Harding - Steinitz in London - A Chess Biography with 623 games

The Oak tree is one of the most loved trees in the world, and with good reason. It's a symbol of strength, morale, resistance and knowledge. The playing field is a combination of beautiful oak with walnut & red color points.  This backgammon board with Side Racks is available in 2 sizes.

This backgammon is handcrafted with the art of marquetry (also spelled as marqueterie) which is the art and craft of applying pieces of veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns and designs. Our skillful staff use this method in order to create the interior design of the backgammon.  Dimensions : 48 x 30 cm

Dit houten schaakspel heeft een klassiek design en is zeer aantrekkelijk geprijsd. Het formaat is aangepast aan de afmetingen die in de competitie worden gebruikt, d.w.z. voor schaakborden van 50 cm met vierkantjes van 50-55 mm. De stukken zijn verzwaard voor een optimale grip.  

Geleverd met twee extra dames.

afmetingen van de koning 95 mm  -  diam. 32 mm

Op deze speciale schaakborden staan de zwarte velden hoger dan de witte velden zodat een blinde schaker het verschil tussen de velden duidelijk kan voelen.

De zwarte schaakstukken zijn ook aangepast. Deze hebben namelijk een ijzeren pinnetje op hun kop zodat de blinde schaker de zwarte stukken gemakkelijker kan herkennen. De witte schaakstukken krijgen uiteraard geen ijzeren pinnetje op hun kop zodat de schaker het verschil gemakkelijk kan herkennen.

Het bord en de stukken hebben een pen-en-gat constructie om ervoor te zorgen dat de stukken niet omvallen wanneer de schaker deze betast.

The Benoni is a chess opening that offers Black excellent chances to play for a win. One of the main reasons for this is that it creates unbalanced positions from the very beginning, which favors the player with a better understanding of the nuances of the position. The Benoni involves Black placing their pawns on d6 and c5, and then fianchettoing their dark-squared bishop on g7. This setup creates a solid pawn structure and puts pressure on White’s center, making it difficult for them to launch a direct attack, while simultaneously threatening the c3 knight and the b2 pawn.

The Benoni is a chess opening that originated in the 19th century, but it wasn’t until the mid-20th century that it gained widespread popularity. The Benoni was initially viewed as somewhat dubious, as it allowed White to gain a strong pawn center with moves like d5 and e4. However, in the 20th century, players such as Mikhail Tal and Robert Fischer began to experiment with the Benoni and achieve success with it. They demonstrated that the opening could create dynamic and unbalanced positions that favored Black’s attacking chances. Over the years, the Benoni has gone through many variations and refinements as players on both sides have sought to find the best way to play against it. Despite this, the opening remains a popular and viable option for Black, offering excellent chances to play for a win in the right hands.

As a player, Ivanišević has had many successful games with the Benoni, including wins against many top-ranked players. He is known for his aggressive and dynamic style of play, which is well-suited to the Benoni’s unbalanced and tactical positions. He has been playing Benoni for more than ten years in both classical and rapid chess formats.

The book ”Benoni“ is an invaluable resource for anyone looking to master this exciting and challenging opening. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced player, this book is sure to help you improve your game and achieve better results. The book covers all the key variations of the Benoni and provides readers with a deep understanding of the opening’s strategic and tactical ideas. Ivanišević’s extensive experience and expertise with the opening are evident in the book, which is full of practical tips, annotated games, and detailed analysis. 295 pages

Konstantinopolsky - Obsession : A Chess Biography of Vsevolod Rauzer. Vsevolod Rauzer, born in Kiev in 1908, was one of the world’s leading chess opening theoreticians and thinkers in the 1930s. As a player, he was an uncompromising attacker, trying to avoid draws as well as to prove that 1.e4 wins by force. According to Mikhail Botvinnik, “His opening research…with linked middlegame plans, gives us every reason to place V. Rauzer among the founders of the Soviet chess school.”

Awarded the Master of Sport title in 1929, Rauzer’s best tournament performances included joint eighth place in the 1931 Soviet Championship, sixth in 1933 and eighth in 1937. According to Chessmetrics, he was ranked in the world’s top 30 for several years.
He made big contributions to theory in the Sicilian, French and Caro-Kann defenses among others. The book’s introductory articles contain deep dives into Rauzer’s opening laboratory and shed light on the historical development of key variations.

The present work contains 96 games, nearly all of them played by Rauzer. Opponents include Botvinnik, Fine, Levenfish, Lilienthal, Romanovsky, the author and other leading pre-War Soviet players. Many games come with Rauzer’s own annotations together with analysis by Konstantinopolsky, Botvinnik, Levenfish and others. The commentary has been updated by International Master Grigory Bogdanovich using the latest engines. Ultimately, Rauzer’s story was a sad one. Chess, and especially opening analysis, was an obsession for him: he once told Panov: “Unfortunately, I just can’t make myself work on theory of the game for more than 16 hours a day! My head can’t endure more.” This obsession eventually drove him mentally ill and he spent much of his final period in care. Vsevolod Rauzer lived largely in poverty and tragically died in the Siege of Leningrad. 237 pages