The Caro-Kann defense is one of the most popular modern openings, which is firmly included in the repertoire of most elite chess players. The author of the book, a well-known grandmaster and theorist, offers a full repertoire for black in response to 1.e4, explains in detail the main strategic ideas of each option and gives the exact order of moves, offers a number of novelties in current schemes. In each chapter, alternative plans for black are considered, so that the reader can make a choice according to his taste, and it was more difficult for the opponent to prepare. Much attention in the monograph is paid to correspondence games in which players use all the achievements of modern technology. All analyses during the work on the manuscript are checked on powerful computers. Carefully selected positions for the solution will help the reader to consolidate the acquired knowledge. The 2nd edition supplements the section with the 10 most interesting current parties. The book is addressed to chess players of any level – from amateurs to professionals.  

The vast majority of opening guides are written for adult readers. This book is also devoted to the theory but it is junior. The structure of the book is simple and attractive: openings are examined using examples from actual games, each of which is presented in the form of a lesson with its own name. Several such lessons form an opening theme, and the examination of each theme concludes with exercises. In each opening, attention is drawn to its characteristic tactical and strategic ideas of combinations for independent solution strictly corresponds to the opening theme. Written in clear and easy language, the book is furnished with a large number of diagrams. Colored explanatory arrows on the diagrams and the selection of individual pages with a colored background make the book easier to understand. Regular work solve two problems: deepen the student's knowledge and develop his tactical vision, thus improving his skill and results.

«The idea of continuing the autobiographical book “Steps” has been in the air almost since the moment it was written. Despite the bullet point at the end of the book in the form of a victory over Magnus Carlsen, my chess career continued for another full 14 years, and the subsequent stormy socio-political career is only gaining momentum.” (V. Bologan).  The book contains 75 games commented in detail and a number of fragments. A frank story about the life and professional path, about cooperation with the leading grandmasters and coaches of the world (among them - A. Karpov, G. Kasparov, Yu. Polgar, Zhu Chen, R. Ponomarev, A. Shirov, A. Morozevich, A. Onischuk, A. Ryazantsev, E. Inarkiev, M. Al-Mudakhka, M. Dvoretsky, M. Podgaets, V. Chebanenko, Z. Lanka and others), about political activities in the Parliament of Moldova and about work in FIDE are complemented by numerous photographs.   For a wide range of chess lovers.

The authors continue to study typical opening and middlegame positions. Royal Fortress No. 2 has pawns on squares f7, g6, h7 (or f2, g3, h2), and they are usually joined by another defender – bishop on g7 (g2). This formation is called fianchetto, it is found in many popular openings, such as the Catalan Opening, King's Indian Defense, Grunfeld Defense and a number of others.  The authors analyze in detail the techniques of attack, defense and counterattack. Most examples – from the creativity of modern chess players (for example, a separate chapter is dedicated to the strongest Russian grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi); they are complemented by parts that have become a classical heritage. The book contains about 300 positions for independent solution, so it is not only a textbook, but also a solid problem book. Grandmaster Konstantin Chernyshov, head of the Interregional Grandmaster School in Kostroma, and his daughter International Master Natalya Kareva – experienced coaches, whose students include grandmasters and masters, champions of Russia and Europe among juniors.  The book is addressed to young chess players and their mentors. 

The 2012 World Vice-Champion continues his story, begun in the best-selling books Positional Decision Making in Chess. ("Book of the Year" according to the English Chess Federation), "Dynamic Decision Making in Chess" and "Technical Decision Making in Chess." The new book discusses ways to make decisions in positions without minor pieces. The reader will get acquainted with rook and queen endings, as well as with what Romanovsky called the "fourth stage", that is, the late middlegame / early endgame, where only heavy pieces remain on the board. «Gelfand is very good– and very honest – explains what decisions he was able to calculate and what he had to make on the basis of general reasoning, and how he did it. This resulted in a book of the type that I love. A chess player of any strength can find a lot of useful things here. (Grandmaster Matthew Sadler, reviewer of novelties in chess literature in the magazine "New in Chess"). For a wide range of chess lovers.