Editorial Reviews:
Anyone who plays 1 e4 as White must be prepared not only for Black's main defenses but also an assortment of less popular lines which, when added all together, still represent a significant proportion of what you are likely to face. Dealing with these openings is often a daunting task, especially against opponents who tend to specialize in them and thus know them inside out. This book provides the perfect solution. International Master and renowned opening expert Andrew Greet gets to grips with each of these tricky openings. He identifies how to both exploit their weaknesses and avoid their strengths, and provides White with a practical and dependable repertoire. Read this book and you will never have to worry about facing the unknown again. It has everything a 1 e4 player needs to know about facing unusual defenses. It is full of original ideas and analysis. It is ideal for improvers, club players and tournament players.

Editorial Reviews:
Finding a suitable defence to 1 d4 is never an easy task, especially if you don't have endless time available to study the latest theoretical developments. If you choose fashionable openings, it's often a necessity to keep pace with modern theory if you want to succeed with Black. Those unwilling to become slaves to opening theory need not fear - this book provides a solution. Richard Palliser advocates the Czech Benoni, a simple, low-maintenance but effective opening in which the understanding of ideas and tactics far outweighs the necessity to memorize moves. The lines he selects are very easy to learn and play. Read this book and you will be ready to meet 1 d4 with confidence. This book offers a complete repertoire against 1 d4. It covers key positional and tactical ideas for both sides. It is ideal for improvers, club players and tournament players.

Editorial Reviews:
Are you fearless in your approach to chess openings? Do you like to attack your opponents from the very beginning? Are you happy to take calculated risks? Do you loathe trivial positional chess? Do you feel the need to sacrifice pawns early in the game? Are you a Gambiteer? If the answer to these questions is ‘yes!’ then this is the book for you! In his two-volume Gambiteer series, opening expert Nigel Davies produces a complete opening repertoire which is certainly not for the faint-hearted: uncompromising and wild attacking ideas for both colours. Whilst the first volume dealt with a gambit-style approach for White, this second book concentrates on an ambitious Black repertoire. All of the opening lines Davies advocates lead to positions of open warfare, where sharp, tactical play completely dominates dreary, positional subtleties. Are you ready for the battle? Then cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!

Editorial Reviews:
Are you fearless in your approach to chess openings? Do you like to attack your opponents from the very beginning? Are you happy to take calculated risks? Do you loathe trivial positional chess? Do you feel the need to sacrifice pawns early in the game? Are you a Gambiteer? If the answer to these questions is ‘yes!’ then this is the book for you! In his two-volume Gambiteer series, opening expert Nigel Davies produces a complete opening repertoire which is certainly not for the feint-hearted: uncompromising and wild attacking ideas for both colours. This first volume deals with a gambit-style approach for White; the second volume will concentrate on an ambitious black repertoire. All of the opening lines Davies advocates in this book lead to positions of open warfare, where sharp, tactical play completely dominates dreary positional subtleties. Are you ready for the battle? Then cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!

Editorial Reviews:
Are you constantly struggling with the black pieces? Can't make up your mind which openings to play? Are you looking for something new: an all-in-one solution to your problems? Look no further! In this original book, Christoph Wisnewski, who is renowned for his innovative and adventurous opening ideas, provides the reader with an ambitious and all-encompassing repertoire for Black against every main line opening that White can play, based on the initial move 1...Nc6. The principal components of this black repertoire are the uncompromising Chigorin Defence, a long-time favourite of the brilliant Russian Grandmaster Alexander Morozevich, and the equally tricky Nimzowitsch Defence, advocated by Britain's first ever Grandmaster, Tony Miles.

Editorial Reviews:
You may be happy with your main openings – sorted with the Sicilian and content with the King’s Indian – but are you afraid of the unknown? Do you fall to pieces if your opponent plays something strange in the opening? Here’s some good news... Beating Unusual Chess Openings is a godsend to those chess players fed up with struggling against all opening moves other than White’s main two: 1 e4 and 1 d4. From the respectable (English Opening, Réti and King’s Indian Attack) through to the offbeat (Nimzo-Larsen Attack, Bird’s Opening) and the totally bizarre (Orang-utan, Grob); everything Black needs to know about facing unusual openings is covered within these pages.

Editorial Reviews:
There is no doubt that playing the Open Games is one of Black's most reliable and yet aggressive ways of meeting White's favourite opening move, 1 e4. Experts also agree that playing these fundamental openings is a crucial step in the development of a chess player, while moving up to the highest level it provides the battleground for countless duals between the likes of World number one Garry Kasparov, Vishy Anand and Vladimir Kramnik. It's true that some Black players are put off by the seemingly endless number of variations they can be faced with, as White can choose a between the King's Gambit, Vienna Game, Scotch Opening, Bishop's Opening and a number of wild and offbeat gambits. However, in Play 1 e4 e5! Nigel Davies provides a complete answer to this perennial problem by offering a concise and practical repertoire for the Black player, whilst crucially including a dependable defence to the Ruy Lopez - White's most popular attacking try in the Open Games.

