Well, I like them a lot; very handy to have! I can't imagine venturing an opening/defense without going through the '500 Miniatures' reality check. Plus, still better than Miles' review on Schiller. :)

I could not put the book down! Could not wait every day to get home from work, to keep reading it and going through the games.

Superbly organized and written, it is a very, very instructive book. Very introspective and informative, giving us the inside story on almost every move!

I can't wait for Volume 2!~

1. b3

Jacobs / Tait - Nimzo-Larsen Attack (Everyman)

Keene - Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack (Batsford)

Odessky - Play 1. b3

Soltis - 1, P-QN3

Soltis - Bird-Larsen Attack

Tangborn - Winning Against Flank Openings

Wall - Larsen's Opening

Warzecha - Larsen-Nimzowitsch-Eroffnung

1. b6

Bauer - Play 1. b6

Kapitaniak - 1. b6!

Keene / Plaskett / Tisdall - The English Defense

King - English Defence

Soltis - Winning with the English Defense

Wall - Owen's Defense

If not, it is still an interesting approach.

BTW, Baburin's book is a real favorite of mine.

<cro777: In his book "Best Play: A New Method to Find the Strongest Move" (to be released in April 2013 ), with a foreword by Alexander Morozevich, Alexander Shashin presents his new approach to finding the best move.>

Alexsander A Shashin

http://www.chesspro.ru/_events/2012...

<cro777: In an excerpt from the book "Best Play: Revolutionary Method for Finding the Strongest Move" Alexander Shashin describes one of the move-choice algorithms, the so-called "Tal" algorithm. As an illustration he uses the famous game Tal - Tolush (the USSR Championship, Leningrad 1956). This is the starting position for analysis:

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Qb6 8.Qd2 Qxb2 9.Rb1 Qa3 10.e5 dxe5 11.fxe5 Nfd7 12.Ne4 Qxa2 13.Rb3 Qa1+ 14.Kf2 Qa4

click for larger view

Intuitively sensing that the position demands a sacrifice, Tal played here <15.Bb5!?>. Soon afterwards they found <15.Nxe6!> as the strongest move in this position.

Using his method for finding the strongest move in any position, Shashin explains how to find moves such as 15.Nxe6 or 15.Bb5. He also refers to the book "Garry Kasparov on My Great Predecessors, Part 2". Kasparov thoroughly analysed the game Tal -Tolush as well.>

In The Chess Book Companion (a meta-collection), northernsoul's collection of Soltis' book Game Collection: 100 best games of 20th century by Andrew Soltis is highly incomplete (only 36 games.) All of the collections found here of that book in fact, are missing games, except for this one:

Game Collection: 100 Best Chess Games of the 20th Century,Ranked!

Game collections belong to, and are controlled by, the user who compiled them. In the case of User: northernsoul, you can see from his header that he has not posted in many years and hasn't been seen since 2010.

Perhaps you should consider constructing your own collection so as to make it complete.

1) The Perfect Pirc-Modern: Strategic Ideas and Powerful Weapons by Moskalenko

Victor Moskalenko who has written several excellent books (two on the French - The Flexible French and The Wonderful Winawer). NIC will release it in March, according to Amazon.com where pre-orders are being accepted. Forward by Ivanchuk.

2) Chess Secrets: Great Chess Romantics vy Craig Pritchett

Due out any day now. Pritchett did a great job on two other Secrets volume. Romantics is the sixth in this truly excellent series. This volume covers: Anderssen, Chigorin, Reti, Larsen and Morozovich. John Donaldson says, "A book that belongs in every chessplayer's library."

Apparently we won't see a Secrets: Hypermoderns. But a Secrets: Technicians might still be a possibility.

3) The Killer Sicilian: Beating 1. e4 with the Kalashnikov by Rotella.

I am not sure how popular the Kalashnikov is right now, after Nakamura's disastrous handling of it against Carlsen recently. This book has been delayed multiple times; we'll see if 'fourth time the charm.' Amazon got tired of complaints (I gather) and no longer shows it listed but the publisher, Everyman, still lists it as due in April.

4) Aron Nimziwitsch - 1928-1935: Annotated Games and Essays by Nimzowitsch and Reinhardt

From Amazon: "During several decades of research German chess historian Rudolf Reinhardt compiled, from an immense variety of sources, all the games Nimzowitsch played after 1928. They are presented with notes by Nimzowitsch himself and, in some cases, by his contemporaries. In addition to the games Reinhardt also collected the articles and essays that Nimzowitsch wrote during the last seven years of his life."

5) Vassily Ivanchuk: 100 Selected Games by Kalinchenko

Not much out there on Chuky - especially in English. From Amazon:

Chess experts possess an exceptional ability to perceive complex patterns in chess. The researchers Fernand Gobet and Herbert Simon used Kasparov to examine the nature of expertise in chess. According to them, his world-class expertise comes from how he sees and looks at the chess board (his perception and judgment of chess positions), not from his calculation ability.

