PUBLICATIONS

Gambit books by subject

Use our breakdown of Gambit books to find the Gambit book that is right for you:

General Opening Books
Specific Opening Books
Endings
Puzzles and Studies
Training, Strategy and Improvement
Beginners and Intermediate
Tactics, tactics, tactics
Games Collections and General
Improvement books endorsed by the English Chess Federation

General Opening Books
Title	Author
101 Chess Opening Traps	Steve Giddins	Keep a straight face when playing these lines
125 Chess Opening Surprises	Graham Burgess	An arsenal of ideas to shock and confuse your opponents
Chess Openings for Kids	John Watson & Graham Burgess	Explains the 50 most important opening systems in a straightforward style
A Cunning Chess Opening Repertoire for White	Graham Burgess	A flexible repertoire to take Black well away from his comfort zone
An Explosive Chess Opening Repertoire for Black	Jouni Yrjölä & Jussi Tella	A complete system for Black based on 1...d6
FCO: Fundamental Chess Openings	Paul van der Sterren	A new one-volume guide to all the chess openings
How to Beat the Open Games	Sverre Johnsen	A repertoire for Black after 1 e4 e5 (excluding the Ruy Lopez)
How to Build Your Chess Opening Repertoire	Steve Giddins	A goldmine of general advice
An Idiot-Proof Chess Opening Repertoire	Graham Burgess	You can hardly go wrong with this repertoire!
A Killer Chess Opening Repertoire - new enlarged edition	Aaron Summerscale & Sverre Johnsen	An easy-to-learn repertoire for the chessboard assassin
Mastering the Chess Openings volume 1	John Watson	A definitive guide from the guru of modern chess on 1 e4
Mastering the Chess Openings volume 2	John Watson	Covering lines beginning 1 d4
Mastering the Chess Openings volume 3	John Watson	Covering flank openings
Mastering the Chess Openings volume 4	John Watson	Draws together many themes in a wide-ranging discussion of general opening topics
Modern Chess Opening Repertoire for White	James Rizzitano	A repertoire based on 1 e4 using lines currently popular with top players
Play the Open Games as Black	John Emms	All lines after 1 e4 e5 except for the Ruy Lopez
A Rock-Solid Chess Opening Repertoire for Black	Viacheslav Eingorn	Defend with a repertoire based on 1...e6
A Simple Chess Opening Repertoire for White	Sam Collins	Based on 1 e4
A Startling Chess Opening Repertoire – New Edition	Chris Baker & Graham Burgess	A repertoire of offbeat opening lines for White based on 1 e4
A Strategic Chess Opening Repertoire for White	John Watson	Based on c4 and d4
Understanding the Chess Openings	Sam Collins	A concise overview with helpful explanations covering all major openings

Title	Author
Specific Opening Books - King’s Pawn Openings
Anti-Sicilians: A Guide for Black	Dorian Rogozenko	Beat those irritating White tries
Chess Explained: The c3 Sicilian	Sam Collins	One of White’s most popular and poisonous ways to avoid the main lines of the Sicilian
Chess Explained: the Classical Sicilian	Alex Yermolinsky	One of the most popular and respected Sicilian systems
Chess Explained: the French	Viacheslav Eingorn & Valentin Bogdanov	Two experts explain the workings of a profound opening complex
Chess Explained: the Taimanov Sicilian	James Rizzitano	Be amazed at how quickly and easily Black can win with this opening
The English Attack	Tapani Sammalvuo	A ferocious response to the Sicilian Najdorf
Grandmaster Secrets: the Caro-Kann	Peter Wells	At last, a book on the Caro!
How to Beat the Open Games	Sverre Johnsen	A repertoire for Black after 1 e4 e5 (excluding the Ruy Lopez)
Mastering the Chess Openings volume 1	John Watson	A definitive guide from the guru of modern chess on 1 e4
My Secrets in the Ruy Lopez	Lajos Portisch	A world-class player reveals his secrets
Mastering the Najdorf	Julen Arizmendi & Javier Moreno	Everything you need to know to play the Najdorf
Play the Alekhine	Valentin Bogdanov	A life-long specialist explains an uncompromising chess opening
Play the Najdorf Sicilian	James Rizzitano	A new guide to the King of Chess Openings
Play the Sicilian Dragon	Edward Dearing	A guide to the sharpest line of the Sicilian
The Ruy Lopez: A Guide for Black	Sverre Johnsen & Leif Johannessen	A reliable defence with more than a spark of aggression
Understanding the Marshall Attack	David Vigorito	A layman’s guide to the supergrandmasters’ favourite gambit
Understanding the Scandinavian	Sergey Kasparov	A complete defence to 1 e4
Understanding the Sicilian	Mikhail Golubev	An expert guide to the most popular chess opening
Win with the Caro-Kann	Sverre Johnsen & Torbjørn Ringdal Hansen	A complete repertoire against 1 e4

