Two great books from the Everyman Chess Library, Starting Out: Benoni Systems by Alexander Raetsky and Maxim Chetverik and Starting Out: The Modern Benoni by Endre Vegh, brought together in one volume. Starting Out: Benoni Systems is a study of all the crucial Benoni systems apart from the Modern Benoni. It presents diverse and practical options against the queen's pawn opening for dynamic, tactical players and solid, positional players alike. Included are such daring defences as the controversial Blumenfeld Counter-Gambit and the Benko Gambit, a favourite with uncompromising Grandmasters such as Veselin Topalov and Vassily Ivanchuk. On the other hand, Black also has the opportunity to adopt solid, respectable defences such as the Czech Benoni and the Schmid Benoni. The Modern Benoni is one of Black's most ambitious and audacious defences to the queen's pawn opening, and it has been used with devastating effect by such legends as Mikhail Tal, Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov. From the very start Black creates an exceptional imbalance in the position, one which leads to dynamic play and gives Black real chances to seize the initiative. Both players must be fearless in their approach, as hesitation in the Modern Benoni often leads to disaster! In this user-friendly book, International Master Endre Vegh goes back to basics, studying the fundamental principles of the Modern Benoni and its many variations. Throughout the book there are an abundance of notes, tips, warnings and exercises to help the improving player, while key strategies, ideas and tactics for both sides are clearly illustrated.

The Modern Benoni offers Black a fighting game right from the opening, and is ideal for counter-attacking players who like to strive for the initiative right from the opening moves. This book considers every variation of the strategy.

The Modern Benoni is just about the most aggressive method that Black can choose to counter White’s 1 d4. In the main line variations Black allows White to have a preponderance of central pawns which, traditionally, grants the first player the advantage. However, in return, Black gains the opportunity for tremendously dynamic counterplay. This places White and under immediate pressure as any inaccurate moves can prove to be disastrous. In this book, FIDE Master John Doknjas 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. With thorough variations and explanations on pawn structures and piece placement, this book provides insight for both strong masters and less experienced players alike. The format is ideal for the chessplayer keen to improve their game. While reading you are continually challenged to answer probing questions – a method that greatly encourages the learning and practising of vital skills just as much as the traditional assimilation of chess knowledge. * A complete repertoire for Black in the Modern Benoni. * A question and answer approach provides an excellent study method.

Pose novel problems for your opponents, leaving them to fend for themselves as early as move 3. Flank gambits, deep behind-the-lines maneuvering, and wildly unbalanced positions are the norm here. Focusing on strategic ideas rather than masses of variations, the authors survey White's common responses and explain how to handle attempts to sidestep Black's setup.

Ideal for those wanting to understand the basics of the Modern Benoni. The Modern Benoni is one of Black's most ambitious and audacious defenses to the queen's pawn opening, and it has been used with devastating effect by such legends as Mikhail Tal, Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov. From the very start Black creates an exceptional imbalance in the position, one which leads to dynamic play and gives Black real chances to seize the initiative. Both players must be fearless in their approach, as hesitation in the Modern Benoni often leads to disaster! In this user-friendly book, International Master Endre Vegh goes back to basics, studying the fundamental principles of the Modern Benoni and its many variations. Throughout the book there are an abundance of notes, tips, warnings and exercises to help the improving player, while key strategies, ideas and tactics for both sides are clearly illustrated. *User-friendly design to help readers absorb ideas *Concentrates on the key principles of the Modern Benoni *Ideal for the improving player

Chess Explained is a new series of books about chess openings. They are not theoretical works in the traditional sense, but more a series of lessons from a chess expert with extensive over-the-board experience with an opening. You will gain an understanding of the opening and the middlegames to which it leads, enabling you to find the right moves and plans in your own games. It is as if you were sitting at the board with a chess coach answering your questions about the plans for both sides, the ideas behind particular moves, and what specific knowledge you need to have. * 25 recent and highly instructive games discussed in detail * Chapter introductions and conclusions emphasize the key points * Full indexes of games and variations * Extensive verbal explanations of plans and manoeuvres The Modern Benoni is a perennial favourite among players looking to create winning chances with Black. It is one of the few openings where White has no easy way to force drawish simplifications or deny Black any dynamic counterplay. Both players need to understand the imbalances in the position and pursue their plans with great vigour. In this book Franco shows how Black can seek to create the kind of mayhem that has attracted champions such as Tal, Kasparov and Topalov to the Benoni, and also demonstrates how White can seek either to put a positional clamp on the game, or else to storm Black's position before his development is complete. A special section deals with the vital question of move-orders.