Chess antenna is a means or sense of perception in chess.

Emmanuel Neiman: " Tune Your Chess Tactics Antenna: Know when (and where!) to look for winning combinations" (New In Chess 2012)

In this book, Neiman suggests a thinking method that is intended to help the practical chess player to improve his play as a whole, meaning both his tactical abilities (i.e. the ability to foresee combinations) and his positional abilities.

The two main points are:

- Follow carefully the necessary steps of reflection: First look (take a panoramic view), then analyse (look for signals), plan (look for the theme), and only then start to look for the right move (look for candidate moves and calculate variations)!

- Detect the signals for you and for your opponent. A signal is a weakness in the opponent's position (when we look for a signal, we look for a reason why we should be winning). A theme is the main mechanism (plan) how to respond to the signal (how to exploit weaknesses in the opponent's position).

The idea of this book is to provide the reader with a kind of ‘antenna’. This antenna has seven ‘filters’ (signals) that will allow a chess player to determine the moment to start looking for a win:

1.King position, 2.Unprotected pieces, 3.Alignment, 4.Knight fork distance, 5.Trapped pieces, 6.Crucial/Overloaded defender and 7.Impotent defence/Defence too far away.

Neiman also teaches how to interpret these signals, how to find the theme (plan) and how to find the winning move.

In chess, realizing that we cannot and do not see everything immediately is highly important for the development of our thinking abilities. Before we can think, we need to learn how to see (we need to develop our chess vision).

All positions have some kind of governing idea which is more important than all other ideas in the position. How to find the most important characteristic in a position (how to filter signals)?

Jacob Aagaard: "Grandmaster Preparation - Positional Play" (Quality Chess 2012)

Aagaard's stated goal in this book is to teach positional judgment and decision-making. He believes that this is best achieved by focusing on three questions at the chessboard:

1. Where are the weaknesses?
2. Which is the worst placed piece?
3. What is your opponent's idea?

The Grandmaster Preparation series (Calculation, Positional Play, Strategic Play, Endgame Play, and Thinking Inside the Box) is aimed at ambitious players. The ultimate goal for this series is to show a path towards playing chess at grandmaster level for those who do not have access to a good trainer.

For Jeremy Silman, signals are imbalances that exist in the given position. If you want to be successful, you have to base your moves and plans on the specific imbalance-oriented criteria.

Jeremy Silman: "How To Reassess Your Chess: Chess Mastery Through Chess Imbalances. Fourth Edition" (Siles Press 2010)

By explaining the thought processes that go into a master's choice of move, Silman presents a system of thought that helps to recognize the imbalances in any board situation, to understand what each imbalance offers, and to know how to make use of it or diffuse it, depending on which side of the imbalance you are sitting on.

An imbalance is any significant difference in the two respective positions. The following list of imbalances is discussed in this book:

1.Superior minor piece, 2.Pawn structure, 3.Space, 4.Material, 5.Control of a key file, 6.Control of a hole/weak square 7.Lead in development, 8.Initiative, 9.King's safety and 10.Statics vs. dynamics.

The proper understanding and use of these imbalances is the key to improved play.

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." (Albert Einstein)

Jacob Aagaard: "Grandmaster Preparation - Strategic Play: Games & Exercises for Ambitious Players " (Quality Chess 2013)

Building on the two previous books in the Grandmaster Preparation series (Calculation and Positional Play), this book challenges the reader to explore the complexities of chess. Complex positions is the most difficult group of decisions to describe. There may be a significant element of “critical moment” about the position, but it cannot be solved exclusively with calculation or by positional judgement. The horizon is often too far away for computers to calculate everything to the end. And the necessary reaction can at times seem antipositional, because it weighs some gains against losses, or because the positional gains are longterm, dependent on tactical circumstances.

Aagaard first explains the difference between positional chess and chess strategy. There is distinction between the two common chess terms, positional (a derivative of the word position, which includes the meaning the correct place) and strategic (meaning a plan designed to achieve a particular long-term aim). This means that a positional move is dealing with the position we have right in front of us. Strategic thinking is more complex. What we try to do when we think strategically is to aim in a general direction and arrive there somewhere down the line. General principles have little value in positions of great complexity. The skills used when we make strategic decisions are the combination of long-term abstract thinking, positional evaluation and calculation.

Positional Play, the second book in a series of Grandmaster Preparation books, is the natural precursor to this book. In Positional Play Aagaard presents his training system for dealing with “simple positions”, based on the three questions: Where are the weaknesses?, Which is the worstplaced piece? and What is the opponent’s idea? The working principle is that after having solved hundreds of exercises asking yourself these questions, you will be more alert to different patterns than you were before. In Strategic Play Aagaard digs deep into the most complex area of chess thinking. The games and exercises in this book transcend regular chess skills (such as positional analysis, pattern recognition and calculation).

