This book is designed to boost your positional understanding to new heights!

In this book, you'll find 500 examples from real games, sorted into four different levels. We've picked the best and most helpful examples from games played in the second half of 2024 and the first half of 2025. Most of these games were played by very strng players.

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Finally this modern classic is back in print!

Ever wondered why grandmasters take only seconds to see what's really going on in a chess position? It's all about structures, as Ivan Sokolov explains in this groundbreaking book.

Winning Chess Middlegames addresses the often ignored but extremely important topic of pawn structures, divided into 4 main types: doubled pawns, isolated pawns, hanging pawns and pawn majorities.

Finally this modern classic is back in print!

Ever wondered why grandmasters take only seconds to see what's really going on in a chess position? It's all about structures, as Ivan Sokolov explains in this groundbreaking book.

Finally this modern classic is back in print!

Ever wondered why grandmasters take only seconds to see what's really going on in a chess position? It's all about structures, as Ivan Sokolov explains in this groundbreaking book.

The FastTrack to Endgame Expertise!

Since it first appeared in 2003, Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual has been acclaimed as the best single volume ever written on the endgame. With staggering depth and accuracy, it clearly reveals the secrets of this most important stage of the game.

Solving studies is well established as an effective method of chess improvement. Yochanan Afek is one of the world’s greatest ever study composers, and in this new edition he shares his finest creations, combining artistic beauty with practical relevance.

Dive into the mind of strong chess players.

When Under the Surface was published in 2018, it won the ECF Book of the Year prize and was universally acclaimed for its originality and instructive value, with GM Peter Wells calling it “a modern classic” and GM Matthew Sadler praising the author’s “original ideas about all sorts of chess topics and a wonderfully witty and enthusiastic way of bringing them across.”

Chess games are won and lost in the fight to create, attack and exploit each other’s weaknesses. A weakness can be of pawns, pieces, squares, files, on colour complexes – and so on.

Chess games are won and lost in the fight to create, attack and exploit each other’s weaknesses. A weakness can be of pawns, pieces, squares, files, on colour complexes – and so on.

All chess players have heard about the power of the bishop pair – but many have no understanding of when the two bishops are superior, nor why they are superior, when they are, and least of all, what to do with the advantage of the two bishops, when achieved.

All chess players have heard about the power of the bishop pair – but many have no understanding of when the two bishops are superior, nor why they are superior, when they are, and least of all, what to do with the advantage of the two bishops, when achieved.

This book is a logical follow up of Semkov’s previous work on the Nimzo-Indian Defence. It covers the Exchange Variation 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 against the Queen’s Gambit Declined. Practical results of 63% in White’s favour and the endorcement of Carlsen, Gukes, Caruana, Aronian, Sarana and many others of the elite confirm the prominent status of this system.

Lately second players tend to deviate from the traditional main lines and resort to 3...a6, 3...h6, 3...Be7, 5...Bb4 and other exotic set-ups, so the author analyses them in separate chapters.

The Trompowsky and Torre Attacks, played regularly at club level, may be quite risky to face if you are not prepared. In this comprehensive treatment of both openings highlighting play from Black’s perspective popular authors Vassilios Kotronias and Mikhail Ivanov, present solid paths to dynamic equality for the second player.

Daily bite-sized puzzles to improve your tactical ability

*365 Steps to Tactical Mastery* offers a practical, tactic-centered approach to improving your chess game. Instead of spending countless hours studying, this book delivers bite-sized lessons and tasks that you can complete daily to enhance your skills over the course of a year. 

The fundamental purpose of Black’s aggressive and provocative move with the d-pawn is to create immediate central tension and to exploit the latent power of the queen on her starting square. Remember Lasker’s observation: “Black’s idea is to make use of the great fighting power of the queen in the opening”. 

All the lines presented in this book are very old, some even dating back to medieval times! Lots of things were known about these systems before chess engines started to become very strong, but now we have completely new ideas from not only a tactical, but also positional, point of view on positions that have simply resurfaced in recent times. The rebirth of these lines has become so popular that during my work on this book I was amazed to see such a level of popularity. To make this book readable I broke some positions into smaller files wherever I could. In all my books I try to present at least the basics of many openings and lines: the problem is that basic knowledge about openings is growing even bigger, and it is not an easy job to comprehend and assimilate all that material. That’s why I have also tried in this book to be as concise as possible. After all, reading a book should not only be an aesthetic/interesting endeavour, but also a practical/useful thing at the same time.

In 1904, the American chess player Frank James Marshall was at the top of his game. He had won several tournaments in a row, including the prestigious event in Cambridge Springs 1904, ahead of the reigning world champion Dr. Emanuel Lasker.

Master the Catalan, an Opening that stands the test of time and style

♟️ Strategic Depth – Offers rich, long-term positional play with strong central control.

♖ Top-Level Endorsement – Played by elite grandmasters like Kramnik, Carlsen, and Giri.

🔒 Solid and Safe – Builds a strong, stable structure with minimal risk in the opening phase.

🧠 Outplay Opponents – Ideal for players who enjoy quiet pressure and deep middlegame plans.

🎯 Target Black’s Weaknesses – Constant pressure on Black’s queenside and long diagonal (g2–a8).

♜ Flexible System – Effective against multiple defenses (1…d5, 1…Nf6), allowing transpositions.

🧩 Easy to Learn, Hard to Crack – Concepts-driven rather than theory-heavy; great for building a repertoire.

Challenge the French Defense with the Exchange Variation

Simplify the position early

Maintain central tension

Use piece activity to exploit symmetrical structures

Create imbalances

The Carlsbad Pawn Structure is one of the most important and instructive pawn structures in chess. It commonly arises from the Queen’s Gambit Declined, Exchange Slav, and other 1. d4 openings, offering a wealth of strategic ideas for both sides. This structure has been studied extensively by many world champions, including Capablanca, Karpov, and Petrosian, due to its rich positional themes.

