This is a one-off special edition
of the catalog for the chess enthusiast featuring a large number of
chess-related books as well as a few games and other items. They have all been
in my regular catalog but it seemed sensible to separate them out so they can
be inspected more carefully by those who are particularly keen on chess!
100 Other
Games To Play On A Chessboard. Published by Peter Owen. 1983.
Book. Excellent. £9
Author:
Stephen Addison. Country: British.
Softback,
23x15cm, 96 pages. A collection of
games (other than chess) which you can play on a chessboard. These games fall into the following
categories: Chess Related Games (6), Pure Variants (34), Occupational Games
(5), Positional Games (6), Draughts & Variations (17), Custodian Capture
Games (4), Games Played On The Intersections (7), Misc (13). There is also a section with puzzles for you
to solve.
A Pocket
Guide To The Chess Openings. Published by G.Bell & Sons. 1975. Book.
Excellent. £2.50
Author:
R.C.Griffith & H.Golombek. Country: British.
Special
notes: In a plastic cover for extra protection
Hardback,
18x12cm, 127 pages. A concise guide to
around 100 different openings, indexed by first move for easy reference. Each opening has its own page with moves
typical for that opening.
An
Introduction To The Endgame At Chess. Published by Chatto &
Windus. 1939. Book. Good. £5
Author:
Philip W. Sergeant. Country: British.
Hardback,
19x13cm, 219 pages. A book that aims to
improve the amateur but reasonably serious player's game by taking a detailed
look at the Endgame. The contents are
divided as follows: The Pawn Ending, Endings With More Pawns, Companion
Squares, A Two To One Pawn Endgame, Queens, Rooks, The Minor Pieces, Bishop
Against Knight, Queen Against Rook.
Attacking
The King. Published by B.T. Batsford. 1991. Book. Excellent. £4.50
Author:
Yakov Neishtadt. Country: British.
Softback,
21x13cm, 109 pages. Chess book translated by Malcolm Gesthuysen. Every chess player
aims for successful attacks on the king. This book shows you how to: launch a
piece attack against an uncastled king, create checkmate possibilities against
a castled position, undertake pawn storms when there is castling on opposite
sides, keep your opponent guessing as to your own king's destination.
Attacking
The Queenside. Published by B.T. Batsford. 1990. Book. Excellent. £3
Author:
Boris Shashin. Country: British.
Softback,
21x13cm, 109 pages. Chess book translated by Ian White. Everyone knows how to
conduct a kingside attack, but what happens on the other side of the board?
This book shows you how to: attack with a queenside majority, launch a minority
attack, use weak squares in your opponent's position, make the most of open and
half open files especially in the Sicilian Defence.
Batsford
Chess Openings 2. Published by B.T. Batsford. 1989. Book. Excellent.
£4
Author:
Gary Kasparov, Raymond Keene. Country: British.
Softback,
24x17cm, 413 pages. A smaller (!) book
intended for the average to county level player rather than the 5 volume
Batsford Openings book which was rather more technical (!). You'll still need to be a pretty keen chess
player to be able to make the most of this though! Claimed to be the essential book for openings whatever your
standard of play.
Chess And
Draughts - How To Play Scientifically. Published by W. Foulsham &
Co.. ca.1950. Book.
Good.
£0.50. Author: Albert Belasco. Country: British.
Softback
with dustcover, 19x13cm, 64 pages. 38th edition of this popular book which
gives the rules to both games as well as a discussion of how to play well. Includes puzzles with solutions for both
games. The print is small, so fits quite a lot into the limited space.
Chess And
How To Play It. Published by Universal Publications Ltd. 1939. Book. Good.
£4
Author: B.
Scriven. Country: British.
Softback
with dustcover, 17x11cm, 90 pages. A
wartime book for complete beginners at chess. While the book has a dustcover it
only has a thin under-cover presumably a wartime resource saving measure. The
book introduces the pieces and how they move, and gives the rules of the game,
as well as some simpler openings, and advice on how to mate with various
pieces, and finally a few sample games.
Chess
Computer - Systema Comet. Published by Systema. ca.1995. Box. Good. £11
Designer:
Unknown. No. players: 1-2. Country: China.
This chess
computer has 100 levels of difficulty ranging from instantaneous moves to 3
minutes per move for the computer, or a mode in which it uses the same amount
of time as you do, or fixed time limits per player for the whole game. In
addition there is a chess problem solving facility and also a two player mode
(in which the computer can give hints if desired). The ELO rating is 1950.