Title	Author
Specific Opening Books - Queen’s Pawn Openings
Attack with Black	Valery Aveskulov	If White avoids the Benko, that’s when we hit him with the Blumenfeld
The Cambridge Springs	Krzysztof Panczyk & Jacek Ilczuk	A detailed study of a combative antidote to the Queen’s Gambit
Chess Explained: the Main-Line Slav	David Vigorito	Exploring the dynamics of an intricate and robust opening
Chess Explained: the Meran Semi-Slav	Reinaldo Vera	The Semi-Slav immediately presents White with a ‘man or mouse’ decision
Chess Explained: the Modern Benoni	Zenon Franco	A perennial favourite among players looking to create winning chances with Black
Chess Explained: the Nimzo-Indian	Reinaldo Vera	The Nimzo has provided the backbone of the opening repertoire of a large portion of the world’s top players over the last 80 years
Chess Explained: the Queen’s Gambit Declined	James Rizzitano	An immensely solid and classical choice for Black
Chess Explained: the Queen’s Indian	Peter Wells	One of the best writers in the world shows you exactly what to do
A Killer Chess Opening Repertoire - new enlarged edition	Aaron Summerscale & Sverre Johnsen	An easy-to-learn repertoire for the chessboard assassin
King’s Indian and Grünfeld: Fianchetto Lines	Lasha Janjgava	Key battlegrounds of modern grandmaster play
Mastering the Chess Openings volume 2	John Watson	Covering lines beginning 1 d4
The Slav	Graham Burgess	Everything you need to know about the Slav
Understanding the Grünfeld	Jonathan Rowson	Explains the ideas behind one of the most double-edged openings
Understanding the King’s Indian	Mikhail Golubev	An expert guide to the most dynamic counter to 1 d4
Understanding the Leningrad Dutch	Valery Beim	Explains the ideas behind this ambitious opening
Win with the London System	Sverre Johnsen & Vlatko Kovačević	Subtle move orders and new variations to use
Win with the Stonewall Dutch	Sverre Johnsen, Ivar Bern & Simen Agdestein	Rock solid or flexible - your choice!

Title	Author
Specific Opening Books - Flank Openings
Beating the Fianchetto Defences	Efstratios Grivas	How to tackle the Grünfeld, King’s Indian, Benoni, Benko and Modern, with the white pieces
Chess Explained: the English Opening	Zenon Franco	Your own personal trainer in a book
The Dynamic English	Tony Kosten	A repertoire for White which will reduce your workload
Mastering the Chess Openings volume 3	John Watson	Covering flank openings

