"A must for every chess player!"--Anatoly Karpov, 12th World Chess Champion

Shows you how to start your chess games as dynamically and accurately as the greatest grandmasters in the world.

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.

An invaluable guide to how modern chess openings are played. This major new work surveys all chess openings, providing a guide to every critical main line and featuring extensive descriptions of the typical strategies for both sides. These commentaries will be welcomed by all club and tournament players, as they will better help them handle middlegame positions arising from each opening.

Netflix’s most watched limited series to date! The thrilling novel of one young woman’s journey through the worlds of chess and drug addiction.​ When eight-year-old Beth Harmon’s parents are killed in an automobile accident, she’s placed in an orphanage in Mount Sterling, Kentucky. Plain and shy, Beth learns to play chess from the janitor in the basement and discovers she is a prodigy. Though penniless, she is desperate to learn more—and steals a chess magazine and enough money to enter a tournament. Beth also steals some of her foster mother’s tranquilizers to which she is becoming addicted. At thirteen, Beth wins the chess tournament. By the age of sixteen she is competing in the US Open Championship and, like Fast Eddie in The Hustler, she hates to lose. By eighteen she is the US champion—and Russia awaits . . . Fast-paced and elegantly written, The Queen’s Gambit is a thriller masquerading as a chess novel—one that’s sure to keep you on the edge of your seat. “The Queen’s Gambit is sheer entertainment. It is a book I reread every few years—for the pure pleasure and skill of it.” —Michael Ondaatje, Man Booker Prize–winning author of The English Patient

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.

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.

Seven years after his acclaimed and bestselling The Kaufman Repertoire for Black and White, Grandmaster Larry Kaufman is back with his new repertoire book, covering the entire scope of chess openings in one volume. Two important developments made this new book necessary. Larry Kaufman, who routinely himself plays the lines he advocates to others, discovered that after 1.d4 (the recommendation in his previous book) it became nearly impossible to show a consistent advantage for White, especially against the Gruenfeld and the Nimzo/Ragozin defenses. The other factor was that chess engines have become so much stronger in recent years. Komodo, the top chess engine that computer expert Kaufman helped develop, is now able to apply the celebrated Monte Carlo Tree Search algorithm. With Komodo MCTS it is now possible to abandon lines that may be theoretically best against other computers, and instead choose lines that are likely to succeed in actual practice against strong human opponents. Larry Kaufman presents a completely new White repertoire with 1.e4 aiming for an objective advantage in the simplest practical manner. You are presented with two options, while you don't have to play the sharpest lines. The Black repertoire has been thoroughly revised and updated, with some crucial chapters replaced. Kaufman's New Repertoire for Black and White is the first opening book that is primarily based on Monte Carlo search. The highly original analysis has resulted in many improvements on existing theory. This is a ready-to-go and easy-to-digest repertoire with sound, practical lines that do not outdate rapidly and are suitable for masters while accessible for amateurs.

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.

This great beginning book shows players how to confidently start out a chess game with solid near-foolproof openings. Easy-to-read and targeted to novice and new chess players, the oversized format is filled with large diagrams, clear explanations, and ideas and concepts that are easy for new players. Even better, no knowledge of chess notation is required, nor does the reader need to memorize variations. Everything learned becomes common sense and the game becomes fun. Schiller, an ardent teacher of children and beginning players, shows the top ten most important chess openings and teaches readers the importance of focusing on the four clear goals of the opening. This book makes us want to learn chess all over again! 160 pages