Uses 4 AAA batteries. The unit
is small and very portable and so the playing pieces are also small. Nice item.
Chess For
Beginners. Published by T. Fisher Unwin. 1897. Book. Good. £9
Author:
R.B. Swinton. Country: British.
Hardback,
18x13cm, 200 pages. Antique chess book
intended to instruct beginners in the game. The chapters are untitled, but the
book is indexed.
Chess For
Fun & Chess For Blood. Published by Hollis & Carter. 1952. Book.
Good, but
dustcover shows some wear. £6.50. Author: Edward Lasker. Country: British.
Hardback
with dustcover, 22x14cm, 202 pages. This book splits its contents into two
halves: Chess For Fun (Chess Amenities; Chess Master, Artist & Scientist;
Checkmating Combinations; End Game Play; Strategic Principles; Practical
Applications; The Chess Problem). and Chess For Blood (Master Chess; Emmanuel
Lasker vs Edward Lasker, Tournament Ethics, International Chess Code).
Chess
Informant 31 1981. Published by Centar Za Unapredivanje. 1981. Book.
Good. £2
Author:
Aleksandar Matanovic. Country: Yugoslavian.
Softback,
24x17cm, 336 pages. Chess journal which collected together all the top level
games played at that time which were worthy of being recorded for posterity in
order to advance the understanding of chess theory worldwide. Thus there are a huge number of matches
recorded with important positions pictured.
Chess
Masterpieces. Published by Daily News Ltd. 1924. Book. Good, but spine
has been taped. £5.50
Author:
W.H. Watts. Country: American.
Softback,
21x14cm, 58 pages. A selection of 50 games by the world's masters, fully
annotated with illustrations. This book includes biographies of well known
masters and details top matches they have played.
Chess
Thirteenth Volume. Published by Chess. 1947. Book. Good. £1.75
Author:
Baruch H. Wood. Country: British.
Hardback,
24x18cm, 292 pages. Chess 'magazine' for the period Oct 1947 - Sep 1948.
International, national and county level chess matches are covered with the
matches listed and commented on. There are also quite a few columns such as the
Analytical corner, Problem corner, and many more.
Chessmen.
Published by Octopus Books. 1967. Book. Excellent. £0.75
Author:
A.E.J. Mackett-Beeson. Country: British.
Hardback
with dustcover, 24x21cm, 97 pages. This book gives a history of the game of
chess and then shows pictures of and discusses chess pieces from Europe,
Russia, The Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Countries, and then moves on to
examine modern chess pieces. There are
123 illustrations. An essential book for the collector of chess related items.
First
Theories Of Hexagonal Chess. Published by Hexagonal Chess Publications. 1974.
Book.
Good, but
shows a little wear. £3.50
Author: W.
Glinski. Country: British.
Softback,
21x15cm, 112 pages. This book covers
the author's chess variant played on a hexagonal board. The book covers: Rules of Hexagonal Chess,
Hexagonal Chess Compared to Square Chess, Openings and Middle Games, Endgames
and Problems, Tomorrow's Chess World.
Garry
Kasparov - Child Of Change. Published by Hutchinson. 1987. Book. Good. £2.25
Author:
Garry Kasparov + Donald Trelford. Country: British.
Hardback
with dustcover, 24x16cm, 243 pages.
Autobiography of the Russian Chess Grandmaster. Also includes a few
illustrative games, but is almost all concerned with Kasparov's life in the
changing Soviet Union, rather than focusing on chess skills or being a book to
help improve your game!
Glass
Chess Set. Published by Unknown. Box. Good. £2.50
Designer:
Unknown. No. players: 2. Country: Unknown.
An
entirely glass chess set (board and pieces are all glass). The board measures
17.5cm square, so is quite small, but the set is entirely functional and very
attractive.
History Of
Chess. Published by Abbey Library. 1977. Book. Good. £7
Author:
B.H.Wood, Jerry Gizycki. Country: British.
Hardback
with dustcover, 27x21cm, 375 pages. A fascinating study of the history of chess
by a Polish expert. The book has many
black and white plates and covers: A Little History; Chess In Britain;
Ramifications Of Chess; Chess And Mathematics; Sport, Science or Art?; Chess
And Machines; Love And War At The Chessboard; Living Chess; Who And When?;
Chess In Poetry And Prose; Chess Curiosity Box. Perhaps an ideal present for a chess enthusiast ?
How To
Beat Your Chess Computer. Published by B.T. Batsford. 1991. Book. Excellent.
