Tactics Training Hikaru Nakamura

Have you always wanted to play chess like American #1 chess player? This tactics training book gives you the opportunity to make the same wonderful moves as Nakamura did in his games. One hundred puzzles are offered in which the bullet-expert turned the game in his favour. The puzzles start at a moderate level then get steadily more difficult. Can you match the performances of Nakamura?

Magnus Carlsen (1990) became World Champion in 2013 by winning the World Championship Match against Viswanathan Anand with 6,5 - 3,5. In 2014 Carlsen defended his title by defeating the Indian again (6,5 - 4,5) And in in 2016 Carlsen retained his crown prevailing over Sergey Karjakin. Their match ended in a 6-6 tie, but Carlsen won the rapid tiebreak. On January 2010 Carlsen became the youngest ever chess player to claim the first spot in the World Rankings. Since July 2011 he never let go. Carlsen's fabulous endgame technique is without doubt one of the key reasons for his success. The World Champion regularly tops the best players in the world in objectively equal endgames as if it were a piece of cake. British chess grandmaster Daniel Gormally, after another endgame victory by Carlsen in Tata Steel Chess 2018: 'If there was an Endgame World Championship Carlsen would be World Champion for the next fifty years.' To improve your endgame skills, several things can be done. For instance, there are a number of known theoretical positions you can study and play out until you have mastered the technique which is necessary to overcome your opponent. For sure, this can be a good method, but it is certainly not the only way to become an endgame specialist. GM Andrew Soltis, author of What it Takes to Become a Chess Master, has this advice: 'You don't have to know esoteric, technical positions. Just work out the tactics. In fact, one of the best ways to improve your winning technique is to work on endgame tactics.' Looking at the games of Magnus Carlsen, Soltis seems to have a point. Tactics do play an important role in his endings! In this training book, positions are selected from Magnus' games in the period 2001 - January 2018. Positions are without queens or with the queens and, at most, one piece for each side. Try this training book and see if you are able to play the same winning moves as the World Champion did. You will face 110 Endgame Tactics, in which Carlsen turned the game into his favour. The puzzles start at a moderate level and gradually get more difficult. We have selected 100 new puzzles. Ten bonus exercises appeared earlier in New in Chess' Magnus Carlsen Tactics Training. By solving the exercises, you will not only improve your tactical abilities but also your endgame skills!

Alexander Alekhine (1892-1946) was the 4th World Champion in the history of chess. In 1927 he defeated Jose Raul Capablanca in a World Championship Match by 18,5 - 15,5 (the winner was the first to win six games). Apart from a short intermission - in 1935-37 het lost his world title to the Dutchman Max Euwe - Alekhine held his title until his death in 1946. Alekhine was one of the greatest attacking players and for mere mortals it seemed he could produce combinations out of nowhere. The man of the ‘complex combinations’ was known for his dynamic play and produced many beautiful games. Alekhine was quite clear about his tactical skills: ‘I have had to work long and hard to eradicate the dangerous delusion that, in a bad position, I could always, or nearly always, conjure up some unexpected combination to extricate me from my difficulties.’ Even in this age of computer chess, many of his ideas are still alive. Besides being a tactical genius, Alekhine showed wonderful opening preparation, incredible imagination and positional understanding. Do you want to adopt Alekhine-like thought processes in your own games? In this tactics training book you will get the opportunity to play the same good moves as the former World Champion did. This book offers you one hundred training exercises, in which Alekhine turned the game in his favour. The puzzles start at a moderate level and gradually get more difficult. Are you up for the challenge?

This tactics training book gives you the opportunity to make the same winning moves as super Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana made in his games. One hundred training exercises are offered here, in positions which the Italian turned in his favour. The puzzles start at a moderate level and gradually get more difficult. How many good moves can you make in a row?