In accordance with this approach, the material of the book is divided in the following chapters: 1.Squares, 2.Pieces, 3.Prophylaxis, 4.Dynamics and 5.Fighting the Tide.

http://mysite.verizon.net/vzesz4a6/...

In this book Aagaard selects many original examples of positional chess that he uses for training and study. Aagaard also delves into the ideas of positional evaluation and analysis. Contents: 1.Simple truths, 2.Primary concepts, 3.Defining weaknesses, 4.Squares and how to exploit them, 5.Analysing yor own games, 6.Positional sacrifices, 7.Positional exercises and 8.Solutions to exercices.

Viktor Moskalenko: "The Perfect Pirc-Modern: Strategic Ideas And Powerful Weapons", Foreword by Vassily Ivanchuk , (New In Chess 2013)

In this book GM Viktor Moskalenko presents and explains the similarities and differences between the Pirc and the Modern Defence, the ideas and plans that really matter, the various pawn structures and how to handle them, transpositions (opportunities and risks) and new resources and novelties in well known lines (for both Black and White).

What is my main motif to study this book? As Ivanchuk pointed out in the Foreword, by studying this book "you can also become familiar with the particular methodology of analysing, which will undoubtedly help you to master not just the Pirc and Modern Defences, but also to <systematize and perfect your understanding of the key points of other openings> ... Consequently, this is not just an opening book, it is also useful for further study of certain middlegame and even endgame positions."

Moskalenko presents the following list of the main opening resources and pawn structures:

White:

-maintain his centre and develop
-attack in the centre (e4-e5)
-attack on the kingside (h2-h4)
-a typical attacking set-up with pieces is f3/Be3/Qd2/Bh6 etc.

Black:

-usually prepares ...e7-e5
-the universal set-up with ...c6-b5
-the modern set-up with ...a6-b5
-sometimes the Sicilian Dragon structure appears after ...c7-c5

-Benoni struc ture: ...c7-c5 and White replies d4-d5
-King’s Indian: ...e7-e5, and White’s d4-d5
-Ruy Lopez: ...e7-e5
-Philidor: ...e7-e5 and ...exd4.

This list of options shows the great flexibility of the Pirc-Modern Defence. Many times we can see motifs from the Sicilian, the Benoni and certain other openings, and also transpositions, in a single game.

Contents: 1.The Austrian Attack: Introduction, 2.The Austrian Attack: 5...c5, 3.The Austrian Attack: 5...0-0, 4.The Flexible Move 4.Be3, 5.The Dynamic Bishop Attack 4.Bg5, 6.White’s Fianchetto: 4.g3, 7.The Classical 4.Nf3, 8.Amadeus – Miscellaneous Ideas.

A review by GM Kevin Spraggett of the Moskalenko's book can be found at:

In Chess Today, Golubev analysed the opening phase of the game Ivanchuk-Kramnik (2013 World Championship Candidates).

1. d4 d6 2. e4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Be2 O-O 6. O-O (A solid classical system for White).

click for larger view

6...a6 Kramnik opted for a relatively seldom played line, which, however, had been recently tried by Svidler, Caruana, Vachier-Lagrave and others.

Moskalenko in his book shares his thoughts about virtually all the main lines: 6...Bg4 ; 6...Nc6; The Shmid Benoni 6...c5 7.d5 and the plan with ...c6.

If you can afford it, this is the most wonderful chess book I've ever seen. The book has pictures and descriptions of hundreds of items from DeLucia's magnificent collection of chess books, magazines, and memorabilia.

From Edward Winter:

<5323. Most beautiful chess books (C.N. 3164)

C.N. 3164 (see page 119 of Chess Facts and Fables) discussed David DeLucia’s Chess Library. A Few Old Friends (Darien, 2003) – ‘a new book so stunning in terms of both production and content that we can only marvel at it’. Richly illustrated, it presented the highlights of Mr DeLucia’s vast collection of rare chess books, manuscripts, letters, photographs, equipment, etc., but now he has brought out a second edition which is even larger and better, in a limited edition of 225 copies.

The Foreword (page v) mentions that his most significant acquisition in recent years has probably been a collection of ‘over 100 Lasker manuscripts, 900+ letters, 75+ postcards, numerous signed books, honorary diplomas presented to Lasker as well as many other fine Lasker items’. He has also procured ‘the last remnants of the Capablanca estate which included many of his personal belongings like his alligator wallet, attaché case, top hat with leather carrying case, hundreds of letters written to him in the later years of his life as well as a number of unrecorded games including the one he played against Tartakower’. That last game-score (see pages 180-181 of Kings, Commoners and Knaves) is not included.

The book is a 394-page hardback of incomparable quality, and Mr DeLucia informs us that some copies remain available, at $325. We shall be glad to forward to him any orders or enquiries from C.N. readers.> http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/...

See also http://www.newinchess.com/A_Few_Old...