M B I T | L3-4 |
Chess explained: the modern benoni | Franco | O | G A M B I T | L3-4 |
chess explained: the nimzo-indian | Vera | O | G A M B I T | L3-4 |
Just the Facts! | Alburt | O | L3-4 | |
Test your Chess IQ | Livshitz | T | EVERYMANCHESS | L3-4 |
Test your Chess IQ – GrandMaster Chalenge | Livshitz | T | EVERYMANCHESS | L3-4 |
Test your Chess IQ – Master Chalenge | Livshitz | T | EVERYMANCHESS | L3-4 |
Pawn Structure Chess | Soltis | M | Batsford Chess | L3-5 |
Mastering Chess Strategy | Hellsten | M | EVERYMANCHESS | L3-5 |
Chess Self improvement | Franco | M | G A M B I T | L3-5 |
Counterattack! | Franco | M | G A M B I T | L3-5 |
Elements Of Chess Strategy | Kosikov | M | G A M B I T | L3-5 |
John Nunn’ Chess Course | Nunn | M | G A M B I T | L3-5 |
Secrets of Attacking Chess | Marin | M | G A M B I T | L3-5 |
The Art of Attacking Chess | Franco | M | G A M B I T | L3-5 |
The Ultimate Chess Strategy Book: Volume 1 | Romero | M | G A M B I T | L3-5 |
Winning Chess Explained | Franco | M | G A M B I T | L3-5 |
Improve Your Chess Patern Recognition | Van De Oudeweetering | M | New In Chess | L3-5 |
Mastering Chess Middlegames | Panchenko | M | New In Chess | L3-5 |
Risk & Bluff In Chess | Tukmakov | M | New In Chess | L3-5 |
Sacrifice and Initiative | Sokolov | M | New In Chess | L3-5 |
The Complete Manual of Positional Chess | Sakaev | M | New In Chess | L3-5 |
Train your chess Patern Recognition | Van De Oudeweetering | M | New In Chess | L3-5 |
Chess Lessons | Popov | M | QUALITY CHESS | L3-5 |
Chess Structures A grandmaster Guide | Rios | M | QUALITY CHESS | L3-5 |
Grandmaster versus Amateur | Shaw | M | QUALITY CHESS | L3-5 |
Learn from the Legends | Marin | M | QUALITY CHESS | L3-5 |
Mating the Castled king | Gormally | M | QUALITY CHESS | L3-5 |
Positional Chess Sacrifices | Suba | M | QUALITY CHESS | L3-5 |
Pump up your rating | Smith | M | QUALITY CHESS | L3-5 |
Soviet Chess Strategy | Suetin | M | QUALITY CHESS | L3-5 |
Soviet Middlegame Technique | Romanovsky | M | QUALITY CHESS | L3-5 |
Test your chess | Franco | M | QUALITY CHESS | L3-5 |
The Grandmaster Battle Manual | Kotronias | M | QUALITY CHESS | L3-5 |
Boost your Chess 1 – The Fundamentals | Yusupov | OME | QUALITY CHESS | L3-5 |
Boost your Chess 2 – Beyond the Basics | Yusupov | OME | QUALITY CHESS | L3-5 |
Boost your Chess 3 – Mastery | Yusupov | OME | QUALITY CHESS | L3-5 |
Build up your Chess 1 – The Fundamentals | Yusupov | OME | QUALITY CHESS | L3-5 |
Build up your Chess 2 – Beyond the Basics | Yusupov | OME | QUALITY CHESS | L3-5 |
Build up your Chess 3 – Mastery | Yusupov | OME | QUALITY CHESS | L3-5 |
Chess Evolution 1 – The Fundamentals | Yusupov | OME | QUALITY CHESS | L3-5 |
Chess Evolution 2 – Beyond the Basics | Yusupov | OME | QUALITY CHESS | L3-5 |
Chess Evolution 3 – Mastery | Yusupov | OME | QUALITY CHESS | L3-5 |
Revision & exam 1 | Yusupov | OME | QUALITY CHESS | L3-5 |
The Gambit book of Instructive Chess Puzzles | Burgess | T | G A M B I T | L3-5 |
The Giant Chess Puzzle Book | Franco | T | G A M B I T | L3-5 |
Tune your chess tactics antenna | Neimann | T | New In Chess | L3-5 |
Improve your Chess Tactics | Neishtadt | T | New In Chess | L4 |
New Art of Defence in Chess | Soltis | M | Batsford Chess | L4-5 |
How to play dynamic chess | Beim | M | G A M B I T | L4-5 |
Chess Training for Candidate Masters | Kalinin | M | New In Chess | L4-5 |
Dynamic Chess Strategy | Suba | M | New In Chess | L4-5 |
Winning Chess Manoeuveres | Guliev | M | New In Chess | L4-5 |
Winning Chess Middlegames | Sokolov | M | New In Chess | L4-5 |
Attacking Manual – Vol 1 | Aagaard | M | QUALITY CHESS | L4-5 |
Attacking Manual – Vol 2 | Aagaard | M | QUALITY CHESS | L4-5 |
The Exchange sacrifice – a practical Guide | Kasparov | M | Russell Enterprises | L4-5 |
A rock-solid chess opening repertoire for Black | Eingorn | O | G A M B I T | L4-5 |
Secrets of Chess Transformations | Marovic | OME | G A M B I T | L4-5 |
Test your tactical ability | Neishtadt | T | Batsford Chess | L4-5 |
365 ways to Checkmate | Gallagher | T | G A M B I T | L4-5 |
The New Old Indian | Cherniaev/Prokuronov | O | EVERYMANCHESS | L5 |
The new Sicilian dragon | Williams | O | EVERYMANCHESS | L5 |
the Queen’s indian defence | Aagaard | O | EVERYMANCHESS | L5 |
The Sniper | Storey | O | EVERYMANCHESS | L5 |
Unusual Queen’s gambit declined | Ward | O | EVERYMANCHESS | L5 |
a strategic chess opening repertoire for White | Watson | O | G A M B I T | L5 |
An explosive chess opening repertoire for Black 1..d6! | Yrjola | O | G A M B I T | L5 |
Attack with Black | Aveskulov | O | G A M B I T | L5 |
Declining the Queen’s Gambit | Cox | O | G A M B I T | L5 |
Play the Alekhine | Bogdanov | O | G A M B I T | L5 |
Play the Open Games as Black | Emms | O | G A M B I T | L5 |
Play the Sicilian Kan | Hellsten | O | G A M B I T | L5 |
Play the Sicilian Najdorf | Rizzitano | O | G A M B I T | L5 |
