Wilhelm Steinitz was the first undisputed World Chess Champion, and a true legend of the game. Steinitz played chess in precisely the same highly innovative, risk-taking, hard-hitting, yet thoroughly concrete way as any modern great. Allied to his near-nerveless will-to-win and attacking flair, his exceptional ability to evaluate positions, develop masterful plans and manoeuvre for advantage created numerous games of long-lasting, insightful brilliance. In this book, Craig Pritchett leads you through an unforgettable learning experience that builds on the extraordinary life and games of one of the greatest players in chess history, many of whose most profound discoveries remain at the very heart of the game in the 21st century. 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

The Brilliant Originality of Steinitz More than 125 years ago, one of the first great chess books appeared. The Modern Chess Instructor, Part I, written by then world champion Wilhelm Steinitz, was released in 1889. It was his magnum opus, setting forth for the first time the principles of modern chess. It is no exaggeration to say that Steinitz’s writings have influenced every great player since. As American grandmaster Andy Soltis notes in his foreword to this classic: The bulk of The Modern Chess Instructor is devoted to opening analysis and annotated games that illustrate the analysis. But it is filled with original Steinitz ideas. This may be why Bobby Fischer was his greatest 20th century fan. Fischer was always looking for forgotten opening moves. In MCI and Steinitz’s International Chess Magazine he found some that he later revived in tournaments, such as 9.Nh3 in the main line of the Two Knights Defense and 5.Qe2 in the Petroff (after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 exd4 4.e5 Ne4). Of course, the opening analysis of MCI is dated and the openings are out of fashion. But unpopular openings are not necessarily bad openings. Ask Magnus Carlsen. When he played 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0-0 against Sergey Karjakin in 2016 title match, it was the first time these moves had appeared in more than a century of world championship games. This 21st century edition has converted the archaic English descriptive notation to algebraic and reformatted the text so that it conforms to the expectations of the 21st century chessplayer. The Modern Chess Instructor’s rare second part, published in 1895, has also been added. The result is a genuine treasure trove of original ideas coupled with exposition of the foundation of modern chess theory. Every chessplayer will find The Modern Chess Instructor enjoyable and instructive, a journey back to the theoretical roots of modern chess.

Paul Morphy is a chess legend and without doubt one of the greatest players in the history of the game. His understanding of the game was years ahead of his time and in his era he was easily the best player in the world. His chess career was brief but brilliant and he influenced all the great champions who came after him. His legacy includes a treasure trove of wonderful strategic and attacking games which are highly instructive for all aspiring chess players. In this book, Grandmaster Zenón Franco examines in detail Morphy’s chess style, selects and studies his favourite Morphy games, and demonstrates how we can all improve our chess by learning from Morphy’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 legend Important ideas absorbed by continued practice *Utilizes an ideal approach to chess study

Leonid Stein was a three-time Soviet Chess Champion and one of the World’s strongest players during his career, which was tragically cut short at its peak by his premature death in 1973. Stein was a fierce competitor who defeated virtually all of his closest rivals and enjoyed excellent results even against World Champions. Stein possessed a unique creative attacking style, and his legacy includes a number of wonderful attacking games. In this book, International Master Thomas Engqvist invites readers to join him in a study of his favourite Stein games, and shows how we can all improve by learning from Stein’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.

The way a beginner develops into a strong chess player closely resembles the progress of the game of chess itself. This popular idea is the reason why many renowned chess instructors such as former World Champions Garry Kasparov and Max Euwe, emphasize the importance of studying the history of chess. Willy Hendriks agrees that there is much to be learned from the pioneers of our game. He challenges, however, the conventional view on what the stages in the advancement of chess actually have been. Among the various articles of faith that Hendriks questions is Wilhelm Steinitz's reputation as the discoverer of the laws of positional chess. In The Origin of Good Moves Hendriks undertakes a groundbreaking investigative journey into the history of chess. He explains what actually happened, creates fresh perspectives, finds new heroes, and reveals the real driving force behind improvement in chess: evolution. This thought-provoking book is full of beautiful and instructive ‘new’ material from the old days. With plenty of exercises, the reader is invited to put themselves in the shoes of the old masters. Never before has the study of the history of chess been so entertaining and rewarding.

Lasker was, essentially, a complete chessplayer and his games feel thoroughly modern. Indeed many contemporary elite players (the most obvious one being the current world champion Magnus Carlsen) exhibit a very similar style.

Jose Raul Capablanca is a chess legend, world champion and quite simply one of the greatest players in the history of the game. His achievements and seemingly effortless style of play won many admirers, and his legacy includes a treasure of instructive games. Studying Capablanca's play is a must for any aspiring chess player. For Cyrus Lakdawala, it was a key factor in his chess development and improvement, and in this book he revisits many of his favourite Capablanca games. Lakdawala examines Capablanca's skills in attack, defence, counter-attack, exploiting imbalances, accumulating advantages and, of course, his legendary endgame play. 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.

Every club player knows the problem: the opening has ended, and now what? With this new edition of his award winning book, International Master Herman Grooten presents to amateur players a complete and structured course on how to recognize key characteristics in all types of positions and how to make use of those characteristics to choose the right plan. His teachings are based on the famous “Elements” of Wilhelm Steinitz, but Grooten has significantly expanded and updated the work of the first World Champion. He supplies many modern examples, tested in his own practice as a coach of talented youngsters. In Chess Strategy for Club Players you will learn the basic elements of positional understanding: pawn structure, piece placement, lead in development, open files, weaknesses, space advantage and king safety. You will master the art of converting a temporary plus into other, more permanent advantages. The author also explains what to do when, in a given position, the basic principles seem to point in different directions. Each chapter of this fundamental primer ends with a set of highly instructive exercises. This new 3rd edition has, besides various corrections and improvements, a new introduction and a brand-new chapter called ‘Total Control’ with new exercises.

Every chess player knows that some moves are harder to see than others. Why is it that, frequently, uncomplicated wins simply do not enter your mind? Even strong grandmasters suffer from blind spots that obscure some of the best ideas during a game. What is more: often both players fail to see the opportunity that is right in front of their eyes. Neiman and Afek have researched this problem and discovered that there are actually reasons why your brain discards certain ideas. In this book they demonstrate different categories of hard-to-see chess moves and clearly explain the psychological, positional and geometric factors which cloud your brain. Invisible Chess Moves with its many unique examples, instructive explanations and illuminative tests, will teach how to discover your blind spots and see the moves which remain invisible for others. Your results at the board will improve dramatically because your brain will stop blocking winning ideas.