Playing 1.e4: French Defence and Sicilian Sidelines by John Shaw Developing an effective repertoire with 1.e4 requires extensive research, mixed with fine judgement and a good deal of creativity. In this, the second of three volumes, GM John Shaw turns the analytical spotlight on the French Defence, advocating his own

Playing 1.e4 – Sicilian Main Lines by John Shaw In this, the last of three volumes on 1.e4, GM John Shaw completes his state-of-the-art White repertoire by tackling the biggest challenge of all: the main lines of the Sicilian Defence. Just like the other two books in the series, this

The Amazing Albin Counter-Gambit by Lawrence Trent (PC-DVD) The Albin Counter-Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5!?) has been a favourite of Grandmasters and amateur players alike since it was popularised by Adolf Albin in the 1890s. This hyper-aggressive system, which immediately sets out to destabilise White’s position, had a renaissance in

How Ulf Beats Black by Cyrus Lakdawala Ulf Andersson’s Bulletproof Strategic Repertoire for White In his prime, in the 1970-s and 80-s, legendary Swedish chess grandmaster Ulf Andersson was a Top 10 player with a distinct, immediately recognizable style. He almost never lost a game and kept scoring wins from

My Black Secrets in the Modern Italian by Wesley So (PC-DVD) Learn from one of the best players in the world! The Italian Game is considered a sound but quiet opening without early trades, giving rise to rich positions where plans are more important than forced variations — in short,

Grandmaster Repertoire 1.d4: King’s Indian & Grunfeld by Boris Avrukh When Boris Avrukh released his 1.d4 repertoire books in 2008 and 2010, they caused a sensation. GM Michael Adams remarked that “The high-quality Grandmaster Repertoire series has taken this format to a completely different level.” Volume 2A is the third

First Steps: The Scandinavian by Cyrus Lakdawala The Scandinavian (also known as the Centre Counter Defence) occurs when Black meets White’s 1 e4 with 1 … d5, immediately countering in the centre. White invariably continues with 2 exd5 when Black can choose between two systems, both of which are covered

The Modernized Reti by Adrien Demuth Positional Repertoire The Reti opening has been quite popular in the most recent years. In the ‘Modernized Reti’, Adrien explains how this subtle opening needs to be handled. With many transpositions into different types of positions, it is one of the richest choices White

Kotronias on the King’s Indian Volume 5: Saemisch & the Rest by Vassilios Kotronias The King’s Indian Defence is one of Black’s most combative responses to 1.d4. A favourite of both Fischer and Kasparov, it remains a popular weapon at all levels of play. In this, the fifth and final

e3 Poison by Axel Smith A 21st Century Opening Repertoire Paperback or hardback, 392 pages When Axel Smith was chasing his final Grandmaster norm, he decided he needed a change in his White opening repertoire. Instead of his usual approach of memorizing many concrete moves to try to force an