The Fianchetto System | Lemos | O | New In Chess | L5 |
The four knights game | Obodchuk | O | New In Chess | L5 |
The Kaufman Repertoire for Black and White | Kaufman | O | New In Chess | L5 |
John Nunn’ Chess puzzle book | Nunn | T | G A M B I T | L5 |
My 60 memorable games | Fischer | B | Batsford Chess | Ref./Adv. |
Chess Secrets: Giants of Innovation | Pritchett | C | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Chess Secrets: Great Attackers | Crouch | C | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Chess Secrets: Great Chess Romantics | Pritchett | C | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Chess Secrets: The Giants of Power Play | McDonald | C | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Chess Secrets: The Giants of Strategy | McDonald | C | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Chess Secrets:Heroes of Classical Chess | Pritchett | C | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster Secrets: Winning Quicly at Chess | Nunn | C | G A M B I T | Ref./Adv. |
How to crush your chess opponents | Williams | C | G A M B I T | Ref./Adv. |
Improve your Chess by learning from Champions | Hansen | C | G A M B I T | Ref./Adv. |
Instructive Modern Chess Masterpieces – Enlarged ed.2009 | Stohl | C | G A M B I T | Ref./Adv. |
The Mammoth book of the World’s greatest chess games | Burgess/Nunn/Emms | C | G A M B I T | Ref./Adv. |
Zurich 1953 | Bronstein | C | Dover | Ref./Adv. |
Zurich 1953 | Najdorf | C | Russell Enterprises | Ref./Adv. |
Winning Endgame technique | Mikhalchinshin | E | Batsford Chess | Ref./Adv. |
The Endgame | Makarov | E | Chess Stars | Ref./Adv. |
Mastering Endgame Strategy | Hellsten | E | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
The greatest Ever chess endgames | Giddins | E | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Fundamental Chess Endings | Muller/Lamprecht | E | G A M B I T | Ref./Adv. |
Nunn’s Chess Endings Vol 1 | Nunn | E | G A M B I T | Ref./Adv. |
Nunn’s Chess Endings Vol 2 | Nunn | E | G A M B I T | Ref./Adv. |
Practical Endgame play – Beyond the basics | Flear | E | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Secrets of Rook Endings | Nunn | E | G A M B I T | Ref./Adv. |
Understanding chess endgames | Nunn | E | G A M B I T | Ref./Adv. |
100 Endgames You Must Know -New Edition | Jesus de la Villa | E | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
Endgame tactics – New Edition | Van Perlo | E | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
Liquidation on the Chess Board | Benjamin | E | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
Mastering Complex Endgames | Naroditsky | E | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster preperation: Endgame play | Aagaard | E | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual 4th ed. | Dvoretsky | E | Russell Enterprises | Ref./Adv. |
Critical Moments in Chess | Gaprindashvili | M | Batsford Chess | Ref./Adv. |
My System & Chess Praxis (New edition 2016) | Nimzowitsch | M | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
Sicilian Attacks | Yakovich | M | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster preparation: Calculation | Aagaard | M | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster preparation: Positional play | Aagaard | M | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster preparation: Strategic play | Aagaard | M | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster preperation: Attack & Defence | Aagaard | M | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Practical Chess Defence | Aagaard | M | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster preperation: Thinking Inside the Box | Aagaard | M | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
My System | Nimzowitsch | M | Ref./Adv. | |
Secrets of Chess Defence | Marin | ME | G A M B I T | Ref./Adv. |
Play 1.d4! | Palliser | O | Batsford Chess | Ref./Adv. |
An Expert’s guide to the 7.Bc4 Gruenfeld | Sakaev | O | Chess Stars | Ref./Adv. |
How to get the edge against the Grunfeld | Sakaev | O | Chess Stars | Ref./Adv. |
Opening for Black According to Karpov | Khalifman | O | Chess Stars | Ref./Adv. |
Opening for White according to Anand 1.e4 Vol 2 | Khalifman | O | Chess Stars | Ref./Adv. |
Opening for White according to Anand 1.e4 Vol 3 | Khalifman | O | Chess Stars | Ref./Adv. |
Opening for White according to Anand 1.e4 Vol 4 | Khalifman | O | Chess Stars | Ref./Adv. |
Opening for White according to Anand 1.e4 Vol 5 | Khalifman | O | Chess Stars | Ref./Adv. |
Opening for White according to Anand 1.e4 Vol 6 | Khalifman | O | Chess Stars | Ref./Adv. |
Opening for White according to Anand 1.e4 Vol 7 | Khalifman | O | Chess Stars | Ref./Adv. |
Opening for White according to Anand 1.e4 Vol 8 | Khalifman | O | Chess Stars | Ref./Adv. |
