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John le Carré's first post-glasnost spy novel, The Russia House captures the effect of a slow and uncertain thaw on ordinary people and on the shadowy puppet-masters who command them Barley Blair is not a Service man: he is a small-time publisher, a self-destructive soul whose only loves are whisky and jazz. But it was Barley who, one drunken night at a dacha in Peredelkino during the Moscow Book Fair, was befriended by a high-ranking Soviet scientist who could be the greatest asset to the West since perestroika began, and made a promise. Nearly a year later, his drunken promise returns to haunt him. A reluctant Barley is quickly trained by British Intelligence and sent to Moscow to liaise with a go-between, the beautiful Katya. Both are lonely and disillusioned. Each is increasingly certain that if the human race is to have any future, all must betray their countries ... If you enjoyed The Russia House, you might like le Carré's The Secret Pilgrim, also available in Penguin Modern Classics. 'Classic le Carré' Sunday Times
When a chess master finds a winning strategic idea it is seldom by accident. An amateur, staring at a position on the chess board is often fumbling in the dark, his head spinning with a multitude of general rules and vague notions. The master’s approach is concrete. He knows how and where to look, because he has studied the games of other masters. Sarkhan Guliev presents a wide range of strategic manoeuvres that have been repeatedly employed by great chess players. He shows how masters generate ideas from the games of other masters: positional sacrifices, amazing counterplay concepts, unorthodox exchanges, winning with h2-h4, overcoming a blockade, the advantages of double pawns, the e5 pawn wedge, the uses of the queen-bishop battery, and much more. After studying this book, chess amateurs will find winning strategic manoeuvres quicker and more often. They will not find them by accident or by relying on general principles, but because they have built up a large stockpile of highly practical ideas.
This magnificent volume contains the extraordinary story of the prolonged battle between Bobby Fischer, the lone American genius who is perhaps the most famous chess player of all time, and the long-standing and all-dominating Soviet chess machine. For the first time readers will be able to view virtually all the secret documents on "the Fischer problem", many of which have never previously been published. These include papers from the archives of the KGB, the Communist Party Central Committee, the USSR Sports Committee, and the Chess Federation. Together with this, there are reports and analysis of Fischer's personality and play, written at the demand of the Soviet authorities by the country's leading Grandmasters, legends such as Mikhail Tal, Tigran Petrosian, Vassily Smyslov, Paul Keres, Victor Korchnoi, and Efim Geller. Also contained in Russians Versus Fischer are annotations and the stories on all of the 158 chess encounters between Fischer and his Soviet adversaries, and a large number of rare photographs and drawings. This book is a significantly enlarged and updated version of the one first published in Russia in 1994.
• One of the world's greatest chess players reveals the secrets of how he plans his play • Packed with invaluable information on how to mobilise your forces, avoid threats and win the game • Illustrated with a wealth of annotated examples from the author's own games The legendary Anatoly Karpov has won over 250 Grandmaster tournaments, many more than any other player in chess history, and his games are characterised by his gradually and patiently pushing an opponent back to the wall, before finally finishing him off with a deadly blow. In this unique book, aimed at ordinary club players, Karpov gives a wealth of tips on how to incorporate this dramatic style of play into your own repertoire, through careful planning and evaluation of positions: looking at the fire-power of your forces, being aware of threats to your own king and how to safeguard it, and careful control of open lines. As he says himself: 'Finding the right plan is the key to success'. Warmily and accessibly written, but with Karpov's usual air of authority, this book makes you feel like you are spending an evening with the man himself, and will help you to absorb a little bit of the Karpov magic.
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Alekhine Defense is a bold choice for Black, challenging the classical chess rules from the very beginning of the game yet proving itself to be a flexible system. Black can choose to head for mind-boggling complications or carefully manoeuvre within the 6th to 8th ranks, waiting for the right time to strike out at the center. Although once a favorite of Bobby Fischer and occasionally played by Magnus Carlsen, the lack of Alekhine Defense games at the level of elite Grandmasters today means that many lines and ideas remain untested in practice. As a result, this opening leads to lively, often open positions with chances for both sides. With l...Nf6 Black signals that he is playing to win.This book, consisting of 16 parts and 87 chapters, not only covers the traditional Alekhine lines but also takes a comprehensive look at variations rooted firmly in the 21st century. Moreover, thanks to the use of modern technology and the authors' deep analysis the evaluations of many well-known lines have been revised. The authors have strived to write a lively work which is useful for both players with high ELO ratings and club players.
Grandmaster Alexander Panchenko (1953-2009) was one of the most successful chess trainers in the Soviet Union, and later in Russia. Panchenko ran a legendary chess school that specialised in turning promising players into masters. The secret of his success were his dedication and enthusiasm as a teacher combined with his outstanding training materials. ‘Pancha’ provided his pupils with systematic knowledge, deep understanding and the ability to take practical decisions. Now, Panchenko’s classic Mastering Chess Middlegames is for the first time available in translation, giving club-players around the world access to this unique training method. The book contains a collection of inspirin...
The author of more than 40 books on chess, Kalinichenko presents a series of openings which provide show the benefits of attack in chess.
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