£3.25
Author:
Raymond Keene, David Levy. Country: British.
Hardback,
22x14cm, 104 pages. This chess book describes weaknesses in the play of most
computer programmes at the time, and therefore methods by which you can defeat
them. Thus you can learn to play a
computer-hostile game of chess. Whether these methods will still work against
modern chess programmes I have no idea.
However, the book is also instructive for normal play as it examines
nuances of the game you might not otherwise have considered.
How To
Play Chess. Published by Hamlyn. 1977. Book. Good - ex library. £0.75
Author: Kevin Wicker. Country: British.
Hardback,
60 pages, 25x17cm. Although only 60 pages long, the type is small and two
columns per page, so a great deal has been fitted into the book. The book includes a foreword by David
Pritchard, and as well as the obligatory description of the how the game is
played, the bulk of the book is about the strategy and tactics of the game, as
well as a discussion of the opening and endgame phases, some illustrative
games, and suggested further reading, making this an excellent book to get a
player into chess quite deeply.
How To
Play The Middle Game In Chess. Published by Collins. 1974.
Book. Excellent. £3.25
Author:
John E. Littlewood. Country: British.
Hardback
with dustcover, 23x15cm, 191 pages. This book covers chess skills which start
when known opening moves run out and before endgame techniques take over. The book is divided as follows: Intro, The
Pieces, The Pawns, The King, Tactical Ideas, Combinations, Elements of
Strategy, Planning. There are a
selection of problems posed throughout the book, with solutions given at the
end.
Improving
Your Chess. Published by EP Publishing. 1980. Book. Good. £1.25
Author:
Peter Griffiths. Country: British.
Special
notes: Ex library copy. In plastic
cover. Spine colour faded.
Softback,
21x15cm, 104 pages. This book is intended for the chess player who knows how to
play but who hasn't played in a club, or if they have is amongst the weaker
players, and would like to improve. The chapters cover: Basics, Attacking the
Castled King, Attacking Other Targets, White Opening, Black Openings, Endgame.
Knightmare
Chess. Published by Steve Jackson. 1996. Box. Excellent. £2.25
Designer:
Unknown. No. players: 2. Country: American. Duration: 1 hr. Desc. by Eamon.
Cards used
in conjunction with a chess set. Based on the original French idea, a hand of
cards is dealt to each player, and the cards can be played after making a move.
The sheer quantity of cards makes each game different. The card graphics are
very nice. The effects are too numerous to list but they might, for instance,
create a teleporting square, or a black hole square. Certainly livens up chess!
Know The
Game: Chess. Published by Educational Productions. 1954. Book. Good.
£0.60
Author:
Unknown. Country: British.
Softback,
13x20cm, 40 pages. A concise introductory book to Chess which explains the way
the pieces move, special moves, checking, the rules of play, general strategy,
opening moves, the middle game and the end game (with various specific
scenarios), and some problems to get you thinking.
Learn
Chess With Nigel Short. Published by Paul Stanley. 1993. Book. Good - Ex
Library copy. £3.25
Author:
Nigel Short. Country: British.
Hardback
with dustcover, 22x14cm, 96 pages. Britain's best chess player of the time
introduces chess, teaching the basics in a straight forward and easy to
approach way.
Let's Play
Chess. Published by Octopus Books. 1980. Book. Good. £1
Author:
Anthony Hansford. Country: British.
Hardback,
30x22cm, 44 pages. This introductory chess book is aimed at attracting the
Games Workshop brigade into chess, as the inside and outside covers and most of
the artwork throughout the book has a fantasy battle theme. The book itself
teaches chess from the very beginning, describing the pieces and their
movement, check & checkmate, the special moves, and why games can be
drawn. It then goes on to describe
traps, double check and discovered check and then goes on to the end game and
some opening plays.
Modern
Chess Openings. Published by Whitehead & Miller Ltd. 1925. Book. Good.
£2.75
Author:
R.C. Griffith, J. H. White. Country: British.
Special
notes: Fourth Edition
Hardback,
19x12cm, 220 pages. An analysis of a
selection of openings which were modern at the time of writing. The book is indexed.
My Fun To
Play Chess. Published by Hamlyn. 1985. Book. Good. £2.50
Author:
Paul Langfield. Country: British.
Hardback,
32x23cm, 61 pages. This book gives an introduction to chess, and is aimed at
children, the idea being that the book will teach children to play chess from
scratch, and will prepare them for challenging their peers with a good shot at
winning. The first part of the book is purely teaching the rules themselves
while the second part aims to improve the novice player's skills.