Opening for White according to Anand 1.e4 Vol 9 | Khalifman | O | Chess Stars | Ref./Adv. |
Opening for White according to Kramnik 1.Nf3 Vol 1 | Khalifman | O | Chess Stars | Ref./Adv. |
Opening for White according to Kramnik 1.Nf3 Vol 2 | Khalifman | O | Chess Stars | Ref./Adv. |
Opening for White according to Kramnik 1.Nf3 Vol 3 | Khalifman | O | Chess Stars | Ref./Adv. |
Opening for White according to Kramnik 1.Nf3 Vol 4 | Khalifman | O | Chess Stars | Ref./Adv. |
Opening for White according to Kramnik 1.Nf3 Vol 5 | Khalifman | O | Chess Stars | Ref./Adv. |
The Anti-Meran | Sakaev | O | Chess Stars | Ref./Adv. |
The Safest Sicilian | Delchev | O | Chess Stars | Ref./Adv. |
The Sharpest Sicilian | Delchev | O | Chess Stars | Ref./Adv. |
Attacking with 1.d4 | Dunnington | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Attacking with 1.e4 | Emms | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Beating 1 e4 e5 | Emms | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Beating the King’s Indian and grunfeld | Taylor | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Beating unusual chess defences: 1 e4 | Greet | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Chess Developments: The Modern Benoni | Palliser | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Chess Developments: The Sicilian Dragon | Vigorito | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Classical Dutch | Pinski | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Dangerous weapons: Anti Sicilians | Emms/Palliser/Walls | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Dangerous Weapons: The Benoni and Benko | Palliser/Emms/Ward | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Dangerous Weapons: The Dutch | Palliser/Williams/Vigus | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Dangerous Weapons: the French | Watson | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Dangerous Weapons: The King’s indian | Palliser/Flear/Dembo | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Dangerous Weapons: The Pirc and Modern | Palliser/McNab/Vigus | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Dangerous Weapons: The Queen’sGambit | Palliser/Flear/Ward | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Dangerous Weapons: The Ruy Lopez | Emms/Kosten/Cox | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Dangerous Weapons: The Sicilian | Emms | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Dangerous Weapons:Nimzo indian | Palliser/Emms/Ward | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Dealing with d4 deviations | Cox | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Dutch Stonewall | Aagaard | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Fighting the Anti-Sicilian | Palliser | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Fighting the Ruy Lopez | Pavlovic | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Gambit Busters | Collins | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Italian game aand Evans gambit | Pinski | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Mastering Opening Strategy | Hellsten | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Meeting 1.e4 | Raetsky | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Modern Defence | Gurevich | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Offbeat King’s Indian | Panczyk | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Offbeat Nimzo Indian | Ward | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Play 1 e4 e5! | Davies | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Play 1..b6 | Bauer | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Play 1.b4! | Lapshun/Conticello | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Play the London system | Lakdawala | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Play the Najdorf:Scheveningen style | Emms | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Play the Ruy Lopez | Greet | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Queen’s gambit declined | Sadler | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Queen’s Gambit Declined:Bg5 systems | Lalic | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Satrting out: d-pawn attacks | Palliser | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Slay the Sicilian ! | Taylor | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Slay the Spanish | Taylor | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
The dark knight system | Schuyler | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
