Best Selling Books by Raymond Keene

Anyone - beginners of all ages - can learn how to play chess with the help of this clear manual, now in its second edition.

A complete step-by-step course which shows you how to play and deepen your understanding of chess.

The epic 1995 match for the World Chess Championship between Kasparov and Anand with all games deeply annotated by Grandmaster Raymond Keene.

Describes the game of chess, from the basic moves to strategies for attack and defense, with chapters on the history of the game, great champions, competitions, and computer chess.

Traditional chess openings emphasize control of the center. Flank Openings are opening systems first developed by such players as Reti and Nimzowitsch in which the player of the white pieces concedes control of the center to Black, but then seeks to undermine the center and cause it to collapse with attacks from the sides. Grandmaster Raymond Keene explains the concepts and ideas behind these chess opening systems.

Howard Staunton (1810 - 22 June 1874) was an English chess master who is generally regarded as having been the world''s strongest player from 1843 to 1851. He promoted a chess set of clearly distinguishable pieces of standardised shape that is still the style which must be used for competitions. He was the principal organizer of the first international chess tournament in 1851. From 1840 onwards he became a leading chess commentator, and won matches against top players of the 1840s. However, the achievement of Staunton have been neglected or even ignored by his own countrymen and this book seeks to rectify that.

Why are certain openings fashionable and why do others vanish? Is this based on an objective evaluation or on mere whim? How were Openings principles first elaborated and by whom? And are the experts on openings always right?

This reference guide for club and tournament players looks at every important opening. Each opening and its variations are featured together, with all the vital information needed to playing the opening with confidence. Jon Speelman and Raymond Keene are both Grandmasters, Jon having won the British Championship three times. Jon Speelman is the author of Analysing the Endgame and Endgame Preparation.