We publish a selected range of books written by top professionals.
We'll be glad to post at this site your comments and propositions. If you find improvements and are ready to share them, write to us.
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Chess Stars Publishing
We publish a selected range of books written by top professionals. We'll be glad to post at this site your comments and propositions. If you find improvements and are ready to share them, write to us. |
Important note: Our E-shop will be closed for reconstruction |
Khalifman notes about the concept of the Second edition of the series "Opening for White according to Kramnik”: The first edition of the "Opening for White according Kramnik" was realised in 2000-2004. In 2006 started a FULL renovation of the series. My analysis and recommendations significantly differ from the first edition in a number of variations. However, the bare bones of the series remained practically the same as a whole. There will be only one change of front – while the fifth volume of the first edition examined the Classical queen's gambit, the new edition will cover the Catalan. I have also altered the structure of openings in volume 2. In contrast to the first edition, I dare to advocate to meet 2...e6 by 3.g3. Is this move objectively better than 3.Nc3, we can argue about that forever. What is clear is that White does not wish to enter classical Queen's Gambit, the Ragozin Defence or the Vienna variation, since he must be well prepared to do that after 3.Nc3 d5. Instead, he invites his opponent to the ground of the Catalan Opening (3.g3 d5 4.d4), which has brought to Vladimir Kramnik numerous brilliant victories in the recent tournaments. My own personal bias and long-formed opinion that the Catalan suits best Kramnik's playing style could have made me choose this opening even for the first edition. Still I had to reckon back then with the fact that Kramnik played the Catalan very rarely in those years. Lately the situation has considerably changed. Today the ex-world champion is the leading protagonist of this opening. We can witness it at every tournament with his participation. That called for the above-mentioned restructuring of the second edition of the series. Chaess Stars has published so far volumes 1a and 1b (to replace the old volume 1), and volume 2 (replacing the old volume 2). In 2009 volumes 3a and 3b (replacing the old volume 3) are bound to appear. At the same time I keep on working on the new volumes 4 and 5. A. Khalifman, St Petersburg 2008 |
New
Books:
The King's Indian. A Complete Black Repertoire NEW!!!
by Victor Bologan, June 2009, 356 pages
The famous grandmaster Victor Bologan (Elo 2690) offers a complete Black repertoire based on "probably the most romantic response to 1 d4" (Bologan) - the King's Indian Defence. He explains the concept of the book as follows: "I have tried to reveal to you the true spirit of the King's Indian Defence – to uncover for you its secrets and to show you its typical resources. The Yugoslavian "Chess Encyclopedia" devotes almost a half of Volume 5 to the K.I.D., with indexes from E60 up to E99. However, I did not feel bound by these frames, despite their size, and I have tried to explain to you when Black should direct the fight in the spirit of the Benko Gambit or the Modern Benoni... The book is written for chess players of all levels, since the principles
of the King’s Indian Defence are equally applicable to the amateurs as well as to the super-grandmasters."
by Semko Semkov, April 2009, 140 pages This book of Chess Stars offers an entirely new approach to the Four Pawns Attack against the King’s Indian Defence (KID). You will find below additional analysis of one line which has not made up to the book, but also deserves attention - see the link "More Analysis"!
by Alexander Khalifman, January 2009, 444 pages The long awaited last but one volume will be out of print on January 15th. This hefty book contains enormous quantity of information about one of the most popular Sicilians lately - the Dragon.
by Alexander Beliavsky and Adrian Mikhalchishin, December 2008, 168 pages ISBN: 978-954 8782 68-5 The book deals with a reliable and interesting system (1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 b6 4 a3) which has been played by most of the world’s elite, starting with ex-world champion Tigran Petrosian. It is not a repertoire book though. Beliavsky&Mikhalchishin present an objective work which discusses the possibilities of both sides.
by Alexander Delchev and Semko Semkov, July 2008, 228 pages ISBN: 978-954 8782 67-8 Bulgarian GM Delchev takes a new look at his Sicilian repertoire. After a short pause, in 2008 he returned to his pet line, the Taimanov system. The result of his work is this Second edition of The Safest Sicilian.
by Atanas Kolev and Trajko Nedev, April 2008, 240 pages The book presents a Black repertoire with 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6, based on the most aggressive Sveshnikov lines. It also covers The Rossolimo (3 Bb5) and Alapin (3 c3). The material is up-to-date to April 10. The authors propose major novelties in practically all topical lines. The repertoire avoids solid, but passive variations. They are left for backup lines while the authors' recommendation goes for the most challenging options. "Currently I do not see any serious theoretical problems for Black" claims Kolev in the foreword. In the Rossolimo the authors also share completely new ideas, developed by them.
by Alexander Khalifman, April 2008, 352 pages This is a completely new book, which comes to replace the first edition of 2001. It covers the Black Knights’ Tango, Romanishin Variation, Queen’s Indian English, Hedgehog Defence English, Double Fianchetto Defence, Semi-Tarrasch Defence.
by Sakaev and Semkov, January 2008, 256 pages A brand new edition of the book, devoted to a super reliable opening, suitable for all players up to the level of world champions. With the combined efforts of Kasparov, Karpov, Anand, Ponomariov QGA presently reached the status of a super reliable opening, suitable for all players up to the level of world champions.