Title	Author
Endings
101 Chess Endgame Tips	Steve Giddins	Golden nuggets of endgame wisdom
The Chess Endgame Exercise Book	John Nunn	444 challenging exercises to extend your endgame knowledge
Chess Endgame Workbook for Kids	John Nunn	Teach yourself chess endgames with these carefully graded exercises
Chess Endgames for Kids	Karsten Müller	An introduction to chess endgames, and not only for kids!
Endgame Challenge	John Nunn	Prepare to be amazed
Fundamental Chess Endings	Karsten Müller & Frank Lamprecht	The award-winning comprehensive guide to modern endgame theory
How to Play Chess Endgames	Karsten Müller & Wolfgang Pajeken	The practical side of playing endgames
Nunn’s Chess Endings volume 1, volume 2	John Nunn	The skills that are most important to success in practical endgames
Secrets of Pawn Endings	Karsten Müller & Frank Lamprecht	The definitive modern work on pawn endings
Secrets of Pawnless Endings	John Nunn	Not as simple as you might think
Secrets of Rook Endings	John Nunn	An expanded reissue of an endgame classic
The Survival Guide to Rook Endings	John Emms	A practical course in the most important type of chess endgame
Understanding Chess Endgames	John Nunn	Featuring the 100 most important endgame ideas
Understanding Pawn Endgames	Valentin Bogdanov	A practical approach to king and pawn endings
Understanding Rook Endgames	Karsten Müller & Yakov Konoval	Including the latest tablebase discoveries

Title	Author
Puzzles and Studies
365 Ways to Checkmate	Joe Gallagher	Plenty of mating practice
1001 Deadly Checkmates	John Nunn	Checkmate ends the game...
600 Modern Chess Puzzles	Martyn Kravtsiv	A wide selection of puzzles from recent games
Chess Puzzles for Kids	Murray Chandler	100 fun puzzles to entertain and instruct
Desert Island Chess Puzzle Omnibus	So, Adams, Nunn & Burgess	400 puzzles selected by top players and authors
Endgame Challenge	John Nunn	Prepare to be amazed!
The Gambit Book of Instructive Chess Puzzles	Graham Burgess	Improve your chess with these 300 carefully selected puzzles
The Giant Chess Puzzle Book	Zenon Franco	1001 brand new chess puzzles to challenge and entertain players from novices to grandmasters
John Nunn’s Chess Puzzle Book New Enlarged Edition	John Nunn	250 carefully-selected puzzles ranging from the fairly straightforward to the extremely challenging
Jon Speelman’s Chess Puzzle Book	Jon Speelman	His personal selection of chess puzzles will infuriate, entertain, test and instruct
The Most Amazing Chess Moves of All Time	John Emms	These 200 positions will astonish you
Perfect Your Chess	Andrei Volokitin & Vladimir Grabinsky	Learn from the training methods of a young champion
Solving in Style	John Nunn	Baffled by all those ‘Mate in 3’ and ‘White to play and win’ positions? John Nunn explains all
The Ultimate Chess Puzzle Book	John Emms	1001 puzzles - plenty of bedtime reading here