If you want to improve at chess, you must know the characteristics of typical pawn formations. Understanding the pawn structure is a key tool when you are evaluating a position on the board. One simple pawn move can ruin your position or win the game. Post-beginners should know the basic essentials of chess structures and that is what this modern training manual focuses on. Experienced chess teacher Grandmaster Jörg Hickl helps you to recognize the important characteristics of pawn structures, learn how you can and should develop your pieces, identify how you can improve your position and develop a plan of action. This book provides common sense guidance and Jörg Hickl uses practical examples to explain typical structures, strategies and plans. His tips and exercises are both highly enjoyable and to the point.

"All beginnings are difficult" is an old saying, and this is true as well from my review of this book. I am reminded of the story where an elderly woman says to her surgeon, "Doctor, I am so afraid as this is my first operation." The doctor winks and says, "Don't worry it will be my first operation as well!" So you and I have this book in front of us as the surgery and the work of my young friend and former student IM Armin Juhász is the surgeon. I remember vividly the founding of Géza Maróczy Chess School in Budapest in 2006. The School was especially successful during its first years. Following the examples of such outstanding Hungarian players as László Szabó, Gedeon Barcza or Géza Maróczy himself, a number of excellent young players including Benjamin Gledura and Richard Rapport (currently ranked 13th in the world) have debuted their talents at the school. It was also at the Maróczy school where Ármin Juhász studied as well. Was it easy for these students? Was it easy for us coaches? I think the answer is a clear yes. We had the privilege to invite as guest lecturers such internationally known Hungarian chess greats as Pál Benkő, Lajos Portisch, Zoltán Ribli, Gyula Sax, István Csom, (members of the gold medalist team at the 1978 Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires), and JuditPolgár, Zsuzsa Polgár, Zsuzsa Verőci and Mária Ivánka. Our young students had the opportunity to learn chess from no lesser names than these. And yes, IM ÁrminJuhász, who became the youngest FIDE Trainer in Europe in 2018, was among these students. In his first book (we anticipate many more), the young Hungarian author makes a worthy attempt to walk his readers through a complete 1.d4 opening repertoire. Yet while he is taking you thru the opening he never forgets the other phases of the game. As a result, the subsequent middlegame and endgame elements are remarkably well organized benefitting both beginner and advanced players to acquire powerful skills with 1.d4. In addition, Ármin pays adequate attention to those tactical motifs that are quite significant in the dynamic games of many contemporary players. Clearly he keeps in mind the German master Richard Teichmann's observation that "Chess is 99% tactics". This complex book follows a clear structure with a large number of games and positions from outstanding players and various historical eras. Then he spices all this up in the analyses sections with tricks and insights mainly associated with the so-called Hungarian chess school tradition. I heartily recommend this book not only to those who are eager to boost their ELO rating (Did you know that Dr. Árpád Élő was an American professor of Hungarian birth?) but also to coaching colleagues (including my fellow GMs), because 1.d4! The Chess Bible is an excellent source of great examples and useful drills. I will certainly use it in my own coaching practice. Lastly, please be aware that the author comes from a dedicated chess family. His older brother, IM Kristóf Juhász is 27 and achieved his first GM norm in 2020, the year of the pandemic. His younger brother FM Ágoston Juhász (aged 15) was a U14 National Champion. See you at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest in 2024! József Horváth Grand Master and FIDE Senior Trainer Budapest, January 2021

Mauricio Flores Rios provides an in-depth study of the 28 most common structures in chess practice. In Chess Structures - A Grandmaster Guide you will find:*Carefully selected model games showing each structure's main plans and ideas*Strategic patterns to observe and typical pitfalls to avoid*50 positional exercises with detailed solutionsGM Axel Bachmann from the Foreword:"Chess Structures - A Grandmaster Guide is an excellent selection of model games. By studying the 140 games and fragments in this book, the reader will learn many of the most important plans, patterns and ideas in chess."

An easy-to-understand guide to chess strategy -- conceptual planning -- has always been the amateur's dream. This book makes that dream a reality. This comprehensive guide in dictionary form, the first of its kind, makes all aspects of chess strategy quick, easy, and painlessly accessible to players of all degrees of strength. Each strategic concept is listed alphabetically and followed by a clear, easy-to-absorb explanation accompanied by examples of how this strategy is used in practice. Such great World Champions as Steinitz, Capablanca, Petrosian, Fischer, and Karpov have used these strategies in virtually all of their games. Now you can arm yourself with their weapons. As you incorporate these weapons into your own play, they will enrich your appreciation of the game and lead you to one beautiful victory after another.