Pitfalls
On The Chess Board. Published by Frank Hollins. 1914. Book. Good. £4.50
Author:
E.A. Greig. Country: British.
Hardback,
17x11cm, 72 pages. A collection of roughly 100 articles from Chess Amateur
magazine, each of which presents a different pitfall the chess player would be
well advised to know about and avoid.
Point
Count Chess. Published by George Allen & Unwin. 1960. Book. Good.
£8
Author:
I.A.Horowitz & G.Mott-Smith. Country: British.
Softback,
21x13cm, 358 pages. According to this book every move in chess is a give and
take, losing or reducing control of some spaces while gaining or improving
control over others. By being aware of this ebb and flow and evaluating these
differences the reader can gain a new understanding of how chess works.
Practical
End-Game Play. Published by Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons. 1946. Book.
Good,
spine slightly faded. £2.75
Author:
Fred Reinfeld. Country: British.
Hardback,
19x13cm, 176 pages. Chess book first published in 1940. The author covers end
game issues in chess as follows: Transition to a Favourable Ending, Transition
to an Unfavourable Ending, Missed Opportunities, Defending Difficult Positions,
Types of Ending, Important End Game Motifs.
Saving Lost
Positions. Published by B.T.Batsford. 1987. Book. Excellent. £4.50
Author:
Leonid Shamkovich, Eric Schiller. Country: British.
Softback,
21x14cm, 101 pages. Chess book dedicated to anyone who has ever thrown away a
winning position! The book is intended for experienced chess players and is a
collection of games with discussions in which from a weak position the underdog
has managed to fight back with resourceful play to achieve a draw or even a
win. Chapters cover: Ordeal In The
Opening, Swimming In Dangerous Waters, Its A Blunderful Life, A Sudden Change
of Scenery, Seesaw, Heroic Defence, Endgame Escapes.
Sicilian
Dragon Yugoslav 9 Bc4. Published by B.T. Batsford. 1989. Book. Excellent.
£6
Author:
Laslo Sapi, Attila Schneider. Country: British.
Softback,
21x14cm, 220 pages. Chess book which
goes into detail on the Yugoslav Attack in the Sicilian Dragon - chess at its
most bloodthirsty. This book covers a multitude of variations which can occur. Intended for the advanced chess player.
Speed
Chess Challenge: Kasparov vs Short. Published by B.T. Batsford.
1987. Book. Excellent. £1.75
Author:
Raymond Keene. Country: British.
Softback,
25x19cm, 96 pages. This book takes you
through the speed chess challenge between these grand masters in 1987. The event
was televised, and so there are pictures from key points in the series as well
as discussion of the games and how they developed, and the implications of this
being a speed chess match.
Steeple
Chess. Published by Ravensburger. 1976. Box. 2 copies available:
1) Good
£2.50. 2) Box shows wear. £2
Designer:
Alex Randolph. No. players: 2-4. Country: German. Duration: 45 mins. Desc. by
Eamon.
Race game
with wooden pieces. A special die with chess symbols on its faces is rolled and
this indicates how one of your pieces may move that turn. Pieces can capture
others on the way round.
Tackle
Chess This Way. Published by Paul Stanley. 1972. Book. Excellent. £1
Author: W.
Ritson-Morry, W. Melville Mitchell. Country: British.
Softback,
19x12cm, 200 pages. This book is
intended to take a new chess player and teach them the basics as well as the
rudiments of sound strategy and tactics, covering starting a game, the middle
game and the end game as well as how to avoid making blunders.
Tactical
Chess Exchanges. Published by B.T. Batsford. 1991. Book. Excellent.
£3.25
Author:
Gennady Nesis. Country: British.
Softback,
21x14cm, 121 pages. The author demonstrates how to use pawn and piece exchange
to your advantage in many ways. This is done by examining various games in
which grandmasters have demonstrated the power of the tactical exchange.
The
Batsford Chess Encyclopedia. Published by B.T. Batsford. 1990. Book. Excellent.
£6.50
Author:
Nathan Divinsky. Country: British.
Hardback
with dustcover, 28x24cm, 247 pages. An alphabetically arranged encyclopaedia of
chess, which is an excellent reference book for anyone with a keen interest in
chess. The book covers: biographies of every grand master and all major
international figures with photographs, explanations of technical terms, over
100 of the greatest games ever played, and much more.
