Pervakov/Dvoretsky - Studies for Practical Players book 2 (Improving Important Endgame Concepts

L'éditeur Praxéo qui s'est spécialisé dans l'édition de livres d'initiation et de perfectionnement des jeux de stratégie asiatiques notamment, nous propose un nouvel opus sur le jeu de go, L'Usage de la Force,  voici ci-dessous, le message de l'auteur Motoki Noguchi, 7-dan et quintuple champion de France

Le message de l'auteur

La force, essence du go, critère absolu de direction de jeu, révélée et déclinée par deux proverbes connus de tous : « Un coup urgent avant un gros coup » et « Jouer loin de la force ».

Dans ce cinquième opus, nous faisons de nouveau appel à Sensei et Ludo qui vous ont accompagnés dans Le langage des pierres et Tsumego. Ludo a progressé, il est motivé, il joue en club et en ligne. Malheureusement, son niveau stagne. Il faut dire que Ludo a des tas d’occupations, et pas assez de temps à consacrer au go pour affiner son jeu. Au Japon, on dirait que Ludo est un « gros paresseux » !

Pendant vingt ans de pédagogie en France, j’ai rencontré beaucoup de Ludo. C’est pourquoi je relève le défi de vous donner les clés pour développer un style simple et efficace.

Version française d'un ouvrage déjà présenté en anglais. Rappelons qu'il s'agit d'un manuel sur les finales élémentaires destiné principalement à ceux qui n'ont jamais étudié le sujet (l'auteur part du b-a-ba) et qui se singularise par son approche didactique : plutôt que le traditionnel plan-par-matériel (finales de pions, de tours, etc.), le MI américain a préféré une approche par niveau : finales pour débutants (le b-a-ba évoqué plus haut), joueurs moyens, confirmés, maîtres, par tranches (approximatives, forcément) de 200 points elo. Très progressif donc, le livre peut être recommandé à tous ceux qui débutent dans ce domaine - mais que les joueurs plus confirmés sachent qu'ils ne trouveront pas forcément beaucoup de matériel inconnu à se mettre sous le dent...

This 1,000-piece puzzle is part of a collection featuring major European cities, in this case Brussels, the capital of Europe, and its grand square, reputed to be "the most beautiful square in the world" (dixit Victor Hugo). You'll be able to recreate the Town Hall. Dimensions 49 x 68 cm.

Magnetische stickers moeten worden geplakt op elk steen. 

This second-volume workbook in Davorin Kuljasevic's How to Study Chess on Your Own series is optimized for chess players with an Elo rating between 1500 and 1800 but is helpful for anyone between 1200 and 2000.  The astounding success of his How to Study Chess on Your Own made clear that thousands of chess players want to improve their game and like to work on their training at least partially by themselves. 199 pages

It is not really in doubt that Bobby Fischer is one of the greatest (if not the greatest) chess players of all-time. His name is one that it is recognized immediately by almost anyone with even a passing interest in chess. His numerous brilliant games are very well known and have been seen in numerous anthologies.

However, Fischer also played many games that have generally escaped public attention. These include early games before he was well known, simultaneous games, blitz games as well as many classical games that have simply fallen under the radar. There is also a match of ten games played against Svetozar Gligoric in Sveti Stefan before his famous “re-match” with Boris Spassky.

Prolific author Cyrus Lakdawala has tracked down many of these games. They provide fresh material for die hard Fischer fans and provide numerous examples of Fischer’s extraordinary chess talent. Thanks to his remarkable ability to find clear cut plans and strategies in any position, Fischer somehow managed to make chess look easy. This is a very instructive anthology.   384 pages

The seconds tick down relentlessly toward zero just as your game approaches the critical stage. Your higher-rated opponent is putting your game under severe pressure, so extreme accuracy is needed to hang tough and avoid falling into a losing position. What do you do now – should you exchange pieces to relieve the pressure, lash out with a sacrifice, probe for weaknesses in the opponent's camp, or maybe just give up and get a lesson on how to bring the point home?

The answer is… none of these! At such do-or-die moments, says Steve Hrop, the first thing to do is to sit on your hands and take a few deep breaths. In Defending Under Pressure and Managing Your Emotions at the Chessboard, the author uses critical moments from his own tournament games (most of them against players rated above 2200) to describe the difficulties of thinking straight when the enemy is at the gates, and then outlines methods and techniques to clear your head, evaluate the position, and find your way to the best move. Techniques include how to avoid redundant pieces that critically limit your mobility; when visualization is more important than calculation: and “freeze-framing” positions to eliminate blunders.

Save the draw – or turn a looming defeat into an astonishing victory – with the tips in this practical training manual! 236 pages