The authors digested all the available material up to 20.04.2005 and separated it into branches offering a move-by-move presentation of the main ideas according to the latest tournament tendencies.
A highly professional study by Grandmaster Konstantin Sakaev - one of the best players in the world with current rating of 2657. His trophy list includes 2 junior world titles and 2 gold olympic medals with the Russian team - in 1998 and 2000.
The author develops original aggressive ways to combat the KID and analysis them in great detail. He also covers various move orders for Black known
as Modern Defence. There is no Kill KID 2 ...yet. This project is open to readers’ suggestions.
Opening
for White According to Anand 11 NEW
The Petrosian System Against the QID NEW !!
White's main strategic goal in this system is to build a perfect pawn centre and then organise a kingside attack. Such an approach is much more natural than the modern fianchetto systems against the Queen’s Indian Defence. Database statistics seem to confirm that, as White is scoring better with 4.a3 than with 4.g3. The authors’ own practical experience shows that they feel comfortably in the Petrosian system with any colour. They are especially effective with White and have not allowed a single loss in 27 years. The structure of this book is similar to other recent Chess Stars publications. Every part starts with a “Main Ideas” section that explains the major plans and typical positions which are then analysed in the “Move by Move” chapters.
The book will be interesting to a wide range of players who enter QID positions as White or Black.
The Safest Sicilian, A Black repertoire with 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 Second Revised Edition NEW !!
Delchev proposes a sound yet aggressive approach, based on the following move order: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cd4 4.Nd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7. As Black, it is extremely difficult to get a playable position without accepting extreme risks. This book deals with reliable positional systems which will serve you for many years, without having to update your opening knowledge every two weeks. This setup is especially effective against the dreaded English attack. The author is one of the world’s leading experts in that field and his recommendations are based mostly on his own games. Without hiding back his secrets, Delchev reveals many new ideas and novelties in his pet line. The authors pay also attention to White’s deviations from the Open Sicilian. There are chapters about 3.c3, 3.d3, 3.Nc3, 3.b3, 3.c4 and other rare lines. The book features a new form of presentation. Every system is examined in a separate part which contains three chapters: "Quick Repertoire”; "Step by Step"; "Complete Games". You start with the "Quick Repertoire". You’ll find there all the vital information that you need to start playing the variation. "Step by Step" chapters follow the usual layout of Chess Stars books with main lines that branch to sub-lines. Finally, every part ends with "Complete Games".
The Easiest Sicilian, NEW !!
Opening for White According to Kramnik, volume 2 Second Edition, NEW!!!
The Queen's Gambit Accepted, Third Edition, NEW!!!
A Chess Library for Practical Players. The Endgame
by Marat Makarov , 180 pages
The author Marat Makarov is a Grandmaster and he has been practicing as a coach for more than 20 years. Among his pupils is the champion of USSR and Russia WGM Julia Demina.
"It was a great pleasure for me to work with this wonderful book. It includes more than 300 skillfully selected endgame positions, which are of immense value for the practical player. It looks like you can encounter them in every tournament and I myself learned a lot from that book, while translating it. I believe this work is a necessity for every chess player’s library and it will ensure for you plenty of well-deserved points in your chess games." GM Evgeny Ermenkov
by Alexey Dreev, 300 pages + colour photos
Alexey Dreev is one of the most popular contemporary Russian grandmasters. He is famous for his deep understanding of chess and fine endgame technique. Many of his games are milestones in the theory of the Slav Defence, the King's Indian Defence and others. He was twice World junior champion and three times Olympic gold medalist. Dreev played in the match Russia-Rest of the world in 2002, won the World team championships in 1997 and 2005. Dreev starts the first chapter with the following words:
"I have chosen and commented on 100 games for this book. I have played them in a period of more than 20 years. These games are so different from each other that there will be some to everybody’s liking – there are sacrifices, there are quiet moves, there are sharp tactical games as well as tough positional fights. You can also find instructive examples of how to play in the various stages of the game. In general, I have devoted a great attention to the openings and my comments about them are from the point of view of the contemporary theory.
A chess professional’s life is not only the games played over the board. You go to different countries, you visit various continents; you see picturesque places and ancient towns and you come into contact with chess-fans all over the world. In my notes to some of the games, I have shared with my readers (as much as the size of the book allows) my impressions of these journeys and encounters.
While working on the story of my first steps in chess, it was as if I re-lived again everything I came through during all these times. Naturally, my memory is not perfect. I have had to omit many things also because this book is not an autobiography, it is not memoirs, and it is supposed to be a collection of games. Still I tried to tell in earnest about my development as a player, about my problems and hardships (some of them due to the surroundings and some of them just personal). I have shared with my readers my joy about my victories in my first tournaments and I have told about people who have helped me and to whom I owe my deepest gratitude..."
Kill KID 1 
My One Hundred Best Games