Yasser Seirawan

The Fearsome Fascination of Kingwalks Marching your king across the board - at times right through or into enemy lines - may be both exhilarating and terrifying. Nothing may be quite as satisfying as a majestic kingwalk across the board which brings you glorious victory. And nothing as tragicomic as a needless journey ending in epic failure. Chessplayers are fascinated by kingwalks, perhaps because of their inherent contradiction and even implausibility. The most important - and vulnerable - chess piece does something other than trying to remain safe. Topics include: Kingwalks to Prepare an Attack; Kingwalks in Anticipation of an Endgame; Kingwalks to Defend Key Points; Kingwalks to Attack Key Points or Pieces; Mating Attacks; Escaping to Safety Across the Board; Escaping to Safety Up the Board; Kingwalks in the Opening; Kingwalks in the Endgame; Double Kingwalks; and Unsuccessful Kingwalks. For sheer entertainment as well as instructive value, the kingwalk is transcendent "Executing a successful kingwalk has the power to make a chessplayer happy and the same can be said about playing over the many beautiful examples in this book. Enjoy " -- From the Foreword by Hans Ree About the Authors: American grandmaster Yasser Seirawan is a four-time U. S. champion. He also won the World Junior Championship in 1979. He is one of the best-selling chess authors and is considered one of the top commentators for games broadcast on the web. Canadian master Bruce Harper has been champion of British Columbia many times and has also participated in several Canadian championships. He is the co-author with Yasser Seirawan of the highly acclaimed three-volume series, Chess on the Edge, chronicling the career of Canadian grandmaster Duncan Suttles. He is also co-author, with American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, of Bullet Chess: One Minute to Mate.

In the annals of attacking chess players, International Master Emory Tate built up a collection of stunning gems. Tate also showed his passion in describing these exciting battles as if performing in a stage play. With his clear, accelerated speaking style, melodramatic portrayals, quick wit and creative word play, he intrigued audiences and showed unequivocally that chess is not merely a game to be played, but an art form to be expressed. This book details the life and 35 games of Tate over the course of his 56 years. His contribution to chess lies not merely in his level of play, nor even his sparkling victories, but in his creation of unique ideas and inspiring dreams. Somewhere on that chessboard was beauty to behold, a new story to be told and perhaps an idea that would touch the soul. Tate regaled his listeners with numerous stories, many of which reflected an adventurous, purposeful, yet troubled life. This is a story of beautiful games, hidden treasures, mind-boggling conflicts and unanswered questions.

Four-time US Champion Yasser Seirawan provides a fascinating and highly entertaining account of his games and encounters with the world champions of chess including Garry Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov, Bobby Fischer, Boris Spassky, Tigran Petrosian, Mikhail Tal, Vassily Smyslov, Mikhail Botvinnik and Max Euwe. Having been involved in frequent battles against world champions over a 25-year period, Seirawan is in an ideal position to reveal how it really feels to be facing the legends of the game. He describes and analyses, in depth, his most memorable encounters - both famous victories and painful defeats, against the best chessplayers of the last 50 years. During this time Seirawan has also been highly active in off-the-board chess activities. This has brought him into close personal contact with many of these champions. In,"Chess Duels: My Games with the World Champions,"Seirawan recounts many stories involving these giants of the game - giving an intriguing insight into their personalities away from the board.

Combinations are the central element in chess; they make the game so magical and captivating. The beautiful point of sacrificing a queen, the strongest piece, in order to checkmate with a lowly pawn brings a smile of joy to all chess lovers. Virtually all chess games possess a combination, either one hidden in the shadows of analysis carefully avoided or one that provides a decisive blow. Winning Chess Combinations is a unique work that doesn't merely repeat the wonderfully rich and vast numbers of combinations, asking readers to solve a particular diagrammed position; it is a work that is far more realistic. A combination involves a sacrifice upsetting the balance of forces, but will it work or tragically boomerang? The reader is invited to solve this critical question by identifying the advantages that a specific position holds which might make the combination successful. Winning Chess Combinations is the seventh in Yasser Seirawan's highly acclaimed Winning Chess series - PROBABLY THE BEST-SELLING SERIES OF CHESS BOOKS EVER PUBLISHED.

Provides an overview of proven chess principles that teaches players how to deploy their pieces using the right moves at the right time to build small advantages into effective, long range strategies.

Readers will learn sure-fire tactics and combinations from one of the world's top chess players. Attack? Defend? Swap pieces? Tactics are the watchdogs of strategy that take advantage of short-term opportunities to trap or ambush opponents and quite possibly change the course of a game in a single move. Why should players only hope that opponents will blunder when International Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan can show them how to put the tactics of the world's chess legends to work. Choose from the double attack, the pin, the skewer, deflection, the decor, x-rays, windmills, and many more time-tested tactics. Using classic board situations arranged in chapters by tactical themes, Seirawan teaches readers how to: Board positions from actual games played by history's great chess tacticians are provided throughout. Review tests for each topic let them track their improvement. In no time they will be playing better, with more confidence than they ever thought possible.

Start every game with confidence! The two greatest challenges for beginning chess players are not only to survive the openings phase, but also to choose appropriate attack and defence formations in the process. Winning Chess Openings shows players how to do both. In Yasser Seirawan's entertaining, easy-to-follow style, they are shown formations that can be used with other White or Black pieces. Winning Chess Openings explains how to: *Build a safe house for a king *Estimate losses of ten moves or fewer *Utilise the elements: time, force, space, and pawn structure *Plan strategy based on time-tested opening principles of play *Employ a defence for Black against any White opening *Apply an opening for White used by World Champions Winning Chess Openings will help readers develop a solid understanding of opening principles that can be applied to every game they play--without having to memorize a dizzying array of tedious and lengthy opening lines.

This book by International Grand Master Yasser Seirawan provides a move-by-move account of the best chess games of the last 25 years, played by the world's foremost chess competitors. With an authoritative voice that is by turns poetic and analytical, Seirawan serves as host of a fascinating excursion of the most brilliant chess game, providing highlights into and explanations of each and every move. Seirawan begins each game with a description of the historical atmosphere of the chess world --and sometimes the world at large--at the time the game was played. When he delves into the game itself, he starts with the reasoning behind the opening moves. From there he provides both a play-by-play description of the game and an analytical commentary, all the while examining the moves in terms of place development and possible tactical and strategic opportunities. Along the way, a handful of the players are profiled in biographies. In Winning Chess Brilliancies readers will get a taste of the most dazzling chess combinations devious strategies, and downright cruel blows as world champions risk it all! This book is truly a celebration of the sport of chess.

Play Winning Chess is an introduction to the moves, strategies and philosophy of chess, with clear explanations of the games, fundamental and instructive examples, question-and-answer sections, sample games and psychological hints.