I am cleaning my house and below are some of the quality chess stuff I have
to offer. I only have one of each of the packages listed. First
come - first get. If you pay and the package is gone - your money will be
promptly refunded. Insured shipping in US. International orders - I suggest to contact me before paying
for the shipping / insurance options and cost. If you order any of the packages
- you can purchase my Chess Exam (2004) book for $19.95
and/or my Chess Exam 2 (2007) for $19.95 and free shipping. The pictures
should reasonably accurately match the text. The text is what you are really
paying for, but you might get more, certainly not less. Any problems - we will
resolve!
Your opponent's King is more vulnerable to attack while it remains in the
center of the board, hence the early castling to remove the King to a safer
position. But conditions during the early moves often precludes castling, and
proper early development of one's pieces can provide the strength to take
advantage of the weaker King position. Here are 141 games illustrating attacks
against such a King, with numerous diagrams to assist in following the attacking
moves. The notes clearly explain the flow of the attack for the developing
player. The author emphasizes the message to enjoy yourself! A quick attack
against the opponent's King is a source of constant enjoyment, and here are the
ways to accomplish this.
On the chessboard, an open line, a file or a diagonal, means an opportunity
to attack. If a king stands on, or close to, that line then the opportunity is
greater because the attack will be stronger.
Every game begins with the kings in the centre where they are most likely to
be exposed to attack by the opening of files and diagonals. The first few moves
of every game decide whether the king will be able to castle into relative
safety or stand, and perhaps die, in the centre of the board.
Yet during those first few moves, the players have many other things to
consider apart from the safety of their kings. They must establish a position in
the critical central part of the board and they must bring into play as many of
their forces as possible, in preparation for the future, whether that be attack
or defense, or both. The games and positions in this book are arranged according
to the direction from which the king is attacked. In this way, types of attack
can most easily be seen. In the notes to the examples, you will find the most
important aspect constantly referred to - the development of the pieces.
This is the real theme of the openings in chess. You cannot attack or defend
without having your forces in play, so the opening is a competition in which you
should seek to achieve more, or better, development. That is the real message of
this book.
The other message is - enjoy yourself! The surprise attacks, the cavalier way
in which pieces can be thrown away, the impossible positions you can put an
opponent into and the way you can chase him down, are all part of playing the
game, once you have established a superior position.
Tony Gillam, Nottingham, England
===================================
The middle game has tended to be the most difficult subject for authors to
define for the chess student. Yet, for this reason the chess player needing to
improve his or her game needs the greatest assistance, not in trying to memorize
some set of "rules" which have more exceptions than uses, but in
understanding and developing confidence in recognizing strategic themes which
win games. This is the first book to approach the Middlegame from how to use the
King as a useful and powerful tool, rather than simply putting it in as safe a
place as possible and forgetting about it. Grandmaster Mednis has provided a
multitude of game examples, clearly illustrating key concepts. There are 129
diagrams to assist the reader. This book will certainly serve as a guide to
improving your game. Mednis has a well deserved reputation as a reliable
teacher, and this book will only enhance that reputation.
005 Preface
009 Chapter 1: The Contained King
019 Chapter 2: King Moves to Prepare
for Action
055 Chapter 3: King Moves to Mark
Time
060 Chapter 4: To Be or Not to Be
Afraid
069 Chapter 5: King Moves to Prevent
Threats
077 Chapter 6: Performing Various
Defensive Tasks
100 Chapter 7: Active in Defense
107 Chapter 8: The King in the Open
130 Chapter 9: The King on a Forced
Flight
138 Chapter 10: The Aggressive King
159 Chapter 11: Erroneous King
Activity
166 Chapter 12: Voluntary King
Repositioning
174 Chapter 13: Correct/Incorrect
King Moves
================================================
Nothing Like It In Chess Opening
Literature!
If you want to score a lot of points
when playing chess against good opponents you'll have to know how to play the
opening well any books have been written to convey this concept and, with few
exceptions, using them has often been unsatisfying and sheer drudgery often with
old examples and writing lacking any great inspiration, direction, or
usefulness.
Welcome to Grandmaster Secrets:
Openings by NY Grandmaster and well-known chess author, Andrew Soltis. The
"safe" not only contains the pearls of chess rewards (money, trophies,
and chess antiquities), but also the pearls of wisdom, subjects seldom or never
touched upon in those venerable tomes of chess "education."
Using a Socratic teacher-student
approach in the characters of GM Noah Tall, and Pat Sayre, the topic of this
aspect of chess centers around the subjects of materialism, give and take,
myths, difficulties, picking and choosing, rules, decisions, de-booking, and
many more - dealt with from a veteran chess grandmaster's perspective.
An illustrative way is used so that
everyone can grasp the concepts quickly; to improve in a shorter amount of time.
Charts, graphics, and modern games in algebraic notation will add to your
enjoyment and a faster learning of the preliminary phase of chess. Volume 1 was
Grandmaster Secrets: Endgames.
The opening phase is the easiest part
of the game to play-if all you want to do is get to the Middlegame.
It's easy because it's the one part
of a game in which you can rely on someone else's ideas, if not their exact
moves.
Secondly, it's the one phase that you
can learn and immediately apply what you've studied.
If you spend a weekend on the
rudiments of the French Defense, for example, you can put them to work the next
time someone opens 1. e4.
In contrast, if you study the
minority attack, or a tactic such as smothered mate, it may take dozens of games
before you can use what you've learned.
And that's not surprising when you
look at the literature these days. I wonder how any amateur can make sense of
the endless analysis, dumbed-down generalizations and just plain bad writing of
opening books. Chess players love to learn-but they hate being taught,
especially if it's done that way.
