By Carsten Hansen
Back to Basics: Chess Openings
Chess Openings Can Be Simple!
Because of the sheer volume of variations, possible transpositions, and ever-changing theory, chess openings can be overwhelming – even intimidating. This book is an introduction to understanding and playing chess openings.
The author, Danish Master Carsten Hansen, stresses opening play based on comprehending opening principles as well as useful, fundamental knowledge. With an overview of all the most important opening variations, examples of good and bad opening play, opening traps and problems to solve, chess openings, and its major principles are covered thoroughly.
Many games are lost as a result of a player’s poor grasp of even the most basic principles of opening play. This book will help you enhance your understanding and give you guidelines on how to best study and play chess openings, reaching good, playable middlegame positions
By Carsten Hansen
Catastrophes & Tactics Workbook – Vol.1: Indian Defenses
Test your ability to exploit opportunities and avoid disasters!
More than 600 test positions taken from games of 15 moves or fewer from the Indian Defenses. This is a perfect companion to the game collection.
By Carsten Hansen
Chess Tactics – Volume 3
The latest volume in the internationally bestselling series.
Are you ready to seriously improve your game?
It has been said that chess is 99% tactics but whether that is an accurate reflection is hard to tell. Nevertheless, it is important.
In the present book, you will be challenged 404 times but unlike most tactics puzzle books you don’t know what your objective is: do I need to find a mate, find an opportunity skewer or pin a piece, use a tactical turn to gain a positional advantage and how far do I need to calculate?
By Carsten Hansen
Marvelous Modern Miniatures
2020 Games in 20 Moves or Less
50% TACTICS – 50% OPENING BOOK – 100% ENJOYMENT!
Enter the world of chess miniatures where games are decided in 20 moves or less! Marvelous Modern Miniatures features the largest collection of miniatures chess games played in the last half-century. Over 500 pages of cut and thrust!
Although every player is rated at least 2100, the overwhelming majority are strong masters or grandmasters. You will follow them as they do battle with tactical fireworks raging around them.
The surprising depth of the annotations (each one of the 2,020 games has meaningful comments) turns this book into a virtual course on tactics. Looking for traps and pitfalls in your favorite openings? You’ll probably find them here. Marvelous Modern Miniatures will improve your tactical skills and alertness and sharpen your opening play. As a bonus, the entire collection is immensely enjoyable!
By Carsten Hansen
Chess Tactics for Improvers – Volume 1
The new series created for players rated 1300-1700
Chess tactics is an essential key to chess improvement. Why is that so? Because most games between players below master level are decided by tactics of some sort. Therefore, it is a muscle that you need to keep training, to help you be prepared for when the chances emerge in your own games and to help you avoid making tactical mistakes.
In this new book, you will be tested with 808 puzzles of varying levels of difficulty, from games played between masters in 2019. The games are not categorized according to theme or difficulty, so the student will have to use his or her best ability to figure out the best way forward.
By Carsten Hansen
The Carlsen Variation – A new Anti-Sicilian
AVAILABLE NOW:
Opening Hacker Files is a new series created for players who are interested in playing interesting chess, fun openings and have good results without having to learn endless amounts of opening theory
The Carlsen Variation? In 2018, World Champion Magnus Carlsen unveiled a new Anti-Sicilian to beat Polish top grandmaster Radoslaw Wojtasczek: 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2 followed by b2-b3 and Bb2. Since then the opening has gained a considerable following, but the system is still relatively rare and this book is the first that is dedicated to this surprising system.
The foreword is written by the creative and entertaining Simon Williams, the Ginger GM, who himself is famous for his sharp play and original opening play.
Other Books – The Series
Chess Miniatures
Each volume in this series features 100 carefully selected in a specific opening variation. Numerous diagrams allow the reader to test their ability.
Catastrophes & Tactics
The books in this series feature games that are decisively concluded in 15 moves or fewer. Countless tactical puzzles to solve along the way.
Chess Tactics
404 tough tactical puzzles along with carefully annotated solutions to help the reader gain a deeper and broader understanding of tactics.
