By Carsten Hansen
Chess Miniatures Series
Miniatures
Each volume in this popular series contains 100 miniatures, games of 25 moves or fewer, with a specific opening or opening variation. The games are carefully annotated and selected for the instructional value with numerous diagrams, featuring tactical puzzles. All games are between players rated 2350 or above, with the exceptions that occasionally the winning player is rated below 2350, but scoring an upset victory or the game was played before the introduction of the rating system. Are you ready to familiarize yourself with the tactical possibilities of your favorite opening, then this series is the way to go.
Books in the Series
Miniatures in the Sicilian Najdorf
The Sicilian Najdorf which arises after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6, has been the primary weapon of World Champions Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov and is still the preferred line for numerous grandmasters such as France’s Maxime Vachier Lagrave.
Miniatures in the Ruy Lopez –
Main Lines
The Ruy Lopez Main Lines (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0) feature an exciting span of variations such as the Open Spanish (5…Nxe4), the Marshall Attack, the Anti-Marshalls, and such popular main lines as the Chigorin, the Zaitsev and many others. These lines have been played by all the top players in history.
Miniatures in the Queen’s Indian: 4.g3
Ever since the Queen’s Indian was invented by the ever creative Aron Nimzowitsch in the 1920s, it has been the battleground for numerous grandmaster encounters. The Fianchetto System, 4.g3, is White’s most solid but also most challenging response to Black’s opening.
Miniatures in the King’s Indian – Fianchetto Systems
The King’s Indian is a combative opening that has been favored by countless grandmasters and even world champions. The Fianchetto Systems are a solid, positional response to Black’s intended kingside attack, often forcing Black into an entirely different kind of battle.
Miniatures in the Scotch Game & Gambit
The Scotch Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4) is one of the oldest openings, dating back to the beginning of the 19th century. Yet, it has been used by many grandmasters as their primary weapon, even World Champion made it his primary weapon for a time, including one of his World Championship matches against his eternal rival, Anatoly Karpov.
Miniatures in the Trompowsky Attack
The Trompowsky Attack (1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5) was for a long time mainly a weapon for creative, tactical players, but in recent years it has become a favorite choice of many stronger players, including World Champion Magnus Carlsen who used it in his World Championship match against Russian grandmasters Sergei Karjakin.
The books can also show you which early mistakes to avoid so that you don’t lose quickly and beautifully in your favorite opening.
– Sune Berg Hansen
Grandmaster & 9-time Danish Champion
The books can also show you which early mistakes to avoid so that you don’t lose quickly and beautifully in your favorite opening..
– Lars Bo Hansen
Grandmaster & Commentator on ICC
One somehow gets the purified version of a successful strategy, when the games are not complex battles, but a slam-dunk!.
– Peter Heine Nielsen
Grandmaster & Coach for World Champion Magnus Carlsen