Boite à secret : Heart

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

In Joseki Revolution, Shibano focuses on local exchanges, in contrast to the predominantly whole-board focus on fuseki strategy of his previous book, Fuseki Revolution. Even so, Shibano's analysis always maintains a global view, as the basic nature of go is such that without whole-board judgement, there is no local judgement. Even when you are evaluating a joseki in a corner, a whole-board viewpoint is always essential.

Of particular interest in Joseki Revolution is his treatment of the taisha, the avalanche, and the magic-sword josekis. Shibano shows how, thanks to AI, these extremely complicated josekis have been "swamped in a wave of simplification."

In Chapter 3 Shibano discusses the merits and demerits of the four corner enclosures based on the 3-4 point. He investigates the reason why the small-knight enclosure has declined in popularity and why the previously shunned two-space enclosure has become so popular.

The book consists of 35 themes divided into four chapters as follows:

Chapter 1. Changes in basic josekis

Chapter 2. The transformation in opening strategies

Chapter 3. Up-to-date information about corner structures

Chapter 4. Looking at the most up-to-date josekis

In an appendix, Shibano examines some unconventional moyo-oriented fuseki strategies and gives some advice on how to handle these large-scale moyos. The appendix also contains a section on the revival of the high Chinese Opening and explains why this opening strategy is strategically sound.

I sincerely hope that you, dear readers, will enjoy the wonderful masterpieces you will find in this book. In addition to the authors, some of Drasko’s contemporaries were also involved in the writing, and they immediately responded with pride and love to the request to keep the memory of the Serbian genius alive. I would like to thank all those who participated in this project.

To the Grandmasters who wrote down their own memories of Drasko Velimirovic, which you will find in this book in special ”boxes”. To the contemporaries, friends, and comrades-in-arms of ”Boss” who remember this or that anecdote, this or that event, this or that memory.

This second volume covers Drasko’s life and chess from 1976 until 2011. 380 pages

Superbe coffret chinois en bois et tuiles en os et bambou à l'aspect vieilli.

Grote tuinschaakstukken (groote van de koning: 62cm). De schaakstukken zijn scheidbaar in verschillende onderdelen, waardoor ze makkelijk opbergbaar zijn en ballast mogelijk is voor het gewenste gewicht.

Plus copieux (largement), plus dactualité (relativement) et plus échiquéen (évidemment), ce volumineux pavé vous fera revivre les trois matches de (ahem) championnat du monde disputés par Kramnik entre 2000 et 2006 : linoubliable (contre Kasparov), le crispant (contre Leko) et le regrettable (contre Topalov). Que voulez-vous, passer de Londres à Elista, cest forcément une régression Aux manettes, Evgeny Bareev, qui en plus de son standing était le secondant de Vlad lors des deux premiers affrontements.

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...

Do you want to do the same chess homework that world-famous grandmasters Fabiano Caruana, Robert Hess and Peter Heine Nielsen did in their formative years as chess players? This book will test you with hundreds of positions created by their coach Miron Sher (1952-2020). Just like Fabiano, Robert and Peter, you are not supposed to stop after the first move. You have to find the last move of the solution!

Miron Sher is one of those legendary coaches who got their chess education in the Soviet Union and in later years spread their knowledge in Western Europe and the United States. He was born in Ukraine, studied in Moscow, coached the Russian national team and emigrated to New York in 1997. There he taught at various schools and worked privately with dozens of students.

Dream Moves focuses on five themes that Sher considered important for chess improvement.

•     An unprotected piece – the trigger to start thinking tactics!
•     In-between moves – they help you spring a surprise on your opponent
•     Open files – a fundamental element of chess strategy
•     The 20% Rule – if your pawn has advanced to the 5th or 6th rank, moving it forward is quite often your best option
•     Dream Move – dream about the final, decisive move, and you will find the way there

The book contains close to one hundred illustrated games and more than three hundred puzzles. Do as the legends did - and use these puzzles to sharpen your tactical skills and improve your understanding of chess.

Miron Sher (1952-2020) is chess grandmaster and legendary coach. He was born in Ukraine, won a dozen international tournaments as a player, and became famous as a trainer in the United States where he lived since 1997. In New York he taught chess at multiple schools, including the Dalton School, IS 318 and Stuyvesant High School. He worked privately with dozens of students such as Fabiano Caruana, Robert Hess and Peter Heine Nielsen. 304 pages