New Releases 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.

Fifty of Ray Keene's columns written for The Article and The British Chess Magazine, in which his primary aim has been to connect chess to wider political, scientific and cultural concerns.

Ten easy lessons teach beginning and novice players everything they need to play and win at chess! This new edition, perfect for beginning and intermediate players, is designed with a cleaner, easier text design and large easy-to-use diagrams. Ten easy lessons teach beginning and novice players everything they need to play and win at chess. From setting up a chessboard and moving the pieces, to basic concepts and winning strategies—and even how to get rated and play on the Internet—this is a great book for players looking to learn how to play and/or improve their game. The book is jam-packed with numerous examples, hundreds of easy-to-read diagrams, and clear explanations, to make learning both easy and fun. Chapters cover rules, basic openings, strategy, tactics, computer chess, middle game and endgame play, making this book perfect for budding chess players!

In late 2018, for the first time in nearly two decades, the World Chess Championship was contested between the two players who are clearly number one and two in the world. The champion, Norwegian Magnus Carlsen was defending his title against Fabiano Caruana, the first American to challenge for the World Championship since the legendary Bobby Fischer. This book, co-authored by two leading chess journalists, features extensive and detailed analysis of all game sin the match, biographies and interviews with both players and a history of the world chess championship.

Includes everything you need to learn and play, including a board, pieces, and a book. Chess is the game of kings, an ancient competition that continues to delight and intrigue young and old alike. Mammoth tomes have been written in pursuit of the perfect game, but everyone needs to start somewhere. With the Learn Chess Fast gift set, you can have your kids playing chess in minutes. Starting with the very basics, young minds will learn how to set up the board, the abilities of the various pieces and how they move, and how the game is played. As they progress through the basics, they will also learn basic strategies such as the Scholar’s Mate and the Legall’s Mate and how to read chess notation and diagrams. With a seventy-two-page book written by experts Raymond Keene and Nancy Stewart and chock-full of lively illustrations by Roxie Munro, a game board, and thirty-two chess pieces all contained in a metal case, the Learn Chess Fast gift set is great for developing young players and perfect for family game night. Plus, it’s a fantastic way to be introduced—or introduce someone else—to this wonderful game. Get your kids off the computer and engage their minds with this beautiful set This is the perfect introduction to chess for children age 7 and up. The tone is fun and light-hearted, but the instruction is detailed enough to help children develop their skills.

Including all games from the World Chess Championship Match, plus previous games between Anand and Carlsen and a ground breaking history of the World Chess Champions, including representative games by each of the 19 prior holders of the world title. All annotated by Grandmaster Raymond Keene, OBE. Includes 40 annotated chess games, 243 chess diagrams, plus puzzles and quizzes based upon the games of the match.

Following the split with FIDE when World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov defended his title in a match with Nigel Short in 1993 outside of FIDE, there had been two world chess champions, the "Classical Champion" who had won his title by defeating the current champion in a long match, and the FIDE World Champion who had won one of the World Championship tournaments organized by FIDE. Garry Kasparov lost a match to Kramnik in 2000 so Kramnik became the "Classical World Champion." Numerous efforts to unify the championship by arranging a match between the FIDE Champion and the Classical Champion had fallen through until FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov put up a million dollar prize for a match between Kramnik and the FIDE Champion Topalov. Kramnik won the match but a scandal arose because Kramnik had spent excessive amounts of time on the toilet during the match which may have given him the opportunity to cheat using a cell phone computer. This became known as "The ToiletGate Affair." This book by Grandmaster Raymond Keene proves through in depth analysis of the moves in the games that cheating did NOT occur by either side in the match, because both of them played so badly that cheating could not have been involved. No computer would have made the mistakes that they made. This result is confirmed by computer chess data analysis through an independent computer study that also showed that no cheating was involved.

Chess is the most popular mind sport in the world played regularly by over 600 million people. This book will teach you through the actual gameplay and tactics employed by world champions such as Spassky, Fischer, Karpov, Kasparov and Anand. Interspersed with the examples are informative notes on the history, culture and personalities of chess. Beautifully produced, The Times Little Book of Chess Secrets is a treasure in itself and makes a perfect gift for all word enthusiasts and aspiring chess players the world over. The Times Little Book of Chess Secrets is produced in Association with The Times. Raymond Keene OBE is a former British champion, gold medallist in the European Championship and author of over a hundred books on chess, translated into twelve different languages, the world record. He is chess correspondent for The Times, The Sunday Times and The Australian (Sydney). His daily chess column in The Times regularly tops the polls for most readers.

