I bought this book three years ago. The key concepts of KIA are well explained so I started to use this opening in my games. After been playing this opening for three years I've arrived to some conclusions. First, it's a very good book to understand the key concepts, which help you to start playing the KIA very soon. Second, as another reviewer has already pointed, it's too much White-Biased. Too much optimistic, the practice has showed me that there are a lot of black schemes that were not included in the book. For example, don't expect to find games with the flexible black structure c5-d6-e6 with knight on e7... a very usual position that I have to face quite often on the board. Another example: with the black structure c5-d6-e5 don't expect to find a well-played game by black, that is, h6 first (preventing Ng5) in order to play Be6 and then expand with f5 and sometimes with d5. It's a very common development plan, and I think it deserved attention on it in the book.

First published in 1978. The 1978 world chess championship in the Philippines was the most riotous of modern times. Pitting the Soviet defector Korchnoi against the golden boy of the Soviet establishment - Karpov - the players were not just content to hammer each other over the chess board; they also enlisted such weird assistants as the parapsychologist Dr Vladimir Zukhar and orange-robed gurus from the Ananda Marga sect. The cast list was completed by President Marcos, his shoe-collecting First Lady Imelda and a gaggle of shady characters from the KGB. Grandmaster Ray Keene was Korchnoi's chief second during this wild chess extravaganza and this book tells the inside story of one of the most exotic chess competitions ever staged.

Most tactical books either group the quizzes by type (ie, pin, discovered attack, etc) or don't group the quizzes at all (and both types of books are helpful).However, this book groups the quizzes by move (ie, Qh5, Qd5, Bxf7, and Nxe5 for example). It really helped me to locate winning combinations early in the game. It also showed me how to attack early in the game.I think it would be of great value to any chess player ranked below USCF 1800.I suspect that the people who gave this book such a terrible rating assume that it's trying to teach people to "win quickly." Generally, there is no way to "win quickly" against a good opponent. So why bother to study these "tricks" that you will probably never get to use?

For many years, Nimzovich was known as the "Stormy Petrel" of the chess world. Today, his profound theories of positional chess are accepted as a matter of course, and a knowledge of them is essential to every player who wants to improve his game. My System describes a theory of chess; it also describes the character and genius of its author. It is a very readable book, for Nimzovich's methods sparkle with humor, pungent originality, and witty explanations.

1,205 best tactical positions, grouped according to their topics. Intended for chess players with ELO 1600-2400. This chess exercise book is written by an experienced coach, International Grandmaster of ICCF. It contains more than 1400 exercises that are arranged very precisely after various combinational motifs. Languages: English, Spanish and Russian together. 305 pages. Soft color cover. Moscow, 2006.

This excellent book by Mednis has only one flaw: it is not long enough! This is really a repertoire book for white, but without covering all openings. He focuses on lines where quick resolution is brought about, so that a complex middlegame is avoided. For instance, against the King's Indian, he recommends an early dxe5, followed by the exchange of queens and Bg5, Nd5, etc. Similarly, Mednis recommends the Spanish Exchange. Other openings covered are: the Sicilian Dragon and Accelerated Dragon, the Pirc, the Modern, Queen's Indian, Grunfeld, English/Reti, and the French. Each chapter contains heavy verbal annotations of the main recommended lines, making this a phenomenal instructive manual on both the opening and the endgame. The illustrative games contain many beautiful and instructive endgames. Mednis really shined as a chess author, and this is, in my opinion, one of his most valuable wo

For six weeks in the summer of 2012, the eyes of the world will be on London as the city hosts the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. The 2012 Games will give people from around the world the opportunity to compete and to share cultures and friendship alongside the sporting events.