Timothy Taylor takes a contemporary look at one of Black's most ambitious counters to 1 e4, the Alekhine Defence. He constructs a practical repertoire for Black, ideal for the modern-day player.

Alekhine Defense is a bold choice for Black, challenging the classical chess rules from the very beginning of the game yet proving itself to be a flexible system. Black can choose to head for mind-boggling complications or carefully manoeuvre within the 6th to 8th ranks, waiting for the right time to strike out at the center. Although once a favorite of Bobby Fischer and occasionally played by Magnus Carlsen, the lack of Alekhine Defense games at the level of elite Grandmasters today means that many lines and ideas remain untested in practice. As a result, this opening leads to lively, often open positions with chances for both sides. With l...Nf6 Black signals that he is playing to win.This book, consisting of 16 parts and 87 chapters, not only covers the traditional Alekhine lines but also takes a comprehensive look at variations rooted firmly in the 21st century. Moreover, thanks to the use of modern technology and the authors' deep analysis the evaluations of many well-known lines have been revised. The authors have strived to write a lively work which is useful for both players with high ELO ratings and club players.

The Alekhine is arguably the most forcing and aggressive reply to 1 e4. Black immediately forces the pace and drags the game onto his own favoured territory. This strategy is not without risk, but those who specialize in the Alekhine find that the opening has a real practical sting and quick-strike potential. This book describes the main positional and tactical themes unique to the Alekhine, and the principal directions of play in modern practice. The coverage is even-handed, and there are abundant ideas presented to both sides, including ways for White to seek to consolidate his space advantage, or else to try to blast Black off the board. The author, Valentin Bogdanov, has a wealth of experience with the Alekhine, having played it over the course of more than three decades. Moreover, he was active in Odessa chess at the time when the Alekhine was extensively developed by a group of players including GM Semion Palatnik and three-time US Champion Lev Alburt. Thus he provides us not only with the benefit of his own accumulated wisdom, but also with insights gleaned from work with some of the greatest Alekhine devotees of all time.

The number of hours you can spend on opening preparation is endless. Books, videos and databases offer hundreds of ever-widening variations. But how do you find your way through this labyrinth? Where do you start? And, maybe even more importantly: where do you stop? International Master Jeroen Bosch provides a solution to those answers. He presents a structured approach to the study of openings and the preparation for a club match or a tournament game. Every time-strapped chess improver will love Bosch’s approach: instead of studying more hours or memorizing more lines he advises you to start making smart choices. The goal is not to reach a slight advantage in every possible line. The goal is to dictate what will happen on the board. You want to get a position you understand and are happy to play, and make your opponent feel uncomfortable. Jeroen Bosch provides you with all the tools you need to dominate the opening phase of the game: how to use move order and how to use tactics. He explains when to play a main line, when to come up with an opening surprise, or when to risk a gambit. And much, much more.

Everything you need to know to defend against White's most popular and dangerous opening: 1. e4.

This guide to learning, playing and winning with Alekhine's Defence is designed to be of interest to the chess player at all levels. Alekhine's Defence is one of the most provocative openings at Black's disposal and has always been popular with uncompromising players, such as Alexander Alekhine himself and Bobby Fischer, both former World Champions. In this up-to-date book the principles of play for both sides are explained via complete illustrative games. These provide the reader with a concise means of understanding practical ideas alongside essential theoretical knowledge of the critical main lines.

THE WORLD CHESS CHAMPION SERIES The fourth title in the popular World Chess Champion Series is about the enigmatic Alexander Alekhine. Tracing the Russian-born champion from his youth in Russia, through his assault on the chess Olympus and beyond, this books paints a fresh portrait of the player who was one of the most spectacular tacticians ever to play the game. The authors do not shy from confronting some of the less savory aspects of Alekhine’s life. They stick to the facts and present the issues surrounding the fourth world champion. “This book clears up some of the mysteries of Alekhine and provides some wonderful details...There are so many intriguing aspects to Alekhine’s life that it’s easy to forget how much he dominated the chess world...The Linders capture quite well the drama of Alekhine’s world championship matches with José Capablanca and Max Euwe. Even the blowouts against Efim Bogoljubow are well-described. Alekhine was the most peripatetic of champions, and this book details many of his travels and simul tours.” – Andy Soltis in his Foreword.

A winning streak in chess, says Cyrus Lakdawala, is a lot more than just the sum of its games. In this book he examines what it means when everything clicks, when champions become unstoppable and demolish opponents. What does it mean to be ‘in the zone’? What causes these sweeps, what sparks them and what keeps them going? And why did they come to an end? Lakdawala takes you on a trip through chess history looking at peak performances of some of the greatest players who ever lived: Morphy, Steinitz, Pillsbury, Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, Botvinnik, Fischer, Tal, Kasparov, Karpov, Caruana and Carlsen. They all had very different playing styles, yet at a certain point in their rich careers they all entered the zone and simply wiped out the best players in the world. In the Zone explains the games of the greatest players during their greatest triumphs. As you study and enjoy these immortal performances you will improve your ability to overpower your opponents. You will understand how great moves originate and you will be inspired to become more productive and creative. In the Zone may bring you closer to that special place yourself: the zone.

This book covers three offbeat but nevertheless important defences to these ancient opening

Alexander Alekhine was a two-time World Chess Champion and is widely regarded to be one of the greatest chess players of all time. During his best years he dominated tournaments, and in 1927 he defeated his great rival José Raúl Capablanca to win the world title. Alekhine was renowned both for his fierce competitive nature and his dazzling combinative play. He had a phenomenal ability to unleash combinations even from seemingly harmless positions, and he is undeniably one of the best attackers the game has ever seen. In this book, FIDE Master Steve Giddins invites you to join him in a study of his favourite Alekhine games, and shows us how we can all learn and improve our chess by examining Alekhine’s masterpieces. Move by Move provides an ideal platform to study chess. By continually challenging the reader to answer probing questions throughout the book, the Move by Move format greatly encourages the learning and practising of vital skills just as much as the traditional assimilation of knowledge. Carefully selected questions and answers are designed to keep you actively involved and allow you to monitor your progress as you learn. This is an excellent way to improve your chess skills and knowledge. Learn from the games of a chess legendImportant ideas absorbed by continued practiceUtilizes an ideal approach to chess study