Title	Author
Training, Strategy and Improvement
50 Essential Chess Lessons	Steve Giddins	Superb instruction based around 50 annotated games
50 Ways to Win at Chess	Steve Giddins	50 games that each illustrate an important winning method
101 Winning Chess Strategies	Angus Dunnington	Provides an arsenal of strategic ideas
Applying Logic in Chess	Erik Kislik	A top trainer explains how to study and improve
The Art of Attacking Chess	Zenon Franco	30 inspirational and instructive masterpieces
The Chess Attacker’s Handbook	Michael Song and Razvan Preotu	Navigate the hidden paths of the chessboard to strike attacking gold
Chess for Life	Matthew Sadler & Natasha Regan	How to maintain your chess strength throughout life, including several case studies
Chess for Zebras	Jonathan Rowson	Maybe, just maybe, there is something to be said for being Black?
Chess Logic in Practice	Erik Kislik	How to find logical solutions to over-the-board problems
Chess Recipes from the Grandmaster’s Kitchen	Valery Beim	Not a cookbook but a series of essays on important chess techniques
Chess Strategy for Kids	Thomas Engqvist	The 50 Smart Strategies that help to win games
Chess Strategy in Action	John Watson	Another award-winning Watson middlegame classic
Decision-Making at the Chessboard	Viacheslav Eingorn	Original and thought-provoking
Dynamic Pawn Play in Chess	Dražen Marović	The dynamic side of pawns
Elements of Chess Strategy	Alexei Kosikov	Develop a disciplined approach to planning
Essential Chess Sacrifices	David LeMoir	Sometimes it’s the only way to exploit your advantage
Grandmaster Chess Move by Move	John Nunn	John Nunn applies the ‘Move by Move’ approach to his best games
Grandmaster Secrets: Counter-Attack!	Zenon Franco	A step-by-step guide to turning defence into victory
Grandmaster Secrets: Winning Quickly at Chess	John Nunn	125 of the finest short decisive grandmaster games of the modern era
How Chess Games are Won and Lost	Lars Bo Hansen	Revitalizing your thinking on the middlegame
How to Become a Deadly Chess Tactician	David LeMoir	An entertaining and instructive guide to improving your chess tactics
How to Calculate Chess Tactics	Valeri Beim	Make sure you get it right
How to Play Dynamic Chess	Valeri Beim	Dynamic play can outweigh positional factors - but you need to know how to capture the moment
Improve Your Chess - by Learning from the Champions	Lars Bo Hansen	A feast of the most instructive chess games of all time - both classical and modern
Improve Your Positional Chess	Carsten Hansen	Train your mind to appreciate positional subtleties
John Nunn's Chess Course	John Nunn	A complete chess education based on the games of World Champion Emanuel Lasker
The Road to Chess Improvement	Alex Yermolinsky	A respected grandmaster shares his self-improvement techniques
S.T.A.R. Chess	Paul Motwani	Instruction wrapped up in an individual package
Secrets of Attacking Chess	Mihail Marin	How to win the way we all want to win!
Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy	John Watson	The award-winning book on chess strategy
Secrets of Positional Chess	Dražen Marović	Winning by subtlety
Secrets of Practical Chess New Enlarged Edition	John Nunn	A Chess Olympic Gold Medal winner explains how you can dramatically improve your chess results
The Seven Deadly Chess Sins	Jonathan Rowson	How many do you commit?
Test Your Chess	Steffen Pedersen	Rate your own play - if you dare!
Understanding Chess Middlegames	John Nunn	The most useful middlegame concepts and knowledge
Understanding Chess Move by Move	John Nunn	A true classic - grandmaster games where every single move is explained
Understanding Pawn Play in Chess	Dražen Marović	Many players find pawns tricky to handle - this book may provide the solution

Title	Author
Beginners and Intermediate
Chess for Children	Murray Chandler & Helen Milligan	Teaches the basic moves of chess in a delightfully clear and simple way
Chess Endgame Workbook for Kids	John Nunn	Teach yourself chess endgames with these carefully graded exercises
Chess Endgames for Kids	Karsten Müller	An introduction to chess endgames, and not only for kids!
Chess Opening Traps for Kids	Graham Burgess	100 ways to win quickly
Chess Opening Workbook for Kids	Graham Burgess	Improve your opening strategy and tactics
Chess Openings for Kids	John Watson & Graham Burgess	50 Mighty Openings
Chess Puzzles for Kids	Murray Chandler	Chess puzzle super-challenge
Chess Strategy for Kids	Thomas Engqvist	The 50 Smart Strategies that help to win games
Chess Tactics for Kids	Murray Chandler	Learn and practise the 50 most common tactical motifs
Chess Tactics Workbook for Kids	John Nunn	Teach yourself tactics with this carefully structured assault course
Chess Training for Budding Champions	Jesper Hall	An excellent guide for trainers and those interested in self-improvement
A Complete Chess Course	Antonio Gude	A comprehensive manual for those new to chess
Extreme Chess Tactics	Yochanan Afek	The outer limits of chess tactics
Fundamental Checkmates	Antonio Gude	A complete study of mating patterns and comnbinations
How to Beat Your Dad at Chess	Murray Chandler	50 thematic checkmating patterns - a favourite course-book of chess coaches worldwide
Learn Chess	John Nunn	An intelligently written guide for adults to learn from
Learn Chess Tactics	John Nunn	Teaches basic tactical ideas
The Most Valuable Skills in Chess	Maurice Ashley	An inspirational journey through the world of chess tactics
Your First Chess Lessons	Paul van der Sterren	A concise introduction to chess for absolute beginners