Anatoly Karpov (1951) is one of the greatest chess players of all time. The Russian grandmaster was World Champion from 1975 to 1985. He became World Champion when the American Bobby Fischer refused to defend his title. And he was dethroned when he lost a match to Garry Kasparov in 1985. Karpov was ranked the World's number one player for 90 months. He won well over a hundred top-tournaments. Karpov's play was deceptively simple. He always found good moves to glue his his position together. 'Finding the right plan is the key to success', said Karpov. But he always had a sharp eye for tactical solutions as well. In this training book you don't have to find the right plan, but the right moves! This book will provide you with one hundred training exercises, in positions where Karpov turned the game in his favour. The puzzles start at a moderate level and gradually get more difficult. Don't give up!

Jan Timman (1951) is a former World Championship Candidate who rose to the number two spot of the FIDE world rankings. The Dutch grandmaster was one of the world's leading players from the late 1970s to the early 1990s and is still playing actively in open tournaments and in club leagues. At the peak of his career he was considered to be the best non-Soviet player and was known as 'The Best of the West'. In 1993 he qualified for the final of the FIDE World Championship, but lost the match against Anatoly Karpov. He has won the Dutch Chess Championship nine times and has been a Candidate for the World Championship several times. He has won dozens of tournaments, including Wijk aan Zee (1981 and 1985), Linares (1988) and the World Cup tournament in Rotterdam (1989). In a rapid tournament in 1991, in a knock-out format, he beat Gata Kamsky, Anatoly Karpov, Viswanathan Anand and World Champion Garry Kasparov to claim the title. Timman is one of the best chess writers and annotators. He is the author of several highly acclaimed bestsellers, such as Curaçao 1962, On the Attack!, and Power Chess with Pieces. He is editor of New In Chess magazine and editor-in-chief of New In Chess Yearbook. Try this training book and play the same winning moves as GM Timman. In this book you will get one hundred training exercises, in positions where Timman turned the game in his favour. The puzzles start at a moderate level and gradually get more difficult. Don't give up!

Anish Giri (1994) is a Russian-born Dutch grandmaster. He achieved the grandmaster title at the age of 14 years and 7 months. In 2016 he is one of the elite grandmasters in the top-10 of the world rankings. He is also one of only ten players who have broken the 2800 Elo rating barrier. Giri's career high is 2802.8, achieved in February 2015. Giri won the Dutch Championship four times. Other tournament wins include the Wijk aan Zee B-Group in 2010, a shared first place in Malmö 2011 and a victory in Reggio Emilia 2011/12. In 2014 Giri shared second place in Wijk aan Zee. He won the individual bronze medal for his first-board performance for the Dutch team at the 41st Chess Olympiad in Tromsø in Norway. He finished second at the strong Qatar Masters Open. In 2016 he qualified for the Candidates Tournament in Moscow, where he ended on 50%, with fourteen draws. Giri has an all-round playing style and a strong technique. He likes to fight until the end in seemingly harmless positions, trying to squeeze blood from a stone. But whenever he sees an opportunity, he can be a very sharp tactician as well. Try this training book and play the same winning moves as Anish Giri. This book offers you one hundred training exercises, in positions where Giri turned the game in his favour. The puzzles start at a moderate level and gradually get more difficult. Don't give up

Veselin Topalov (1975) is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster, a former #1 in the world rankings and a former World Champion. He is a very energetic player, always looking for interesting moves, complicated positions and fighting chances. He never gives up and plays for a win with both the white and the black pieces. Topalov became the FIDE World Chess Champion by winning the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 tournament in San Luis, Argentina. He lost his title a year later in a match against Vladimir Kramnik. According to FIDE, which began ranking chess players in 1971, Topalov has been #1 for 27 months (in 2006/2007 and 2008/2010). Only Kasparov, Karpov, Fischer and Carlsen have reigned longer. Topalov has won dozens of tournaments, including Linares 2005 (joint first with Kasparov), Wijk aan Zee 2006 (joint first with Anand) and Wijk aan Zee 2007 (joint first with Aronian and Radjabov), Linares 2010 and Norway Chess 2015. Try this training book and play the same winning moves as Veselin Topalov. This book offers you one hundred training exercises, in positions where Topalov turned the game in his favour. The puzzles start at a moderate level and gradually get more difficult. Don't give up!