An unexamined life is not worth living.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

2 Years, 18 eBooks, Thousand Puzzles, Hundred Annotated Games Later

Two years ago, I started converting my published and studying materials into electronic books that I thought would be great to read anywhere, on any mobile device, on the internet, offline, etc. The eBook format seemed to be a natural fit, and I have been uploading my content on Amazon, with some samples on this blog, on my YouTube channel, and on Kobo. The project turned out “a bit” more ambitious than originally anticipated, but it has been a great learning experience so far.

The table below summarizes roughly the amount of content in each book, and should give you an idea what book you might be interested in. As I continue to tweak the process, I’d also like to hear your thoughts on the format, content, pricing, and really anything related to these books.

Book Title Training Positions * Annotated Games Price Series
Bishop Endgames: Do Opposites Attract? 44 27 2.99 Practical Endgames
Exchange Slav - Strategy and Tactics 27 28 2.99 Opening Preparation
Counterattack with Alexander Morozevich 42
0.99 Practical Tactics
Spanish Opening - Strategy and Tactics 28 11 2.99 Opening Preparation
Play Like a Grandmaster - Tactics from Chess World Cup 2013 54
2.99 Practical Tactics
World Championship Preview - Combinations by Anand and Carlsen 131
2.99 Practical Tactics
Rook and Knight Endgames - Strategy and Tactics 26 19 2.99 Practical Endgames
Attack with Alexander Morozevich - Selected Games and Best Combinations 54 10 2.99 Practical Tactics
Play Like a Grandmaster - Best Tactics of 2013 82
2.99 Practical Tactics
Best Combinations - January 2014 51
0.99 Monthly Tactics
Best Combinations - February 2014 57
0.99 Monthly Tactics
Best Combinations - March 2014 40
0.99 Monthly Tactics
Best Combinations - April 2014 51
0.99 Monthly Tactics
Best Combinations - May 2014 54
0.99 Monthly Tactics
Best Combinations - June 2014 102
2.99 Monthly Tactics
Endgames by Juniors - Instructive Games and Blunders 9 23 2.99 Practical Endgames
Best Combinations – July 2014 101
2.99 Monthly Tactics
Best Combinations – August 2014 103
2.99 Monthly Tactics
Total
1056 118  

* Training positions typically also contain annotations and are computer checked for accuracy.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Power of Exchanges in Chess – Transitioning into Bishop endgame

Jiganchine – North, Keres Memorial 2014
imageWhite to move. Find the winning idea.

The title of the post obviously contains the hint, but I would still suggest you consider what is the biggest weaknesses in Black’s position, what piece defends that weakness, and what is the best piece to attack it attack it. Alas in the game, I overlooked it, and gave Black a chance to defend, which he in his turn – also missed.

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Knight Endgame Lesson - Back to the Basics

Reviewing your games with a strong human player is the best way to get a “second opinion” about your chess skills, much better than doing it with a computer engine. Here is one example that was shown to me, that illustrates the power of basic strategic components such as distant passed pawn in knight endgames.

Lai – Jiganchine, 2012
image Black to move. Find the best move/plan (feel free to post it in the comments section).
Hint: Black wants to a create a passed ‘a’ pawn.

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