Editorial Reviews:
The Najdorf Sicilian has a unique place amongst chess openings: for several decades it has been regarded by the top grandmasters as the best way for Black to play soundly for a win against 1 e4. It was a particular favourite of World Champions Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov, and plays a vital role in the repertoires of current top players such as Viswanathan Anand and Veselin Topalov.
Black's stance is totally uncompromising. He accepts no organic weaknesses and stays flexible, ready to counterpunch in any part of the board. White has no safe or easy option. On the other hand, he does have a vast array of extremely dangerous attacking options, such as the old 6 Bg5 main line, which can lead to the Poisoned Pawn, a variation that has undergone much development in the 21st century. The current main line is 6 Be3, intending the English Attack. But given the Najdorf's importance, White has tried almost everything imaginable in the search for an advantage, with considerable bodies of theory evolving for lines that contain merely a drop of poison.
In the ever-changing Najdorf landscape, it is easy to lose sight of the strategic backbone that underpins the Najdorf. In this book, James Rizzitano, a battle-hardened Sicilian warrior, distils the most important ideas and themes from current practice to provide an ideal guide for those looking to succeed as White or Black in the Najdorf in the modern scientific era.

Editorial Reviews:
Chess Explained is a new series of books about chess openings. They are not theoretical works in the traditional sense, but more a series of lessons from a chess expert with extensive over-the-board experience with an opening. You will gain an understanding of the opening and the middlegames to which it leads, enabling you to find the right moves and plans in your own games. It is as if you were sitting at the board with a chess coach answering your questions about the plans for both sides, the ideas behind particular moves, and what specific knowledge you need to have. The Caro-Kann is one of the most popular responses to 1 e4. Black stakes a claim to the central squares and seeks free development for all his pieces. While solid, it is by no means a drawing weapon – the resulting positions generally contain at least a degree of imbalance and the critical lines lead to sharp positions with chances for both sides. Many new approaches for both sides have been developed in recent years, and a good understanding of these ideas is vital for anyone looking to handle either side of the Caro with success.

Editorial Reviews:
The c3 Sicilian is one of White's most popular and poisonous ways to avoid the main lines of the Sicilian. With the forcing line 1 e4 c5 2 c3, White denies his opponent the chance to demonstrate his preparation in some chaotic system; instead Black will have to fight carefully for equality in a more rational position of White's choosing. There are plenty of tricks and traps in the c3 Sicilian, and the open piece-play that often results can lead to quick attacks and means that careless play will rarely go unpunished.

Editorial Reviews:
The Caro-Kann Defence has a well-deserved and established reputation as an incredibly solid and, at the same time, dynamic defence to 1 e4. The Caro-Kann appeals to all types of players, but is especially useful to black players who prefer a sound platform on which to build and who are resourceful in both defence and counter-attack. Star players who enjoy using the Caro-Kann include Vishy Anand, Michael Adams and the legendary Anatoly Karpov. In this easy-to-read guide, Grandmaster Joe Gallagher goes back to the basics of the Caro-Kann, studying the key principles of its many variations. Throughout the book there is an abundance of notes, tips, warnings and exercises to help the improving player, while important strategies, ideas and tactics for both sides are clearly illustrated.

Editorial Reviews:
The Taimanov Sicilian is one of the most flexible options for Black in the Open Sicilian. Black avoids committing himself to a rigid set-up, and tailors his response once White has shown his hand. This can lead to a great variety of central structures, and the player with the better understanding of typical Sicilian themes will often emerge victorious - Taimanov positions need to be understood well in order to be played well. Many of the post-war World Champions have used the Taimanov, and amongst the current world elite, Anand has played it most frequently. This book covers the Paulsen set-up with ...Qc7 in addition to the 'pure' Taimanov with ...Nge7.

Editorial Reviews:
The Classical Sicilian is one of the most popular and respected systems of the Sicilian, and has been used frequently by players such as Anand, Kramnik and Shirov. Black develops his pieces more quickly than in many Sicilian systems, and intricate piece-play often results. The Classical Sicilian arises after the moves 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 Nc6. White's most popular and critical response is the Richter-Rauzer Attack, and recent years have seen a diversification in the plans for both sides in this perennially popular line. Against White's alternatives to the Rauzer, Yermolinsky covers lines that retain the independent significance of the Classical move-order, such as 6 Bc4 Qb6 - a line in which he is a leading specialist.

Editorial Reviews:
This book is in every way a definitive guide: Efstratios Grivas provides the inside story on a variation of the Sicilian Defence that he has worked for more than 20 years to perfect, and which rightly bears his name. The Grivas Sicilian (1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Qb6) has proved itself sound and reliable in practice, but is also far less well investigated than most Sicilian systems. This gives it an extra sting in practice, which readers will be able to use to their advantage over the board - it is most unlikely that their opponents will have a well-worked-out response ready. The Grivas Sicilian generally leads to positions akin to the Scheveningen, but with some subtle differences. Grivas explains these subtleties at length, helping readers to exploit all their chances to seize the initiative.

