What's New April 2006

Carnelian II

NOVICE TO EXPERIENCED PLAYERS:

NOVAG mid-range computers are packed with more features and strength at unbeatable value to appeal to experienced players with a wide range of abilities, or those who, although weak now, expect to improve rapidly.

·         All above mentioned features

·         They have a very strong 16K program which encompasses all the above features combined with:

·         128 Redesigned Playing Levels - to keep up with your improvement; from Handicap through Tournament and Blitz levels, as well as Analysis and Problem-solving up to Mate-in-6.

·         Referee - the computer acts as referee, it will reject illegal moves. You enter the moves for both sides, either when playing against another player, or to enter a specific game or opening position you would like to play.

·         Extensive 8500 Move Built-in Master Opening Library - to ensure more varied and lively play.

·         8 Mhz System Clock Speed - for fast response times.

·         Feedback LCD - to show all moves, take-back, position verification and set-up.

est. strength: 1900 USCF

·         Stylish table-top chess computer with beautifully carved wooden chess pieces.

·         The 16K strong program with a 8 MHz system clock speed and it s many features allows a varied and challenging game.

·         The wide-ranging opening book contains more than 8500 halfmoves, including exciting middle and end game strategies.

·         128 level settings, including training, tournament and problem solving levels.

·         Move TAKE BACK, HINT, TRAINING, and REFEREE features help to improve your game.

·         As all Novag chess computers this model is programmed in accordance with the International Chess Rules, knows en-passant moves, castlings and pawn promotion.

·         The Novag Carnelian can play against itself and also makes Check, Stalemate and Mate announcements.

·         Many hours of playing time from 6 x AA alkaline batteries or an optional 9V NOVAG mains adaptor #8210 / #1021 for long term usage (both not supplied).

Price $175

Chess Explained: The Classical Sicilian

CHESS EXPLAINED: THE CLASSICAL SICILIAN

(Alex Yermolinsky) - $39.95
112 pages (248 mm by 172 mm). ISBN 1 904600 42 5.

Chess Explained is a new series of books about chess openings. They are not theoretical works in the traditional sense, but more a series of lessons from a chess expert with extensive over-the-board experience with an opening. You will gain an understanding of the opening and the middlegames to which it leads, enabling you to find the right moves and plans in your own games. It is as if you were sitting at the board with a chess coach answering your questions about the plans for both sides, the ideas behind particular moves, and what specific knowledge you need to have.

The Classical Sicilian is one of the most popular and respected systems of the Sicilian, and has been used frequently by players such as Anand, Kramnik and Shirov. Black develops his pieces more quickly than in many Sicilian systems, and intricate piece-play often results. White's most popular and critical response is the Richter-Rauzer Attack, and recent years have seen a diversification in the plans for both sides in this perennially popular line. Against White's alternatives to the Rauzer, Yermolinsky covers lines that retain the independent significance of the Classical move-order, such as 6 Bc4 Qb6 - a line in which he is a leading specialist.

Grandmaster Alex Yermolinsky is one of the strongest players in the United States. He was US Champion in 1996, and won the US Open Championship in 1995 and 1997. His credentials as a teacher are no less impressive. He assisted Irina Levitina in her bid for the Women's World Championship in 1982-4, while his former pupils include several top-class grandmasters and a US Junior Champion. His previous book for Gambit, The Road to Chess Improvement, won the USCF Cramer Award for best instructional book.

Download a pdf file with a sample from the book.

Opening for White According to Anand Vol. 6 - Alexander Khalifman

$49.95

This latest installment in the projected ten book series covers the Rubinstein (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4) and Steinitz variations (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.e5) of the French Defence as well as early deviations after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3).

Volume 6 - French Defence – 3.Nc3 dxe4, 3...Nf6 and other moves.

Opening for White According to Anand Vol. 7 - Alexander Khalifman

$49.95

The latest installment in the projected ten book series covers one of the most popular variations of the French Defence – the Winawer system (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4).

Volume 7 - French Defence - Winawer

GM Delchev proposes a sound yet aggressive Black Sicilian repertoire, based on the Taimanov system: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cd4 4.Nd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7. As Black, it is extremely difficult to get a playable position without accepting extreme risks. This book deals with reliable positional systems which will serve you for many years, without having to update your opening knowledge every two weeks. This setup is especially effective against the dreaded English attack. The author is one of the world’s leading experts in that field and his recommendations are based mostly on his own games. Without hiding back his secrets, Delchev reveals many new ideas and novelties in his pet line. The authors pay also attention to White’s deviations from the Open Sicilian. There are chapters about 3.c3, 3.d3, 3.Nc3, 3.b3, 3.c4 and other rare lines. The book features a new form of presentation. Every system is examined in a separate part which contains three chapters.

$45.00

Chessbase

Fritz Trainer
Andrew Martin: The ABC of the Benko Gambit

Andrew Martin: The ABC of the Benko Gambit - $49.95
The Benko Gambit is one of the most profound contributions to opening theory of the 20th Century. Black sacrifices a pawn as early as move three for enduring positional pressure. On this new Chess Base DVD, International Master Andrew Martin traces the history of the Gambit from the games of Opocensky, Lundin and Stoltz back in the 1930s, through the golden age of Bronstein, Benko and Browne all the way to the present day, where the gambit is as popular as ever.
Available from March 17
 

Martin describes the main themes and ideas of the Gambit and gives sound guide lines, so that any one who wants to play for the initiative with Black and play the Benko Gambit, will be very well equipped. Do you want to play for the initiative with Black? Then the Benko Gambit is surely for you. The DVD contains more than 4 hours video lessons, the latest ChessBase 9.0 Reader as well as an unannotated database of the contents.

Andrew Martin is 47 years old and lives in Sandhurst, England, with his wife and four children. He has written several best-selling chess books, including
the recent ‘King’s Indian Battle Plans’ and ‘Secret Weapons’. He writes for ChessPublishing.com and has several monthly columns at chessville.com, JeremySilman.
com and for CHESS magazine. He is a noted trainer and coach.

System requirements: Pentium-Processor at 300 Mhz or higher, 64 MB RAM, Windows 98 SE, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Media Player 9.0, DVD drive