Everyone is fascinated by great games of chess: the spectacular sacrifices, profound strategic plans and brilliant endgame play produced in the heat of combat are powerful expressions of the creativity of the human mind. But which, of all the hundreds of candidates, are the very greatest games ever played? Here, in this book, is Grandmaster Raymond Keene''s personal selection: twelve games, played by the giants of chess, each of them representing a peak in chess-playing genius. From the slashing attacks of Paul Morphy to the classical beauty of Jose Capablanca; from the python like constriction of Aron Nimzowitsch to the dynamic aggression of Gary Kasparov: all styles of chess are present, as are the great names of chess, including Steinitz, Lasker, Alekhine, Spassky and Fischer.

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

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.

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

This book contains 71 deeply annotated chess victories of Tigran Petrosian (World Champion from 1963 to 1969) against the leading players of his day, some of which are in print for the first time. The authors' authoritative but accessible language makes it a good read for the amateur as well as a cast-iron network of interlocking variations to satisfy the professionals. Petrosian was underrated as world champion in his day (many of his achievements were drowned out by the furore surrounding Bobby Fischer) but he is now being critically reappraised – Garry Kasparov paid fulsome tribute to him at a recent London lecture. This insightful book aims to restore him to his rightful position in the pantheon of chess greats.

Tony Miles was a phenomenon in English chess. From an early age it was apparent that he had no respect whatsoever for the vaunted Soviet School of chess and held their grandmasters in scant esteem. At the very start of his career victories came in quick succession against such renowned opposition as Bronstein, Geller, Smyslov and Spassky. The culmination was a victory at the head of the British Chess Federation team in the European Team Championship at snow bound Skara in Sweden against the reigning world champion Anatoly Karpov. For the very first time in any anthology of Tony Miles'' games this win appears here with Tony''s own profound notes. This was an historic win with Miles using the iconoclastic 1...a6 to defeat the champion''s habitual 1e4. Amongst Tony''s exploits were winning the Junior World Championship, becoming the UK''s first FIDE grandmaster in over the board play and leading the BCF team to silver medals behind only the USSR in the prestigious Chess Olympiads. Miles also won numerous first prizes in international tournaments. He feared no-one and his will to win was legendary, as exemplified by the front jacket photograph of this book. Taken at the Tilburg 1985 tournament, this shows Miles in play on a form of stretcher against grandmaster Djinjihashvili. Although suffering from terrible back pain, Miles insisted on competing, even from this unorthodox position, the only one in which the pain subsided. Characteristically Miles went on to win shared first prize in the event. Tony Miles died tragically early in November 2001. This book is a memorial to him, written by a Grandmaster rival who faced him many times over the board. Raymond Keene is a British Chess Champion, and the first British Player to achieve a FIDE (World Chess Federation) Grandmaster norm. He was awarded the OBE for services to chess in 1985. He is Chess Correspondent of The Times, The Sunday Times, The Spectator, and The International Herald Tribune. He is a prolific author of chess books, several of which are classics of the genre. He has organised three World Chess Championships

Howard Staunton was the iconic polymath who essentially founded British chess. He was the dominant player of his time and after his 1843 victory against St Amant in Paris he would undoubtedly have been hailed as world champion, had anyone thought of creating the title at that time. Staunton''s name also goes down into history as the man after whom the standard Staunton pattern chess pieces are named.The year 2003 was the 175th anniversary of the foundation of Simpson''s in the Strand, the great 19th century home of chess. The Staunton Society, therefore, decided to organise a chess tournament to celebrate both Staunton and this great venue. This book gives all the games and a potted history of chess in London. The greatest London events are recorded as well as games played in London by every World Champion. Raymond Keene OBE, chess correspondent of The Times, was London''s first official Grandmaster. Artist Barry Martin is the Honorary Secretary of the Staunton Society.This book also includes all the games from the second Staunton Tournament.

Between 1979 and 1985 seven International Tournaments were held in Brighton, England, as a result of the efforts of Ray Keene and Julian Simpole. Here the two organisers recombine as joint authors to record all games from these events, all results and some notes and comments to the most outstanding clashes. The players invited form a veritable roll call of British illuminati in chess - Nigel Short, Jon Speelman, Dr John Nunn, William Watson, James Plaskett, Dr Jonathan Mestel and Shaun Taulbut. The foreign challenge was also considerable including World Championship Candidate Johann Hjartarson from Iceland as well as Grandmasters Jon Arnason, Gudmundur Sigurjonsson, Heikki Westerinen, Jon Fedorowicz and Jon Tisdall. Many of these games will be unknown to the chess public. They form a treasure trove of ideas and strategies, as well as being an invaluable historical document in their own right, within the context of the celebrated English chess explosion which commenced in the late 1970s and led to an English challenge for the World Title in 1993. Raymond Keene is a British Chess Champion, and the first British Player to achieve a FIDE (World Chess Federation) Grandmaster norm. He was awarded the OBE for services to chess in 1985. He is Chess Correspondent of The Times, The Sunday Times, The Spectator, and The International Herald Tribune. He is a prolific author of chess books, several of which are classics of the genre. He has organised three World Chess Championships. Julian Simpole was top board for the Brighton team that won the 1969 British Lightning Team Championship, while in 2003 he was awarded the title of Official World Chess Federation Organiser, in recognition of his work in creating and running important international tournaments in the UK.

