Play Like A Grandmaster

Alexander Kotov's trilogy, of which this is the second volume and now available in digital format for the first time, marks a landmark in chess literature. For the first time, a leading player managed to tackle the important elements of chess mastery in a methodical way which all chess players could understand, spiced with insight and colourful observation. Furthermore, his ideas and approach are as relevant to players today as they were when the books were first published. Alexander Kotov was one of the strongest players of the immediate post-war period, twice reaching the Candidates stage of the World Championship. He was also one of the leading Soviet trainers but is primarily remembered for his trilogy of classic works on chess coaching, of which Think Like a Grandmaster, one of the best-selling chess books of all time, was the first volume, and Play Like a Grandmaster the second.

This is a well-established training manual which encourages the average player to understand how a grandmaster thinks, and even more important, how he works. Kotov tackles fundamental issues such as knowing how and when to analyze, the tree of analysis, a selection of candidate moves and the factors of success.

Stop playing like a pawn and start playing like the king You already know just how enjoyable--and and challenging--the game of chess can be. For those who play, chess leads to a lifetime of fun. But how do you make the first move to learn the rules and transform from a pawn to a king? The path to a perfect checkmate is in your hands! In the pages of this book, you'll find an introduction to all the chess pieces including their strengths and weaknesses, tips on how to protect your pieces and prevent their capture, and guidance on when to attack and defend like a boss. You'll also find a bonus tear-out card to take your new tactics on the go!

Mastering Positional Chess is a serious, but entertaining chess instruction book. Daniel started writing it when he realized that his lack of positional understanding was causing him to lose many games.

“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).

A look at the way in which grandmasters prepare for different aspects of the game and how Soviet training methods can help club or tournament players whatever their standard. Kotov, a Grandmaster, is also the author of Think Like a Grandmaster and Play Like a Grandmaster.

• Learn the calculation secrets of the world's best attacking players • First book from one of the UK's biggest chess stars • Illustrated with a wealth of examples from top-level chess games This first book from one of the UK's top grandmasters is a penetrating and detailed (though engaging and friendly) study of typical games played by the most exciting chess players of the modern era, those that are renowned as 'attacking' players, from Mikhail Tal, pioneering hero of the ultra-modern attacking style, to Magnus Carlsen, teenage leader of the 'new wave' of deadly attackers, via the immortal Bobby Fischer, 'boa constrictor' Anatoly Karpov and 'King Garry' Kasparov. The author has tried to get into the heads of these stellar players, revealing the secrets of how they choose their decisive moves and succeed in delivering such awesome attacks. This inspiring book encourages you to play more imaginatively and copy the grandmasters' thought processes in your own game.