Collins - King's Indian Defence: Move by Move

 This set of  pieces in acaciawood have a slightly raised base which creates the impression of 'floating' on the chess board.A truly classic looking Staunton influenced chess piece collection that does not compromise on quality. Size of king is 8,2 cm. Wel weighted and felted. We propose a classical walnut chessboard of 45 cm for this set of pieces.

Both the king and queen have wide bases meaning the whole set is comfortable only on chess boards of at least 21 inches. The deep red of the dark pieces complements playing surfaces made from woods of similar hues. The black and white knights are without doubt the most striking pieces on the board. The detailed bridle gives each horse a restrained appearance; well trained and ready for battle. These chessmen take more than two months to make, and it is of no great surprise that the knight takes the longest to carve.

• Maltese influence on a traditional design.
• Beautifully detailed knight.
• 4.5 inch king.
• 2 extra queens for pawn promotion.
• Heavily weighted for balance.
• Bases lined with billiard cloth.
• Perfect on a 21 inch board.

Rook endgames are the most frequently recurring endgames and also one of the most exciting areas of chess, with mind bending tactical opportunities and dizzying nuances available. They have unsurprisingly been a big topic in endgame literature, with a heavy focus on the set theoretical positions and their logic and fixed conclusions (see the excellent Theoretical Rook Endgames by GM Sam Shankland, published as a sister volume to this book as the peak example of this).

Conceptual Rook Endgames goes in a different direction. Focused on two dozen major concepts, the book explains the mechanisms of rook endgames in a novel way, by building foundations with simple examples, which can be seen in the most complicated examples as well. Rook endgames will remain rich and surprising, as they are for the greats, but armed with this book, your comprehension of them will skyrocket.

Grandmaster Jacob Aagaard is the most talented chess writer of his generation. He won the British Championship in 2007, but is mostly known for his multi-award winning books and his work with students that have won club, country, state, national, continental and world championships, as well as Olympiad golds (board and overall), the World Cup and Candidates tournament. Hardcover. 416 p.

La taille a diminué d'un quart, mais le prix est hélas resté le même... Ce troisième tome est l'occasion de redécouvrir les deux joueurs sans doute les plus sous-estimés de l'histoire des échecs. Parce qu'il ont eu le malheur de régner quand le monde des échecs n'avait d'yeux que pour le ludion Fischer, et parce que leur style était pour l'un difficile à comprendre et pour l'autre difficile à caractériser, Petrosian et Spassky ont parfois été considérés comme des champions au rabais. Leur palmarès et leur valeur méritent pourtant mieux que ce jugement hâtif, et ce volume devrait contribuer à remettre quelque peu les pendules à l'heure - quelque peu seulement, la sélection de parties étant un peu courte pour illustrer d'aussi longues carrières (souvenons-nous que Petrosian fut présent dans les Tournois des Candidats durant 27 ans...). Au passage, on retrouve aussi quelques comparses doués : Portisch, le malchanceux Leonid Stein et, plus étrangement (car ses meilleurs résultats datent de l'ère Karpov), Lev Polougaevsky. Quand au style du livre, inutile d'y revenir : vous commencez à connaître le produit. Rendez-vous sous peu pour un sujet beaucoup plus rebattu : Bobby Fischer...