The
Beginner's Book Of Chess. Published by K & C. ca.1955. Book. Good. £1.25
Author: F.
Hollings. Country: British.
Special
notes: 13th edition. A stain on the spine discolours all pages, but only very
close to the spine - legibility is unaffected.
Softback,
18x12cm, 64 pages. A very well regarded book (with many glowing reviews from
newspapers etc) which teaches the basics of chess. The book includes a walkthrough of some 'brilliant games' as well
as giving a dozen problems for the reader to solve.
The
British Chess Magazine Vol XXX 1910. Published by Trubner & Co.
1910. Book. Good. £6
Author:
Various. Country: British.
Hardback,
552 pages, 22x15cm. Chess book with many games detailed and analysed, and many
chess problems for the reader to tackle (with solutions).There are also many
articles relating to chess, including reviews of books, and obituaries too!
The Chess
Openings. Published by G. Bell & Sons. 1921. Book. Good. £7
Author: I.
Gunsberg. Country: British.
Softback,
17x12cm, 104 pages. 34 chess openings ordered by first moves for easy
reference. A typical sequence of moves
for each opening is shown and examined.
Very systematic.
The Chess
Player 5 - 1973b. Published by Chess Player Ltd. 1973. Book. Good.
£0.50
Author:
Unknown. Country: British.
Softback,
23x17cm, 286 pages. A collection of the games played by the top level chess
players at the time, at the various top level events that year. Each game's moves are listed and annotated,
with some key positions shown.
The
English Defence. Published by B.T. Batsford. 1987. Book. Excellent.
£8
Author:
Raymond Keene, James Plaskett, Jon Tisdall. Country: British.
Softback,
21x14cm, 100 pages. Chess book for tournament players. Part of a series titled:
The Tournament Player's Repertoire of Openings. This book introduces the
English Defence, and then goes through a selection of possible counter moves,
and also discusses the Accelerated Queen's Indian.
The Game
Of Chess. Published by Penguin. 1957. Book. Good. £1
Author: H.
Golombek. Country: British.
Softback,
18x11cm, 255 pages. This book is
intended to give the beginner an introduction to the rules of chess and basic
play, as well as giving a study of basic openings, middle game and end game
play, in a series of chapters which gradually get more advanced to take the
reader further.
The Golden
Dozen - 12 Greatest Chess Players. Published by Oxford University
Press. 1976. Book.
Good. £5.
Author: Irving Chernev. Country: British.
Hardback
with dust cover, 331 pages, 21x22cm.
This book covers 115 great chess games played by 12 of the best chess
players of all time: Nimzowitsch, Rubinstein, Bronstein, Spassky, Smyslov, Tal,
Petrosian, Botvinnik, Fischer, Lasker, Alekhine and Capablanca. Each game is
listed move by move with analysis, and there is general information about each
of these great chess masters too.
The Golden
Treasury Of Chess. Published by Arco Publications. 1958. Book. Good.
£4.50
Author:
Chess Review. Country: British.
Hardback,
326 pages, 22x14cm. Chess book from the editors of Chess Review. The book lists the moves in hundreds of
games between masters. Mostly without
analysis, but with diagrams showing key positions. The chapters are: Favourite Games; Pre-Morphy Period; Morphy
Period; Age of Steinitz; Modern Chess; Moderns, Hypermoderns & Eclectics;
Russian Hegemony Period. Also includes an index of openings.
The
Problemist - Batch of 5. Published by The British Chess Problem Society.
1991. Booklets. Good. £0.60
Designer:
Unknown. Country: British.
Only
likely to be of interest to serious chess players. From a quick look I would guess you need to be pretty expert to
be able to tackle the problems posed here.
I have Vol 13 Issues 13-17 in this batch.
The Right
Way To Play Chess. Published by Elliot Right Way Books. 1977. Book.
Good. £1.25
Author: D.
Brine Pritchard. Country: British.
Softback,
18x11cm, 237 pages. An excellent book
for teaching the beginner chess. The
book covers: How The Game Is Played, Rudimentary Theory, Examples Of Play,
Powers Of The Chessmen, The Openings, The Middle Game, The End Game,
Illustrative Examples, General Information.
The
Sicilian Defence: Taimanov System. Published by B. T. Batsford.
1989. Book. Excellent. £3.50
Author:
Mark Taimanov. Country: British.
Softback, 22x14cm, 90 pages. Chess book which gives a detailed analysis
of the Taimanov variant of the Sicilian Defence family of openings.
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