The Scotch game | Dembo/Palliser | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Opening Repertoire: 1.e4 | Lakdawala | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Opening Repertoire: …c6 Playing the Caro-Kann and Slav as Black | Lakdawala | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Opening Repretoire: The Modern Sämisch | Montany | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Opening Repertoire: The English | Cummings | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Opening Repertoire: The French Defence | Lakdawala | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Opening Repertoire: The Sicilian Najdorf | Doknjas | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Opening Repertoire: 1 d4 with 2 c4 | Lakdawala | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Opening Repertoire: The Queen’s Gambit | Lemos | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Opening Repertoire: The Petroff Defence | Lakdawala | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
A Killer chess opening repertoire | Summerscale | O | G A M B I T | Ref./Adv. |
FCO | Van Der Stern | O | G A M B I T | Ref./Adv. |
Mastering the Chess Openings Vol 1 | Watson | O | G A M B I T | Ref./Adv. |
Mastering the Chess Openings Vol 2 | Watson | O | G A M B I T | Ref./Adv. |
Mastering the Chess Openings Vol 3 | Watson | O | G A M B I T | Ref./Adv. |
Mastering the Chess Openings Vol 4 | Watson | O | G A M B I T | Ref./Adv. |
the Cambridge Springs | Panczyk/Ilczuk | O | G A M B I T | Ref./Adv. |
The Queen’s Gambit & Catalan for Black | Janjgava | O | G A M B I T | Ref./Adv. |
Understanding the Marshall Attack | Vigorito | O | G A M B I T | Ref./Adv. |
Understanding the Scandinav | Kasparov | O | G A M B I T | Ref./Adv. |
A chess opening Repertoire for Blitz and Rapid | Sveshnikov | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
A Cunning chess opening for Black | Kasparov | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
Beat the Guerillas | Bronznik | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
Bologan’s Black Weapons | Bologan | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
Bologan’s Ruy Lopez for Black | Bologan | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
Play 1. b3! | Odessky | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
Sabotage the Grunfeld | Kaufman | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
Steamrolling the Sicilian | Kasparov | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
Sveshnikov vs the Anti Sicilian | Sveshnikov | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
Taming Wild Chess Openings | Watson/Schiller | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
The Agile London system | Romero | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
The Chebanenko Slav | Bologan | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
The complete c3 Sicilian | Sveshnikov | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
The Diamond Dutch | Moskalenko | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
The Dynamic Benko Gambit | Kasparov | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
The English Attack Against the Taimanov Sicilian | Andriasyan | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
The Even More Flexible French | Moskalenko | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
The Fianchetto Solution | Neiman/Shoker | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
The Lazy Man’s Sicilian | Bonsnik/Giddins | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
The Modern Bogo 1.d4 e6 | Antic/Maksimovic | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
The Modern French | Antic/Maksimovic | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
The Perfect Pirc-Modern | Moskalenko | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
The Powerful Catalan | Bologan | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
The Ragozin Complex | Barsky | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
The Rossolimo Sicilian | Bologan | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
the strategic nimzo indian 4e3 | Sokolov | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
The Zaitsem System | Kuzmin | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
Winning with the Najdorf Sicilian | Andriasyan | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
Winning with the Slow (but Venomous!) Italian | Muller/Souleidis | O | New In Chess | Ref./Adv. |
A Classical Repertoire: Playing 1.e4 e5 | Ntirlis | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Challenging the Nimzo-indian | Vigorito | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Experts on the Anti-Sicilian | Aagaard/Shaw | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster Repertoire 1A: 1.d4: The Catalan | Avrukh | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster Repertoire 1B: 1.d4: The Queen’s Gambit | Avrukh | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster Repertoire: 1.e4 vs The French, Caro-Kan & Philodor | Negi | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster Repertoire: 1.e4 vs The Sicilian I | Negi | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster Repertoire: 1.e4 vs The Sicilian II | Negi | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster Repertoire: 1.e4 vs The Sicilian III | Negi | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster Repertoire: Beating the Anti-Sicilians | Kotronias | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster Repertoire: Beating the Minor Openings | Mikhalevski | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster Repertoire: The Classical Slav | Avrukh | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster Repertoire: The Dragon Volume one | Jones | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster Repertoire: The Dragon Volume two | Jones | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster Repertoire: The English Opening 1 | Marin | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster Repertoire: The English Opening 2 | Marin | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster Repertoire: The English Opening 3 | Marin | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster Repertoire: The French Defence Vol 1 | Berg | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster Repertoire: The French Defence Vol 2 | Berg | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster Repertoire: The French Defence Vol 3 | Berg | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster Repertoire: The Modern Benoni | Petrov | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Grandmaster Repertoire: The Nimzo-Indian defence | Roiz | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster Repertoire: The Semi-Slav | Schandorff | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster Repertoire: The Sicilian Svenshnikov | Kotronias | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
GrandMaster Repertoire: The Tarrasch Defence | Aagaard | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Kotronias on the King’s Indian Vol1 – Fianchetto Systems | Kotronias | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Kotronias on the King’s Indian Vol2 – Mar del Plata I | Kotronias | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Kotronias on the King’s Indian Vol3 – Mar del Plata II | Kotronias | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Kotronias on the King;s Indian Vol4 – Classical Systems | Kotronias | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Kotronias on the King’sIndian: Samisch and the rest | Kotronias | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Opening Repertoire: The English | Cummings | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Playing 1.d4 the Indian Defences | Schandorff | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Playing 1.d4 the Queen’s Gamabit | Schandorff | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Playing 1.e4-Caro-Kann, 1…e5 & Minor Lines | Shaw | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Playing the Queen’s Gambit: A GrandMaster Guide | Schandorff | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Playing the Ragozin | Pert | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Playing the Trompowsky | Pert | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
The Berlin Wall | Cox | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
The Modern Tiger | Hillarp Persson | O | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Bf4 in the Queen’s Gambit and the Exchange Slav | Dreev | O | Ref./Adv. | |
The Art of the King’s Indian – New Edition | Gufeld | O | Russian Chess House | Ref./Adv. |
The Zukertort System: A guide for White and Black | Bogdanovich | O | Ref./Adv. | |
A course in chess tactics | Boykov | T | G A M B I T | Ref./Adv. |
Perfect your chess | Volokitin | T | G A M B I T | Ref./Adv. |
Chess Tactics from Scratch 2nd edition | Weteschnik | T | QUALITY CHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Anthology of Chess Combinasons | Informant | T | Informant | Ref./Adv. |
My Great Predecessors Vol 1 | Kasparov | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
My Great Predecessors Vol 2 | Kasparov | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
My Great Predecessors Vol 3 | Kasparov | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
My Great Predecessors Vol 4 | Kasparov | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
My Great Predecessors Vol 5 | Kasparov | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Revolution in the 70′s | Kasparov | O | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Kasparov-Karpov 84-85 | Kasparov | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Kasparov-Karpov 86-87 | Kasparov | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Kasparov-Karpov 88-2009 | Kasparov | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Kasparov on Kasparov Part 1 | Kasparov | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Kasparov on Kasparov Part 2 | Kasparov | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |
Kasparov on Kasparov Part 3 | Kasparov | B | EVERYMANCHESS | Ref./Adv. |