Opening Hacker Files
Each volume features a fun opening idea that is fully examined.
Catastrophes & Tactics Workbooks
The books in this series feature hundreds of test positions where you will try to exploit opportunities or avoid disasters.
Back to Basics
A thorough introduction to each topic. The book on openings is written by Carsten Hansen along with the upcoming volume on endgames.
Chess Tactics for Improvers
Each volume in this series features 808 tactical puzzles and annotated solutions, improving the reader’s tactical radar.
Catastrophes & Tactics Boxsets
The books in this series feature games that are decisively concluded in 15 moves or fewer. Countless tactical puzzles to solve along the way.
Large Print Editions
Large versions in the popular books in an 18-point font and larger diagrams to make the material available to readers who require a larger font to comfortable read the material.
Specialized Chess Tactics
A deep dive into typical tactics that arise in a specific opening or opening variation. The positions are split up by variation that they arose from and the solutions are annotated. Created to aid spotting tactics faster.
Gambits & Sacrifices
A new series that takes a look at some of the interesting lines that feature gambits or other sacrifices in the opening, some lines are named, well-known and deeply analyzed, others are relatively unknown.
Traps & Tricks
A new series that examine common and interesting opening traps and tricks. We look at how playable, sound and likely they are, enabling you to assess whether to use them in your own repertoire.
Is it limiting to only show miniatures? Maybe, but one somehow gets the purified version of a successful strategy when the games are not complex battles but a slam-dunk.
– Peter Heine Nielsen – coach to World Champion Magnus Carlsen
Release Schedule
2025
New Release: Miniatures in the King's Indian - Fianchetto Systems
The long-awaited new volume in the Chess Miniatures series.
2025
New Release: Chess Tactics for Improvers - Vol. 2
808 new puzzles from 2019-2020
Foreword by Grandmaster Robert Ris – author of the “Crucial Chess Skills for the Club Player” series.
2021
New Release: Chess Tactics - Volume 5
Another collection of 404 new puzzles with carefully annotated solutions.
Foreword by Grandmaster R.B.Ramesh – coach for several of India’s greatest generation of chess prodigies.
Coming Soon & Already Out
Expected June 2025
Miniatures in the King’s Indian – Fianchetto Systems
A new collection of 100 miniatures (25 moves or fewer) in the flexible Fianchetto System versus the sharp and popular King’s Indian that is and has been a formidable weapon in the hands of countless grandmasters and even world champions. The games are divided up into six chapters and include games up to 2024.
Already out!
Play The Orangutan: 1.b4
A fresh, fun repertoire for White based on the uncompromising 1.b4, the so-called Orangutan or Sokolsky Opening.
Already out!
The Basman-Williams Attack
English adventurer International Master Michael Basman first played this opening which was later developed and employed by the Ginger GM, grandmaster Simon Williams. It arises after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.h4!?
My Writing Blog
Follow Along
French Fireworks – Part I
I have just uploaded my next blog post on Chess Club Live featuring a miniature from the recently concluded French Championship in Agen.
Catastrophes & Tactics in the Chess Opening – Volume 4 – Available on Sunday, August 27th!
The next volume Catastrophes & Tactics i the Chess Opening - Volume 4: Dutch, Benonis & d-pawn Specials is available on Sunday, August 27th, 2017. 233 Pages of fun, short games, tactics & puzzles.
Closed Sicilian: Just when you think you are done…
Then one evening earlier this week, I received a message on Facebook messenger from the editor of my book on the Sicilian Dragon in that same “Move by Move” series. Junior Tay is a strong correspondence chess player and has written a couple of books in that series too, on Ivanchuk and on the Old Indian Defense. The message was: “…in your closed Sicilian book, did you cover 6 Be3 00…simply sacking the c5 pawn?”
Schedule an Event
winningquicklyatchess@gmail.com
Join the facebook group
Winning Quickly at Chess Community
Contact Us
winningquicklyatchess@gmail.com