I am an amateur player (I would estimate my rating to be somewhere around 1800-1900) who like many players started off with 1 e4 as White, but I have been playing 1 c4 for quite a while now. I have had this book for a couple of years and didn't use it much, until recently when I decided I would like to try out more direct openings with White and got it out to see if 1 e4 might be suitable for me. Before I go into the specifics of the content, I'll mention that the overall quality of the product is good, with a nice glossy cover, quality paper and binding and clear print and diagrams, although there are a fair number of (largely excusable) typos.

Here is a must-have for all competitive players who prefer to base their game on solid moves rather than speculation, and who want a reliable yet initiative-seeking opening repertoire for White, based on the opening moves 1 d4 followed by 2 c4. Using more than 300 diagrams, an international Grandmaster and regular writer for CHESS magazine analyzes specific main lines and variations to combat Black's possible choices of the King's, Queen's, and Bogoljubow-Indian defenses, as well as the Modern Benoni and Benko Gambit. There are also promising methods against the various Black defenses to the Queen's gambit, and commentary on the Dutch and Gruenfeld defenses. An excellent and practical opening guide.

Chess is a mental game, but you don't have to strain your brain to learn the basics—not with this guide that shows you how to play. Teach Yourself VISUALLY Chess covers how to set up the board, how each piece moves, opening strategies and variations, attacking themes and common sacrifices, and more. Photos of the board let you see strategies in action. For hands-on practice, you can even set up your board and make your moves as you learn. With this book and practice, you'll be saying "Checkmate" in no time.

International Master Jacob Aagaard provides an all-in-one solution to the popular opening move 1 d4 and other White systems that do not involve 1 e4. Throughout this work, Aagaard delves into the strategies, ideas and tactics for Black, while also showing the possible traps and pitfalls.

In this book the author tells us so there are only 2 effective attacking procedures, which leading to success - the combined attack and double blow. This is very important and not quite understood, but if you mastery these techniques you might not be so dangerous, but much more carefully player.
If you want to make this book useful to you, you have to study it very carefully and minimum twice (it is thin - only 110 pages). All subjects are devoted to tactics, but there is one chapter devoted to strategy of attack. If you are "tactics scientific" you are in good place. In this book there are few useful mating attack mechanisms, it has showed coordination of the pieces and combinations - how it has born and how arises. I like to recover it because from time to time (once a 2-3 months), because each time I read it, I discover new things - particuraly how important is coordination of the pieces, how hidden treats are dangerous and complex to recognize (and to build) - sometimes they are very deep underground, but if you know how they build [what elements] and how to recognize them early, then you should not be afraid of them. I should note: sometimes complexity of chess combinations are sometimes very frustrating too see, but in closer look (and with much practice!) you can see and understand that they are "connected [composed] simple blocks".

Clear, straightforward guide by noted expert coaches readers through fundamentals of attacking and positional play, as well as how to approach the endgame. Crucial processes of assessing positions and choosing moves are examined in depth; also, how to cope with difficult positions and time-trouble. 384 diagrams.

Modern classic offers thorough, systematic analysis of the use of the queen, active king, exchanges, seven different uses of pawns, minority attack, dynamic elements, much more. Analyses of 129 great games featuring Capablanca, Alekhine, Lasker, Botvinnik, Reshevsky, Bronstein, Smyslov, Spassky, other masters. Indexes of games and openings. 298 diagrams.

This book is an easier version of Combination Challenge!, also by Lou Hays. It contains 535 one- two- and three-move combinations to solve and teaches a study method for learning to play combinative chess. This is the quickest and easiest way to improve your chess rapidly.

Start every game with confidence! The two greatest challenges for beginning chess players are not only to survive the openings phase, but also to choose appropriate attack and defence formations in the process. Winning Chess Openings shows players how to do both. In Yasser Seirawan's entertaining, easy-to-follow style, they are shown formations that can be used with other White or Black pieces.

An excellent book which is not out-dated and for the price an absolute steal. Though some older opening books can be criticized as a tad bit out-date most can still be used today to learn the basics structures of different openings. Besides, the actual variations used in a game works better if it is your own creation rather than a memorized version and this applies to beginners as well as the experts. Excellent for intermediate players, but can also be used by all. If you are not comfortable with descriptive notations, GET COMFORTABLE! You will be missing out on a lot of excellent books (which are usually half the price). Being comfortable with descriptive as well as algabraic gives you the option and the flexibility to buy whatever chess books are out there, especially the best!

This is my initial book review for amazon.Previous to reading Nunn's opus,I've always assumed endgames were of a strategical nature.Kotov in "Think like a grandmaster" tells a story about Capablanca's endgames.He claims to have met him at some chess event where a lecture was being given about endings.Capas basic claim was that planing the optimum location for the chess pieces in the ending was more important than the tatical variations.One gets the impression that the tatical variations just become automatically apparent once the strategical plan via piece place comes to fruition.Therefore the endgame can be fathomed intuatively with only a minimal effort of analysis.Nunn's book dispells that notion entirely by claiming endgames can be tatical.They can also be strategical like any other part of the game.Many strong grandmasters overlook many combinative possibilities in this part of the,because of such sterotypic thinking as mentioned above.This book can help one approach the ending with a fresh pair of eyes.From a personal perspective I have always over looked opportunities in combinative endgames assuming they do not exist.Now I know better.This book has freed me of such generalized thinking.A paradox I have seemed to stumble across is that apparently simple end games even appear to be more tatical than complex ones.Nunn by accident in his introductory statement seems to have also made a beautiful distinction between strategy and tactics. The former being the creation of plans and the latter being it's execution once it's apparent.The games are classics.Many include ideas such as mates, Stalemates, Promotion, Positional draws,fortresses ect.

Positional chess remains a mystery to many and yet an understanding of the finer points of the game so often makes the difference between two equally matched players. Improve your positional play and you will see chess in a totally new dimension! In this unique book, International Master Jacob Aagaard selects many original examples of positional chess, the crème de la crème of those that he uses for training and study. Aagaard also delves deeply into the ideas of positional evaluation and analysis.