All Categories
Product Description This is a LARGE PRINT edition. WINNING FAST IS FUN! Everybody wants to win fast, preferably straight out of the chess opening. This book is a collection of games played by top players in which either White or Black wins in 15 moves or less either a result of blunders, an accumulation of mistakes or brilliant chess tactics. Through the study of the games in this volume, you will improve your opening play, opening repertoire, strategies and tactical ability.The chess openings covered in this volume are: The King's Indian Defense The Grünfeld Indian Defense The Queen's Indian Defense The Nimzo-Indian Defense The Catalan Opening The Blumenfeld Gambit The Bogo-Indian Defense After sorting games with the worst mistakes & blunders away, there remains a collection of games showing a catalog of typical mistakes, misunderstandings, misevaluations and how to exploit these: either through simple execution or brilliant chess tactics. There is plenty of instructive mistake and small masterpieces in this collection featuring many of the best players from the last 150 years. Review I really enjoyed this collection of miniatures of examples from opening blunders and tactics by chess masters, although I am not a very strong chess player myself. Hansen's explanations are to the point and very useful for players of all levels. - Amazon review I am positively surprised with the high quality of these books. - Amazon review From the Author Short games in chess have always fascinated me; what is it that is causing a player to go so wrong that he or she loses within 15 moves (or 25 moves as in my Chess Miniatures Series)?The games in this book illustrate the making of and punishment of a lot of typical mistakes: Loose pawns & pieces Not calculating far enough Over-burdened pieces Overlooked intermediary moves Misevaluations Not sensing danger And much more of that kind But the names also include a surprising amount of tactics (see the front cover - White to move), sometimes even missed tactical opportunities. I have chosen only from games of players that were rated 2350 and above (or would have rated as such, but it was before the rating system was put in place), because I felt that if mistakes like these can be played by such strong players, then there are lessons to be learned for the majority of the rest us. Further, I sorted away the worst games, such as when one side a piece is threatened and the other side forgets to move a threatened piece, even that happens among strong players. Through the study of the games in this book should help you avoid a lot of mistakes in your own games, help you to take advantage of the mistakes of your opponents and ultimately sharpen your tactics and tactical awareness by answering the prompts to the diagrammed positions. Enjoy! About the Author Carsten Hansen is an Amazon bestselling author, an experienced chess coach as well as both a FIDE Master and a certified FIDE Trainer. He has authored 33 books on all phases of the game but is recognized as a particular expert on the opening phase of the game. Further, he is a columnist of Chess Life and American Chess Magazine .