A host of material by ingenious theoreticians, which has not only stood the test of time, but may well form a devastating arsenal of secret weapons for your own games. This is the second volume of Modern Chess Theory magazine, which continued under the editorship of Grandmaster Keene from 1980-1982. The Caro-Kann Defence, English Opening, Grunfeld Defence, Old Indian Defence, and Sicilian Defence are among the topics for articles. Contributors to this volume include Svetozar Gligoric, Vlastimil Hort, Bent Larsen, John Nunn, Fridrik Olafsson, Michael Stean, and Jan Timman.

Compiled by three grandmasters and two international masters this scholarly treatise explains in depth the thinking behind a defence that has been a favourite of champions such as Capablanca, Botvinnik, Petrosian and Karpov. Even Kasparov has been known to use the Caro Kann on occasion, for example in one case to defeat Mikhail Tal.

Ray Keene has been writing the chess column every week in the venerable Spectator magazine since 1977. Since then not a week has gone by without a chess article appearing in the paper. This makes Ray the longest serving continuous contributor to The Spectator. After a slight delay - of 27 years - the first book to anthologise the best of the Spectator columns has at last appeared. Top results, games by masters, grandmasters and champions, all furnished with detailed comments, combined with a series of chess brain teasers, complete a veritable chess education. With his outspoken views on the World Championship, the World Chess Federation and Man v Machine matches, the author also turns this book into a state of the art commentary on one of the most exciting yet turbulent phases of the development of world chess.

The King's Indian is noted as a dynamic counter-attacking defence par excellence. This book describes the key strategies for both sides in the main lines such as the Fianchetto variation, the Petrosian system, the Sdmisch/ Four Pawns attack and Averbakh. Analysis is backed up with verbal explanation making this book an ideal introduction for those wishing to take up or face the King's Indian in competitive situations.

This Hardinge Simpole Openings Classic reprint represents a landmark in the evolution of openings theory. This ground-breaking treatise on the revolutionary Modern Defence became a Bible for those adventurous players who were prepared to permit the opposition to construct a vast pawn centre - only to dynamite it with violent counter-measures in the middlegame. Such players included Botvinnik, Ivkov, Larsen and Suttles, as well as the two authors who were enthusiastic practitioners of the system.

This book recounts the fourth and penultimate chapter in the half-decade long rivalry which erupted between Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov. In the eyes of many this conflict symbolised the clash between the Brezhnev-inspired forces of reaction in the old USSR and the new Gorbachev/Yeltsin-driven imperatives which ultimately led to the collapse of the creaking Soviet empire.

In early 1985 Florencio Campomanes - the now disgraced former president of FIDE, the World Chess Federation - halted the World Title challenge from Garry Kasparov "without result," thus forcing a rematch in the autumn of that same year. This book recounts Kasparov''s determined fresh assault on the world title which made him at age 22 the youngest champion in the history of the game.

The Nimzo-Indian Defence is one of Black's most dynamic ways of countering 1 d4. From the outset of the game Black seeks to create pawn weaknesses in his opponent's position to be exploited in the middlegame. Usually this involves renouncing the bishop pair, typically leading to positions in which both sides have clear strategic objectives, where the outcome is decided by the skills of the two players in executing these plans.

Moscow, in the autumn of 1984, was the setting for a clash between two of the all-time greats of chess: defending champion Anatoly Karpov, the most deadly tournament player in the history of the game, and Gary Kasparov, the 21 year old from Baku who would become the youngest ever World Champion were he to overthrow his rival. This gruelling test of contrasting character, style and sheer physical reserves roused a wave of media interest and thrust chess into the forefront of public attention.

The attention of the chess-playing world, was drawn to the Gulf state of Bahrain where His Majesty the King of Bahrain had offered a million dollar prize for a match between world chess champion Kramnik and the world''s top chess playing program, Deep Fritz. from Hamburg, Germany. Kramnik was bent on avenging the defeat in 1997 by Garry Kasparov against IBM''s Deep Blue super-computer.

Even Kasparov is human. This book analyses all of his major lost games up to 1990 and tries to draw common conclusions about how to defeat the very greatest. Gary Kasparov won the World Championship in 1985 and successfully defended it in 1986-1987 and 1990, 1993 and 1995.

Leonid Stein's brilliant chess career, cut tragically short in 1973, included overwhelming victories against the world's leading grandmasters, Stein not only stormed to an incredible total of 3 first prizes (out of 4 attempts) in the USSR Championships, but also won what were arguably the two strongest tournaments of all time, (Moscow 1967 and Moscow 1971)