[what is this?]

[what is this?]

1000 Best Short Games of Chess Compiled by Irving Chernev in 1954. The games are arranged by length (from 4 to 24 moves). Chernev does abbreviate a few favorites to squeeze them in within the limit, and there are all the usual apocryphal games. My current intention with the collection is to utilize the games when training the visualization. 185 games, 1560-1990 A Simple Chess Opening Repertoire for White This is a collection of games from Sam Collins's excellent book, "A Simple Chess Opening Repertoire for White," which presents a complete king's pawn repertoire focused around the isolated queen's pawn (IQP) and related lines -- generally where White plays for dark square control and attack in an open position. This is a very good repertoire for ambitious young players because it teaches an important pawn structure that can arise in a wide range of both d-pawn or e-pawn openings, and it therefore creates the basis for assimilating a wide range of opening ideas. Though I am personally interested in some variations in the book more than others, I have long been interested in the IQP structure and have found much of value in the book on the IQP generally -- as I had from Collins's earlier opening repertoire for White titled "An Attacking Repertoire for White" (which also focused on the IQP but with rather less "simple" lines). Ambitious players would do well to also spend some time studying the isolated queen pawn structure. I would especially recommend finding GM Alexandr Baburin's now classic "Winning Pawn Structures"; the book is out of print and often available only at inflated prices, but a number of .pdf copies can readily be found on the web, including at Scribd. I have also found the book "Isolani Strategy" by Alexander Beliavsky, Oleg Stetsko, and Adrian Mikhalchishin of use, though it is also becoming more rare. For those less interested in books, there are a number of online videos and articles that can be of help as well. One useful resources is titled "1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 White Repertoire Webliography," which links to videos and articles on lines very similar to those discussed by Collins in his 1.e4 e5 repertoire. The weakest part of the repertoire is the French Defense, which is based on ideas developed by Denis Yevseev in Fighting the French: A New Concept (nearly 400 pages of dense analysis on this line). Though playable at the amateur level, there are lots of ways for Black to do well if he knows the theory. I would simplify the repertoire more by recommending the Monte Carlo Exchange French with 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.c4 (you can find good analysis online). This way White can transpose to familiar territory from the Scandinavian as well after 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.c4!? with the idea of returning the pawn to 3...c6 (Panov-Botvinnik) or 3...e6 (Monte Carlo Exchange French - Game Collection: French Defense, Monte Carlo Exchange Variation or https://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/...). You can also simplify more by playing the Hunt or Chase Variation against the Alekhine (1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.c4 Nb6 4.c5!?), which can transpose to the c3 Sicilian (though White has other ideas too -- see the game Mazukewitsch - Kandaurov, Tula 1967, for example). And it would be good to learn the main line Panov-Botvinnik against the Caro-Kann -- though that does not simplify White's task - see http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2.... 40 games, 1964-2017 French Defense, Monte Carlo Exchange Variation A collection of games to help study the Monte Carlo French Exchange Variation with 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.c4 (or 4.Nf3 followed by c4). The Isolated Queen Pawn positions in this line often arise by transposition from other openings, especially the Queen's Gambit Accepted with 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e3 e5 4.Bxc4 exd4 5.exd4, but also the Slav, the Petroff, the English (1.c4 e6 2.e4 d5 etc. which is Miezis's favorite), and numerous other move orders. Where indicated, games are featured in print or online sources that analyze this line as it arises via various openings. For a complete list of sources and other Monte Carlo French Exchange resources, see my bibliography: http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2... 157 games, 1834-2018 PANOV BOTVINNIK ATTACK This is the Panov Botvinnik Attack of the Caro-Kann Defense. 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 ed cd 4 c4 Caro-Kann, Panov-Botvinnik Attack (B14) 10 games, 1933-2002