Puzzle 500 pièces - Heure de Thé

Wooden puzzle by Michèle Wilson.

Each puzzle is an authentic and unique work of art.

Peder Mrok Monsted was a Danish painter born in 1859 and died in 1941. He is known for his famous paintings of landscape in a very realistic style. This work is a veritable ode to Mediterranean light. It will allow you to escape and spend pleasant moments in a world of calm and gentleness.

Dimensions : 15 x 11 cm 

The Scotch Game is a solid opening that has been tried and tested in practice by some of the strongest chessplayers in the world for more than two centuries. The idea behind the Scotch Game is simple and easily understandable. White eliminates – in a purely mechanical fashion – Black’s e5-pawn which initially impedes his ambition to dominate in the center.

This is very appealing for White, as he controls the direction of the struggle’s development, while Black can only try to keep pace. Furthermore, there are relatively simple schemes in the white repertoire in which it is enough to remember the main plans of both sides and typical maneuvers.

This is the second edition of Vladimir Barsky’s book that first appeared in 2009. The new edition consists of seven chapters dealing with the core ideas and variations of the Scotch, supplemented by 79 Illustrative Games. The authors not only present detailed analysis of all lines but are also careful to discuss the ideas behind the opening. If you already play the Scotch, you need this book. If you don’t, find out what you have been missing.  224 pages

These Pioneer Staunton style chess pieces is very particular with his knight. The set includes a very respectable 3.75 inch king (10 cm); an elegant & well finished design with unique features such as the grooved collars and a nicely weighted feel. Made from fine graded hardwoods and hand turned and polished, these pieces will provide many years of chess playing satisfaction. This set includes 4 queens.

Do you want a simple and practical method to counter Black’s kingside fianchetto defences after 1 d4? A line that takes the initiative from a very early stage and creates difficult practical problems? If so, then The Harry Attack (1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 h4!) is for you.

At first this looks like some sort of joke or, at the very least, a weird outlandish line. Aren’t we all taught to focus on development and control of the centre in the early stages? What’s 3 h4 got to do with that?

Perhaps surprisingly, this is a very difficult line for Black to counter effectively. This applies not just in practical play but also theoretically, where it is far from straightforward for Black even to find a route to equality. And when Black gets it wrong they are often on the receiving end of a very unpleasant miniature.

You may be thinking that surely the best chess engines can show how to counter this line? No! One of the unexpected features of leading engine play is their enthusiasm for shoving the h-pawn up the board and they fully concur that 3 h4! is a very decent move for White. Many leading players have taken the hint and 3 h4 is frequently seen at elite level.

Richard Palliser and Simon Williams (the GingerGM) provide a thorough guide to this fascinating line. They show how to adapt when Black chooses a King’s Indian set-up, a Grünfeld set-up, a Benoni set-up or even plays in Benko style.

The Harry Attack is easy to learn and is perfect for unsettling players steeped in the theory of their favourite Indian defences.  238 pages

Facile à apprendre, vous serez vite gagnés par la frénésie de Uno, le plus célèbre des jeux de cartes familiaux.

Pour gagner, débarrassez-vous de toutes vos cartes. Utilisez les cartes Action pour pièger vos adversaires. Lorsqu'il ne vous reste plus qu'une seule carte en main, n'oubliez jamais de dire Uno !