Playing blitz is one of the great joys in every chess player’s life. In modern times, faster time controls have become more important than ever. Every day, innumerable numbers of rated blitz and rapid games are being played in online and over-the-board competitions and championships. In blitz, even more than in ‘classical chess’, it is important to make the right decisions quickly and almost instinctively. That is why world-famous opening expert Grandmaster Evgeny Sveshnikov and his son, International Master Vladimir Sveshnikov, have created a chess opening repertoire for club players that is forcing, both narrow and deep, and aggressive. The aim is to be in control as much as possible. You want to be the one who decides which opening is going to be played, you want to dictate the technical and strategic choices. And you want to keep the pressure, increasing your opponent’s chances to stumble. In designing their repertoire, father and son Sveshnikov have made a crucial choice: they do not want you to end up in positions where finding the theoretically best move is all-important, but in positions where it is relatively easy to keep finding the moves with the greatest practical effect and use. If you play the lines the Sveshnikovs have selected, your results will improve. You may even end up playing their variations in ‘slow chess’ as well.

Every chess player needs to decide which openings he is going to play. But where do you start? The risk of drowning in the turbulent sea of opening theory is only too real for beginning amateurs. Often your goals and ambitions will be misguided. Trying to win in 20 moves, copying what's in fashion among top-GM's or memorizing variations are a waste of time. Most likely you will never play your ‘preparation' or end up by jumping from one opening to the other. Experienced French chess trainer Vincent Moret provides a complete, ready-to-go chess opening repertoire for White with a sound set of lines that do not outdate rapidly, do not require memorization and are easy to digest for beginning players and other amateurs. In this complete and user-friendly guide, Moret has selected relatively aggressive variations that will enhance your tactical vision. To show the typical plans and demonstrate underlying ideas and key motifs, Moret not only selected games of Grandmasters. For instructional purposes, he also uses games of young players to highlight the errors they tend to make.

Such has been the acclaim for John Watson's ground-breaking works on modern chess strategy and his insightful opening books, that it is only natural that he now presents a strategic opening repertoire. It is the chess-player's holy grail: a flexible repertoire that gives opponents real problems but doesn't require masses of memorization or continual study of ever-changing grandmaster theory. While this book can't quite promise all of that, Watson offers an intriguing selection of lines that give vast scope for over-the-board creativity and should never lead to a dull draw. The repertoire is based on 1 d4 and 2 c4, following up with methodical play in the centre. Watson uses his vast opening knowledge to pick cunning move-orders and poisonous sequences that will force opponents to think for themselves, providing a true test of chess understanding. Throughout, he discusses strategies for both sides, so readers will be fully ready to pounce on any inaccuracies, and have all the tools to decide on the most appropriate plans for White.

International Master David Cummings presents the reader with a complete English repertoire.

By carefully choosing variations that lead to similar structures, IM Sam Collins has put together a powerful repertoire book ideal for players with limited study time. White opens with 1 e4 and develops his pieces to natural squares, seeking open lines and the initiative. The dominant theme of this sound and active repertoire is that - where reasonable - White seeks out Isolated Queen Pawn (IQP) positions: i.e. with the c3 Sicilian, Panov Caro-Kann, Tarrasch French, and the Italian Game with early c3 and d4. There are no speculative gambits here, just plenty of healthy aggression and new ideas. Because so many of Collins's recommendations lead to familiar structures, ideas can easily be transplanted from one opening to another. He gives illustrative games that emphasize the key themes, including White's many opportunities to forcibly weaken and attack the black king. The specific analysis is up-to-the-minute and features ideas that have proven their worth in grandmaster practice. Throughout there is attention to move-order subtleties, with clever nuances in 'sidelines' that your opponents are unlikely to have examined in detail. Irish international master Sam Collins won the championship of his home country in 2002 and 2014. He has represented Ireland in numerous Olympiads, winning an individual gold medal at Bled in 2002. He is also an experienced chess teacher who has lectured at the Berkeley Chess School in California. His previous books for Gambit were Chess Explained: The c3 Sicilian and the highly successful general opening work Understanding the Chess Openings.

