De Macht van het Loperpaar

Sous-titré ' Mastery ', ce qui est à la fois tout et ne rien dire De fait, on trouvera dans ce troisième (et dernier) tome les sujets les plus variés, de la stratégie à la tactique et de l'ouverture à la finale. Comme dans les précédents volumes, le gros intérêt de l'ouvrage réside dans l'abondance du matériel présenté : 12 exercices par chapitre, multipliés par 24 chapitres, cela fait de quoi s'occuper un moment. Profitable, forcément

Instruction + exercises according to the old Soviet chess school Experienced Russian Grandmaster Yakov Neishtadt reveals the training material that was used in Soviet times to build up young masters. In the first part of the book Neishstadt teaches a systematic course on the most important tactical themes. The second part consist of an exam with hundreds of tests from real-life chess, in random order so as not to give unwelcome hints on how to solve them. The solutions are not just lists of moves, but include instructive prose. This edtion has been checked with modern engines.

390 pages

Georgy Lisitsin (1909-72) was a respected Soviet master, theoretician and writer. In 1958 he published a revised edition of his most ambitious work, entitled Strategy and Tactics of Chess, which became one of the most legendary manuals in the Soviet chess school, and no doubt one of the books that motivated the young Bobby Fischer to learn Russian.

Lisitsin broke down Strategy and Tactics into their constituent elements, enabling players of all levels to study chess systematically, learning from carefully selected game fragments and studies. Key Elements of Chess Strategy and its companion volume Key Elements of Chess Tactics are the first ever complete English translations of Lisitsin's classic.

In Key Elements of Chess Strategy, Lisitsin breaks down the Foundations of Strategy into categories such as piece placement, exchanges, weaknesses and prophylaxis, followed by a section on Devising a Strategic Plan, including concepts such as blockading, undermining, the initiative, pawn chains, and planning in the opening.  Hardcover 206 pages

During his long journey as a chess player and coach, GM Axel Smith came to the realization that understanding colour-complex strategies is one of the key differences between strong and weak players. After many years of delivering lectures and training material to his students, Smith produced a Chessable course on the topic, which has been extensively edited and reorganized by Quality Chess to produce this book.

In these pages, the award-winning author breaks down colour complexes into various sub-topics such as blockades, opposite-coloured bishops and exchange sacrifices, with carefully chosen exercises to test and reinforce the reader’s newfound understanding. Use Black & White Magic to improve your chess strength!

GM Axel Smith is the award-winning author of The Woodpecker Method, Pump Up Your Rating, e3 Poison and Street Smart Chess, which were all enthusiastically received by readers and reviewers. Using the Woodpecker as part of his training, as an adult he improved from a rating of 2100 to becoming a Grandmaster. 264 pages

Are you a parent of a junior chess player who feels that because you don’t know how to play chess, you can’t help your child? Or are you an adult or junior chess player who has taken private chess lessons for years, but feels you haven’t been progressing?

In both cases, there can be a lot of reliance on a chess coach who has been given free rein with lesson content and direction. They probably have some sort of plan but it is likely to be a plan used for all their students. This is not ideal. More important is a well-thought out, individualized plan, that focuses on a specific player’s unique strengths and weaknesses. Formulating such a plan is crucial for making improvements.

Victoria Doknjas and her son John Doknjas are an ideal writing partnership to tackle this topic. John is a FIDE Master who has already established himself as an excellent and highly-respected author who understands the improvement process very well. Victoria has over a decade of experience navigating the competitive chess arena with her three master-level sons, including also running her own chess academy. Together they offer a unique and informative insight to those wanting to get more out of their chess studies, as well as presenting practical advice in areas including:

- Identifying important goals and how to work towards them.
- Understanding how to objectively analyse your games.
- Maximising the efficiency of software and engines for learning.

Reading this book can broaden your horizons in the essential areas of chess study, and ideally let you better evaluate what your chess coach is teaching you. And if you don’t have a chess coach, this book will provide you with an excellent foundation for serious chess study. 384 pages