This tutorial is addressed to those who want to learn to play chess on their own and improve further. The lesson-based method of presentation, as well as numerous exercises, contribute to the consistent assimilation of the rules and laws that form the basis of the chess game. The book contains extensive educational material, which is presented to the reader in accordance with modern pedagogical principles. The purpose of this manual is to train chess players of the III category (rating up to 1800). The textbook can also be used for classes in groups - it covers the material of existing programs of the first year of study in children's and youth chess schools.

The book by grandmaster and experienced coach Alexander Galkin is dedicated to the strongest piece on the chessboard – to the queen. Using the example of episodes from games of modern grandmasters (the vast majority of games date back to 2020-2023) and his own grandmaster practice, the author tries to generalize, and in some places even clarify the methodology for understanding and playing queen endings, as well as other types of endgames with the presence of queens ) On the desk. The book presents various ratios of material – “queen against queen”, “queen and minor piece against queen and minor piece”, “queen and rook against queen and rook”, “queen against two rooks”, “queen against rook and pawns”, “ queen against a rook and a minor piece”, “two queens against two queens” – practically the entire spectrum of encountered endgames of this type. The material is structured in such a way that the reader can get maximum benefit from studying the examples of queen endings and its other derivatives offered by the author. The book is aimed at advanced chess players, is useful for coaches and can be recommended to a wide range of chess fans.

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 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 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.

This collection of wonderful combinations is based on the famous magazine “Chess” published in the USSR. The editorial office was located in Riga, its members included strong Latvian chess players, and the editor-in-chief of the publication for many years was the eighth world champion Mikhail Tal, who always took an active part in the development of the magazine. Perhaps the most popular section among readers has always been “Find the best continuation without moving the pieces.” A fresh dozen of the most beautiful and instructive combinations, mainly from current tournaments, were published on the back cover, and the solutions were given in the next issue. The combinations were selected by the editorial team very carefully, because the magazine's circulation was more than 60,000 copies and was distributed in more than 50 countries! This edition includes combinations published in the mentioned section from 1980 to 1990. By solving these combinations, you are sure to improve your tactical skills and significantly strengthen your game.

The height of the king is 95 mm, the diameter of the base of the king is 42 mm. Currently used in tournaments of the Central House of Chess Players. The kit is sold without a board.