Magnus Carlsen

Following on from the long success of one of the most important chess books ever written, Bobby Fischer: My 60 Memorable Games, renowned chess writer Andrew Soltis delivers a book on today's blockbuster chess player Magnus Carlsen. Magnus Carlsen has been the world's number one player for more than a decade, has won more super-tournaments than anyone ever and is still in his prime. He is the only player to repeatedly win the world championships in classical, speed and blitz chess formats. This book details his remarkable rise and how he acquired the crucial skills of 21st-century grandmaster chess He will defend his world championship title this autumn and if he wins, it will set a record of five championship match victories. This book take you through how he wins by analysing 60 of the games that made him who he is, describing the intricacies behind his and his opponent's strategies, the tactical justification of moves and the psychological battle in each one.

The secrets of Magnus Carlsen’s endgame technique Magnus Carlsen’s brilliant endgame play has been one of the key reasons for his success. At the age of 13 the Norwegian became the youngest grandmaster in the world, at 19 the youngest number one in the FIDE world rankings, and at 22 the second youngest World Champion in history. With his fine technique, great inventiveness and iron determination Magnus has won countless endgame positions in which almost everyone else would have settled for a draw. He also has saved endgames that seemed impossible to hold. International Master Tibor Karolyi has studied Carlsen’s career and has selected more than 90 of his best endgames for this book. He reviews them in chronological order to show how Magnus developed his skills. His technique and his choices are explained in a manner that is easy to understand for club players. Endgame Virtuoso Magnus Carlsen is a highly instructive, inspiring and entertaining book. It will help you to appreciate Magnus’ endgame magic and shows you how to become a better endgame player yourself.

At the age of 13 years, 4 months and 26 days, Magnus Carlsen became the youngest chess grandmaster in the world. The international press raved about the Norwegian prodigy. The Washington Post even called him ‘the Mozart of chess’. Ten years on Magnus Carlsen is the number one in the world rankings and a household name far beyond chess circles. Time Magazine listed him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2013. How Magnus Carlsen Became the Youngest Chess Grandmaster in the World is the fairy-tale-like story of his rise. The story-teller could not have been better qualified. Simen Agdestein trained Magnus in the years leading up to his grandmaster title, repeatedly pinching himself in amazement at his pupil’s lightning progress While you follow Magnus on his wonderful journey, Agdestein is your guide, providing insights into the Carlsen family life and explaining the secrets of Magnus’ play in clear and instructive comments. This is an inspiring book for any chess player. It will fascinate parents and help gifted children to realize their full potential.

“A bravura performance…An entertaining book” (Kirkus Reviews) about the dramatic 2016 World Chess Championship between Norway’s Magnus Carlsen and Russia’s Sergey Karjakin, which mirrored the world’s geopolitical unrest and rekindled a global fascination with the sport. The first week of November 2016, hundreds of people descended on New York City’s South Street Seaport to watch the World Chess Championship between Norway’s Magnus Carlsen and Russia’s Sergey Karjakin. By the time it was over would be front-page news and thought by many the greatest finish in chess history. With both Carlsen and Karjakin just twenty-five years old, it was the first time the championship had been waged among those who grew up playing chess against computers. Originally from Crimea, Karjakin had recently repatriated to Russia under the direct assistance of Putin. Carlsen, meanwhile, had expressed admiration for Donald Trump, and the first move of the tournament he played was called a Trompowsky Attack. Then there was the Russian leader of the World Chess Federation being barred from attending due to US sanctions, and chess fanatic and Trump adviser Peter Thiel being called on to make the honorary first move in sudden death. That the tournament even required sudden death was a shock. Oddsmakers had given Carlsen, the defending champion, an eighty percent chance of winning. It would take everything he had to retain his title. Author Brin-Jonathan Butler was granted unique access to the two-and-half-week tournament and watched every move. The Grandmaster “is not the usual chronicle of a world-championship chess match….Butler offers insight into what it takes to become the best chess player on the planet...A vibrant and provocative look at chess and its metaphorical battle for territory and power” (Booklist).

Presents detailed annotations to sixty-four of the best games of Magnus Carlsen, an elite and well-known chess player.

Magnus Carlsen is arguably the strongest player of all time. His dominance is such that every loss comes as a shock. They remind us that even he has his weak moments. In fact, identifying the root causes of his losses holds valuable lessons for all players. Cyrus Lakdawala’s search starts with a series of Magnus wins and draws to give the reader a feel for how incredibly difficult it is to beat him. The World Champion’s arsenal is awesome: a superlative ability to calculate, near-perfect intuition, probably the best endgame technique ever, a wide and creative opening repertoire, a willingness to unbalance the position almost anytime, and last but not least: his unparalleled will to win. How to Beat Magnus Carlsen has a thematic structure, which, together with Lakdawala’s uniquely accessible style, makes its lessons easy to digest. Sometimes even Magnus gets outplayed, sometimes he over-presses and goes over the cliff’s edge, and sometimes he fails to find the correct plan. And yes, even Magnus Carlsen commits straightforward blunders. Lakdawala explains the how and the why. It’s wonderful to have a World Champion who is not just incredibly strong, but who is also happy to experiment and take risks. That’s what makes Magnus Carlsen such a fascinating chess player. And that’s why he is the hero of this book. There is no doubt that Carlsen has examined all his losses under a microscope. If he benefits from this process, then so will we.

Since he first burst onto the world chess scene in 1992, displaying a maturity of play far beyond his sixteen years, Vladimir Kramnik has been tipped as a future World Champion. Still only in his mid-twenties, he is now firmly consolidated in the world's top three. He has won numerous tournaments in many countries, and is one of the very few players regularly to hold his own with Kasparov. This book, Kramnik's first, describes his life and chess career, beginning with his unusual childhood. It features more than 50 of his best games, deeply annotated, plus numerous additional games and game extracts, including some from quickplay and blindfold events. (7 x 9 3/4, 240 pages, illustrations)

'New (4th) and improved edition of an all-time classic The good news about endgames is: • there are relatively few endings you should know by heart • once you know these endings, that's it. Your knowledge never goes out of date! The bad news is that, all the same, the endgame technique of most players is deficient. Modern time-controls make matters worse: there is simply not enough time to delve deep into the position. Jesus de la Vila debunks the myth that endgame theory is complex and he teaches you to steer the game into a position you are familiar with. This book contains only those endgames that: • show up most frequently • are easy to learn • contain ideas that are useful in more difficult positions. Your performance will improve dramatically because this book brings you: • simple rules • detailed and lively explanations • many diagrams • clear summaries of the most important themes • dozens of tests.