Beauty in chess manifests itself in different ways. For chess players who are not sophisticated enough, one of the leading aesthetic criteria is probably the value of the offered piece. An experienced player will primarily value the originality and purity of the idea.

The primary goal of this work is not to recount a story or to acknowledge the creative efforts of a friend, although those are satisfying perks I allow myself. This is a theoretical book about a chess variation that (it could not be otherwise) 

A Solid and Reliable Opening: The Petrov’s Defense

The Petrov’s Defense (also known as the Russian Defense) is an underrated gem in classical chess, offering solid play and excellent counterattacking opportunities. While it might not enjoy the same spotlight as the Ruy Lopez or Sicilian Defense, it’s a highly respected opening for players who seek consistency, strategic depth, and resilience.

Bird’s Opening is currently in that ‘goldilocks’ zone of the great arbitrages in life. The majority of chess players have dismissed it overlooking its inherent value and this allows for adopters of the Bird to take advantage of this asymmetry. As of this writing, it is played 9% of the time in online databases and this drops to 2% (!) in the master’s database of OTB games. 

All chess players know that they need to study tactics, calculation, endgames, and openings, but when it comes to defense, far too many wait until they're under pressure. The truth is that more games are lost because of defensive mistakes than strategic ones.

Dan Heisman has been teaching chess for over 50 years and has been doing so full-time since 1996. He therefore knows very well what kind of advice actually helps players improve. This book is a distillation of that advice.

Swedish chess legend Ulf Andersson was a positional genius with a crystal-clear style. In his prime, in the 1970s and 80s, he rose to the number 4 spot of the FIDE world rankings because he almost never lost a game and kept scoring wins from quiet positions.

I was pleased to become acquainted with the endgame chess workbook by the young creative duo from Serbia. Endgame technique is often a stumbling block not only for beginner chess players but also for experienced professionals.

Many decently strong players aspire to become an international master. They see very clearly that the grandmaster title is most likely beyond them but the IM title is one they feel they could achieve, if only...

Winning a pawn is a common occurrence in chess, but many players have no idea what to do with an extra pawn, aside from the vague notion of “exchange pieces and win the endgame”. Grandmaster Sam Shankland knows better – and after reading this book, you will too.

A pawn is the smallest unit of material in chess, but a well-executed pawn sacrifice can yield huge rewards. Still, many players shy away from such possibilities when they are uncertain of the consequences.

Mikhail Botvinnik is widely regarded as one of the greatest chess players of all time, in the same league as Magnus Carlsen, Bobby Fischer, and Garry Kasparov. Botvinnik was born in 1911 and died in 1995. He is known as The Patriarch, or the father of the Soviet School of Chess. He was World Chess Champion from 1948 until 1963, with two short interruptions, and later mentored other world champions Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik.

This new book by Mikhail Shereshevsky, one of the most respected chess trainers in the world, is about a very important but little-explored topic: associative thinking. How can a modern chess student avoid drowning in the flood of information? The answer is to stop mechanically memorizing moves and turn on your curiosity. Try to create a vivid image of the technique you are studying and remember it as an association!

Tiviakov's Unbeatable Strategies: Searching for the Right Move

Grandmaster Sergei Tiviakov once remained unbeaten in a streak of 110 consecutive professional chess games. Who could be a better guide to help you find the right move in any chess position than Tiviakov? His style was polished in the famous Russian chess school and hardened by his vast experience in hundreds of strong tournaments.

Книгу можно рассматривать, как три в одном: во-первых, это сборник разнообразных, но, часто типовых ловушек, встречающихся, как в дебюте, так и в середине игры и в эндшпиле. Во-вторых, эта книга – учебник по тактике, т.к. ловушки почти всегда основываются на хитроумных тактических ударах. 

В своей книге гроссмейстер и опытный тренер Александр Галкин не только попытался структурировать некоторые типы шахматных окончаний с нестандартным соотношением материала на доске, но и предложил свою методологию понимания основных особенностей подобных эндшпилей. 

Книга гроссмейстера и опытного тренера Александра Галкина посвящена сильнейшей фигуре на шахматной доске – ферзю. На примере эпизодов из партий современных гроссмейстеров (подавляющее большинство партий относится к 2020-2023 годам) и своей гроссмейстерской практики автор пытается обобщить, а где-то даже и уточнить методологию понимания и разыгрывания ферзевых окончаний, а также иных типов эндшпилей с наличием ферзей (ферзя) на доске. 

Книга гроссмейстера и опытного тренера Александра Галкина является заключительным звеном в серии публикаций автора, направленных на изучение классического эндшпиля на примерах партий современных гроссмейстеров.

Новая работа заслуженного тренера, автора бестселлеров «Стратегия эндшпиля» и «С молодежью – в эндшпиль», посвящена очень важной и в то же время малоисследованной теме – ассоциативному мышлению. Как современному шахматисту не утонуть в льющихся со всех сторон потоках информации? Опытный наставник советует: остановить механическое заучивание, включить любопытство, придумать яркий образ к изучаемому приему и запомнить его как ассоциацию.

Material imbalances are a fundamental part of almost every chess game, yet have not received much attention in chess literature. In this illuminating book, GM Mauricio Flores Rios breaks down this universal topic into categories such as bishop vs knight, opposite-coloured bishops, possessing and playing against the bishop pair, and various scenarios with a queen or rook being traded for a number of pieces. With well-chosen examples, insightful commentary and exercises to test your newfound understanding of all types of material imbalance, this book is an essential tool for chess improvement.