Title	Author
Tactics, tactics, tactics
365 Ways to Checkmate	Joe Gallagher	Plenty of mating practice
1001 Deadly Checkmates	John Nunn	Checkmate ends the game...
Chess Tactics for Kids	Murray Chandler	Learn and practise the 50 most common tactical motifs
Chess Tactics Workbook for Kids	John Nunn	Teach yourself tactics with this carefully structured assault course
A Course in Chess Tactics	Dejan Bojkov & Vladimir Georgiev	A step-by-step approach to mastering tactics and combinations
Essential Chess Sacrifices	David LeMoir	Sometimes it’s the only way to exploit your advantage
Extreme Chess Tactics	Yochanan Afek	Prepare to be astonished
Fundamental Checkmates	Antonio Gude	A complete study of mating patterns and comnbinations
Fundamental Chess Tactics	Antonio Gude	A comprehensive and systematic guide to tactical ideas
The Gambit Book of Instructive Chess Puzzles	Graham Burgess	Improve your chess with these 300 carefully selected puzzles
The Giant Chess Puzzle Book	Zenon Franco	1001 brand new chess puzzles to challenge and entertain players from novices to grandmasters
How to Beat Your Dad at Chess	Murray Chandler	50 thematic checkmating patterns - a favourite course-book of chess coaches worldwide
How to Become a Deadly Chess Tactician	David LeMoir	An entertaining and instructive guide to improving your chess tactics
How to Calculate Chess Tactics	Valeri Beim	Make sure you get it right!
John Nunn’s Chess Puzzle Book New Enlarged Edition	John Nunn	250 carefully-selected puzzles ranging from the fairly straightforward to the extremely challenging
Jon Speelman’s Chess Puzzle Book	Jon Speelman	His personal selection of chess puzzles will infuriate, entertain, test and instruct
Learn Chess Tactics	John Nunn	Teaches basic tactical ideas
The Most Valuable Skills in Chess	Maurice Ashley	An inspirational journey through the world of chess tactics
The Ultimate Chess Puzzle Book	John Emms	1001 puzzles - plenty of bedtime reading here

Title	Author
Games Collections and General
Garry Kasparov’s Greatest Chess Games, volume 1	Igor Stohl	74 of Kasparov’s best and most instructive games from 1973 to 1993, annotated in detail
Garry Kasparov’s Greatest Chess Games, volume 2	Igor Stohl	Bringing Kasparov’s career up to date, and to a close
Instructive Modern Chess Masterpieces New Enlarged Edition	Igor Stohl	62 outstanding games analysed with scrupulous care
John Nunn’s Best Games	John Nunn	40 complete games and many excerpts from the period 1985-93
Magnus Carlsen’s Most Instructive Games	Martyn Kravtsiv	42 instructive games by the greatest player of the 21st century
The Quickest Chess Victories of All Time	Graham Burgess	A comprehensive collection of the shortest decisive games in chess history
Secrets of Grandmaster Chess	John Nunn	Covers Nunn’s career up to 1985
Vishy Anand: World Chess Champion	Vishy Anand & John Nunn	Updated with 30 of Anand’s recent games, annotated by John Nunn
World Champion at the Third Attempt	Grigory Sanakoev	A world champion of correspondence chess presents some truly amazing games