Why is this repertoire called simple? For the simple reason that the variations are straightforward, easy to remember and require little or no maintenance. International Master Christof Sielecki has created a reliable set of lines for chess players of almost all levels. The major objective is to dominate Black in the opening, by simple means. You don’t need to sacrifice anything or memorize long tactical lines. Unless Black plays something stupid, when tactics are the simplest punishment. Sielecki developed this repertoire working with students who were looking for something that was easy to understand and to learn. Most of the lines he selected are occasionally played by grandmasters, but on the whole they lie outside the mainstream of opening theory. That means that there is hardly any need to monitor theoretical developments. 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.

Every chess player needs to decide which openings he or she is going to play. But where do you start? The risk of drowning in the turbulent sea of chess opening theory is only too real for beginning amateurs.Often your goals and ambitions will be misguided. If you are trying to win in 20 moves, copy what's in fashion among top-GM's or memorize variations, you are wasting your time. Most likely you will never get to play your ‘preparation' and end up aimlessly switching from one opening to the other. After the success of his volume for White, experienced French chess trainer Vincent Moret now provides a complete, ready-to-go chess opening repertoire for Black. It consists of a sound set of lines that do not outdate rapidly, do not require memorization and are easy to digest for beginners and post-beginners.To show the typical plans and the underlying ideas in the various lines of his repertoire, Moret not only selected games of Grandmasters. He also uses games of young, improving players to highlight the errors they tend to make.

A good opening repertoire need not require an enormous amount of study to be highly effective. A cunning choice of lines and move-orders can steer the game to positions that we like and deny the opponent his preferred strategies. In this book, highly experienced chess opening writer Graham Burgess presents a repertoire based on 1 d4 and Nf3 with precisely those aims. Black's possibilities for counterplay - and sharp gambit play - are kept to a minimum. Our aim is to give Black exactly the type of position he doesn't want. If he is seeking blocked positions with pawn-chains, we'll keep the game fluid. If he wants complex strategy, we'll attack him with simple piece-play. Simplifications? No thanks, we'll keep the pieces on and intensify the battle. Gambits? Hardly, as we simply prevent most of them! The main cornerstones of the repertoire are carefully chosen Queen's Gambit lines, the Torre Attack (vs ...e6), and a variety of fianchetto options against the King's Indian and related set-ups. White's position is kept highly flexible, with many possible transpositions to a wide variety of systems that the reader can use to extend and vary the repertoire. The book features a wealth of new ideas and original analysis. FIDE Master Graham Burgess is Gambit's Editorial Director, and one of the founders of the company. He holds the world record for marathon blitz chess playing, and lives in Minnesota. This is his 23rd chess book.

The Ruy Lopez is perhaps the most classical of all chess openings. It dates back to the 16th century and has featured in the opening repertoire of every modern world champion. It is a highly flexible variation: Bobby Fischer used it to create numerous powerful strategic masterpieces. In the hands of Anatoly Karpov it led to many of his trademark positional squeezes, whereas Garry Kasparov often used it as a springboard for his typically powerful attacks. Opening Repertoire: The Ruy Lopez is a modern examination of this perennial favourite. Joshua Doknjas has put together a repertoire for White based firmly around contemporary trends in the Lopez. He examines all aspects of this highly complex opening and provides the reader with well-researched, fresh, and innovative analysis. Each annotated game has valuable lessons on how to play the opening and contains instructive commentary on typical middlegame plans. * A complete repertoire for White in the Ruy Lopez. * A question and answer approach provides an excellent study method.

The only published book that investigates the popular five-minute blitz chess time control. Draws original strategic conclusions, then provides corresponding unprecedented strategies assisted with abundant diagrams. Quiz sections enclosed. Forward written by US champion Walter Browne.