Editorial Reviews:
This book fills an enormous void in chess literature. There are a countless number of players who are very happy to defend the black side of the Queen's Gambit or play the Nimzo-Indian, Queen's Indian, Bogo-Indian or Benoni. However, more often than not they have been forced to muddle their way through a whole variety of annoying sidelines White has at his or her disposal, including the dreaded Trompowsky, the tricky Blackmar-Diemer Gambit and the tiresome Colle Variation. Now finally help is at hand! In this unique book John Cox reveals everything Black players need to know about all of White's offbeat tries, presenting Black with no-nonsense answers to every white option. Read this book and you will be fully armed to deal with anything that White can throw at you. In fact, you'll have all the White players running back to the main lines!

Editorial Reviews:
There are not too many feelings more satisfying in chess than winning very quickly by cleverly snaring your opponent in an opening trap. Conversely, all chess players, even budding World Champions, have experienced the utter humiliation of losing in exactly the same manner! In this entertaining and instructive book Grandmaster James Plaskett presents a wealth of illustrative games that contain disasters in the crucial opening phase of the game, where for one reason or another the battle is concluded prematurely. Studying Catastrophe in the Opening will allow the reader to capitalise on any early blunders by his or her opponent, whilst also avoiding the various pitfalls that await chess players in the opening.

Editorial Reviews:
Angus Dunnington takes an in-depth look at gambits in the modern game. By using illistrutive examples, he explores the key aspects of succesfull gambit play, whilst also underlining the reasons why some gambits work whilst others flounder.

Editorial Reviews:
The Sicilian Defence is Black's most ambitious and popular defence to 1 e4. Finding a suitable weapon against it has taxed many a grandmaster's brain. Should White dive into the labyrinth of mountainous theory and complications, in which the player who knows the latest theoretical wrinkle is likely to prevail, or should White abstain and instead head for the more tranquil waters of the various Anti-Sicilians on offer? Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in-between! In this book, Grandmaster Nigel Davies tackles the Open Sicilian head on, but still develops an easyto-use system for White based upon the fianchetto of the king's bishop. Davies arms the readers with an impressive repertoire which enables them to face the Sicilian Defence with renewed confidence.

Editorial Reviews:
Fed up having to defend with Black? Annoyed by all those irritating white systems? Then this is the book for you! Russian international master Alexander Raetsky draws upon his wealth of experience gained playing on the tough international tournament circuit to supply you with an all-in-one solution to your problems. The reader is provided with a complete repertoire for Black against 1 e4, based on the ever-reliable Sicilian Defence. Lines suggested are fun to play and promise Black dynamic counterplay. The variations are also easy to learn: this book is especially useful for players who have neither the time nor inclination to learn reams and reams of the latest opening theory.

Editorial Reviews:
Unhappy that you're reaching passive or difficult positions with Black? Fed up with having to learn many different defences to all of White's attacks? Then this book is the answer to your problems! International Master Jacob Aagaardand Esben Lund provide an all-in-one solution to the popular opening move 1 d4 and other White systems that do not involve 1 e4. The lines suggested are based around the Tarrasch Defence (1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 c5) and are easy to learn, fun to play and promise the black player dynamic counterplay. This book is especially useful for players who have neither the time nor inclination to learn reams of the latest opening theory. Throughout this work, Aagaard & Lund delve into the strategies, ideas and tactics for Black, while also showing the possible traps and pitfalls.

Editorial Reviews:
These three books are ideal for keen club players who want to improve and are seeking to better their understanding of the three key stages of a chess game: the opening, when the battle lines are drawn; the middlegame when the armies commence hand to hand combat; and the endgame, when theoretical knowledge can make the difference between winning and losing.

Editorial Reviews:
Tired of playing the same old openings? Worried about having to learn too much theory? Then these books are what you're looking for! All-new and attacking opening repertoires based on the moves 1 d4 and 1e4 are provided. Concentrating on constructing easy-to-learn systems against all of Black's possible defences, lines are chosen which are fun to play, easy to learn and will pose your unsuspecting opponent lots of problems.

Editorial Reviews:
Tired of playing the same old openings? Worried about having to learn too much theory? Then these books are what you're looking for! All-new and attacking opening repertoires based on the moves 1 d4 and 1e4 are provided. Concentrating on constructing easy-to-learn systems against all of Black's possible defences, lines are chosen which are fun to play, easy to learn and will pose your unsuspecting opponent lots of problems.