By James Eade & Carsten Hansen
Chess Openings for Dummies
Set yourself up for success by understanding the art of the chess opening
Chess Openings For Dummies helps beginning and intermediate chess players improve their game by making the first few moves count. With a strong opening, you can dictate the flow of the game, control the center, and keep your king safe. This book shows you how to make tactical early moves that put you on a strong footing for the rest of the game. Chess master James Eade shares his expert knowledge for coming out triumphant in open, semi-open, closed, and semi-closed games. Plus, you’ll discover the perks of advancing with flank openings and learn the major mistakes to avoid. Learn the importance of online competitions, computers, and faster-paced chess events and their impact on the game. In language anyone can understand, this Dummies guide helps you gain a strategic advantage in chess.
- Discover the most effective openings for open and closed games
- Advance your game with new and advanced opening techniques
- Learn why certain openings have become more popular―and why you should use them
- Gain the upper hand in the first few moves and keep opponents on their toes
Looking to improve your chess openings? Chess Openings For Dummies makes it easy.
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
Make Your Move: Omnibus Edition
THE BEST WAY TO IMPROVE YOUR CHESS RESULTS IS TO STUDY CHESS TACTICS
In the present book, you will be challenged more than 500 times with positions taken from the author’s popular Chess Life column.
The present volume contains all the material from the first two volumes in the series.
By Carsten Hansen
Chess Tactics – Volume 4
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 Adhiban & Bellon Gambits – Attacking the English Opening
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 English Opening is typically a solid and reliable opening for White, one where both sides develop their pieces to reasonable squares before the combat begins in earnest. The gambits covered in this book change that manuscript entirely. Before either side has completed any kind of development, Black tries to grab the initiative by sacrificing a pawn. Both gambits arise after 1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 e4!? 4.Ng5. The Adhiban Gambit then continues by Black playing 4…c6!?, intending to meet 5.Ngxe4 with 5…Nxe4 6.Nxe4 d5, gaining time and space in the center, whereas the Bellon Gambit instead sees Black opt for the flank gambit 4…b5!?, hoping to build a large center. The Adhiban Gambit has only recently found its way into the limelight, whereas the Bellon Gambit has been around for more than 50 years and was once thought refuted, but is once more considered playable. Prepare to give White a ruthless wake-up call!
By Carsten Hansen
The Canal & Prins Gambits
AVAILABLE NOW:
The Queen’s Gambit can be rather boring, especially for Black, so a couple of weapons to make things more excitement.
In this book, FIDE Master Carsten carefully analyzes two gambits for Black that both arise after the initial moves 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 c5!?. The Canal Gambit arises when White captures 5.cxd5, and Black responds 5…Qb6. The gambit is somewhat dubious, but very effective in practical play. The Prins Gambit instead sees Black respond 5…cxd4!?, which is a correct gambit, giving Black full compensation for the sacrificed pawn.
All of White’s responses to both gambits are carefully analyzed.
Prepare to give White a wake-up call!
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 Opening Origins
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.
Make Your Move
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.
Chess Endgame Magic & Tactics
A new series that examines 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.
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.
English Opening Mastery
A deep dive into typical tactics that arise in a specific opening or opening variation. The positions are split up by the variation that they arose from, and the solutions are annotated. Created to aid spotting tactics faster.
Nimzo-Indian Mastery
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.
The Sicilian Dragon & Accelerated Dragon
A new series that examines common and interesting opening traps and tricks. We look at how playable, soun,d and likely they are, enabling you to assess whether to use them in your own repertoire.
Chess Biographies & History
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.
Chess Problems
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.
Beyond Chess Basics
A new series that examines common and interesting opening traps and tricks. We look at how playable, soun,d and likely they are, enabling you to assess whether to use them in your own repertoire.
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.
Carsten Hansen Books Published by Other Publishers
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.
Courses on Chessable
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.
Books Available on Forward Chess
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.
Chess for Dummies Series
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.
Where to buy our books
A reasonably complete listing of retailers that carry our books, either as printed books, ebooks, or courses.
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
2026
Chess Endgames for Dummies
The next volume in the Chess… for Dummies series.
2026
New Release: Chess Tactics for Improvers - Vol. 2
808 new puzzles from 2019-2020
Foreword by International Master Robert Ris – author of the “Crucial Chess Skills for the Club Player” series.
2026
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 2026
Miniatures in the Trompowsky
A new collection of 100 miniatures (25 moves or fewer) in the flexible Trompowsky Attack that is and has been a formidable weapon in the hands of countless grandmasters and even world champions. The game selection includes games up to 2025.
2026
Miniatures in the Scotch Game & Gambit
A new collection of 100 miniatures (25 moves or fewer) in the sharp & combative Scotch Game & Gambit that has been an effective weapon of players at all levels for nearly 200 years. The game selection includes games up to 2025.
Coming soon!
The Canal & Prins Gambits
The Queen’s Gambit can be rather boring, especially for Black, so a couple of weapons to make things more excitement.
In this book, FIDE Master Carsten carefully analyzes two gambits for Black that both arise after the initial moves 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 c5!?. The Canal Gambit arises when White captures 5.cxd5, and Black responds 5…Qb6. The gambit is somewhat dubious, but very effective in practical play. The Prins Gambit instead sees Black respond 5…cxd4!?, which is a correct gambit, giving Black full compensation for the sacrificed pawn.
coming soon!
The Tactical 5…e6 Benko
The main lines of the Benko Gambit Accepted can be rather depressing for Black: with relatively little effort, White can obtain a good position. Not so in the Tactical Benko, where Black takes the game in an unusual direction, where White really needs to be prepared just to survive the opening.
My 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?”
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