Editorial Reviews:
The Dragon variation is one of the key battlegrounds of modern chess, and a perennial favourite of ambitious chess-players of all standards. Black develops his pieces so as to maximize the strategic pluses granted him in the Open Sicilian. If White is to expose a defect in the Dragon, it must be by a direct attack, and this leads to ferocious battles, with White trying to checkmate the black king via the h-file, while Black seeks to gain counterplay down the c-file and on the long diagonal. In the Dragon, many Sicilian themes are seen in their clearest form, with the ...Rxc3 exchange sacrifice particularly important. Even Dragon endgames tend to be very sharp, with Black often possessing a swathe of mobile pawns in return for an exchange, a piece, or even a whole rook.

Editorial Reviews:
The English Attack (Be3 and f3) became popular as a direct attacking method against the Najdorf in the 1980s, following its successful use by Nunn, Short and Chandler. Since then, it has become established as the most critical line of the Najdorf, with Anand and even Kasparov himself using it to devastating effect at the highest level. This book is the first to be devoted to this most topical of openings, and its comprehensive coverage will enable players of all standards to play either side of the English Attack with confidence. Sammalvuo also discusses the trendy 6 f3 move-order, and the English Attack set-up against a variety of other Sicilian lines.

Editorial Reviews:
The Najdorf is the most popular line of the Sicilian Defence for a very good reason: Black can play for a win without taking undue risks. The Najdorf's fundamental soundness has been confirmed in countless top-level games, and in particular by Garry Kasparov's successful use of it throughout his career. White has tried a wide variety of approaches against the Najdorf, including quiet positional lines and the traditional main line with 6 Bg5. Recently the idea of a rapid kingside pawn advance has found favour. The Najdorf's landscape changes rapidly, and this presents its devotees with a complex task: they must not only keep up-to-date with sharp theoretical lines, but must also have a firm grasp of the strategies that underpin the main systems, both old and new.

Editorial Reviews:
The Sveshnikov Variation is one of the most uncompromising lines of the Sicilian Defence. Black accepts an apparently loose pawn-structure in return for a great deal of piece activity. Decades of experience have shown that it is far from easy for White to neutralize Black's active play, and the Sveshnikov is now firmly established as a favourite weapon for players who wish to win games as Black. Leading grandmasters who have relied on the Sveshnikov include John Nunn, Michal Krasenkow, Joel Lautier, Miguel Illescas, Alexei Shirov, Peter Leko and, most notably, BGN World Champion Vladimir Kramnik.

Editorial Reviews:
The Sicilian is far and away the most popular chess opening, and many players prefer to side-step the Open Sicilian with one of the Anti-Sicilian systems at White's disposal. This book equips Black to fight against all these lines. The Anti-Sicilian systems include: positionally motivated lines such as the 2 c3 Sicilian and the 3 Bb5 systems; slow but tricky attacking lines including the Closed Sicilian and the King's Indian Attack; aggressive but loosening ideas like the Grand Prix Attack and a variety of gambits. In the most critical variations, Rogozenko provides a choice between a solid and an aggressive option. He caters for those who meet 2 Nf3 with the three main moves, 2...d6, 2...e6 and 2...Nc6.

Editorial Reviews:
A book that guides readers in how to handle a popular variation of the Sicilian Defence, which is far and away the most popular chess opening. An intimidating body of theory has been developed around the Sicilian's main lines, in which White grants his opponent a central majority which may prove an important factor later on. Many players prefer to avoid the all-or-nothing attacks of the Open Sicilian, turning instead to the positionally sound 2 c3 line. White prepares to seize space and will develop his pieces rapidly to natural squares. Those who specialize in the 2 c3 Sicilian find it to be an excellent point-scorer, as Black has not only objective difficulties to contend with, but also has the psychological problem that he is battling just for equality, with little prospect of taking the initiative.

Editorial Reviews:
A life-long Sozin devotee explains the subtleties of this aggressive system for White. The Sozin Attack is White’s most overtly aggressive counter to the Sicilian. White puts his bishop on c4, and often follows up with direct play against the black king. Unless Black defends with the utmost precision, the bishop’s influence often fuels a deadly attack leading to a cascade of sacrifices and a brutal king-hunt. The Sozin set-up can be employed against the Classical Sicilian, the Najdorf and even the Scheveningen. This book presents in detail the theory of the Sozin in all its forms, including the razor-sharp Velimirovic Attack.

Editorial Reviews:
The Taimanov Variation is one of Black's most flexible approaches to the Sicilian. With his 'ideal' move-order, Black maintains plenty of options while side-stepping some of White's most dangerous attacking plans. The main game-plan is counterattack, but, unlike in many Sicilian lines, Black can tailor his plan of development according to how White arranges his pieces. The Taimanov has been used to good effect by many outstanding players of recent decades, notably Karpov, Polugayevsky, Andersson and, of course, Taimanov himself. This book discusses in detail all lines after 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nc6, including the 'pure' Taimanov approach with ...Nge7 and the more popular 'Paulsen' lines with ...Qc7. Move-order subtleties, including possible transpositions to the Scheveningen, are discussed in detail. All analysis has been scrupulously computer-checked.