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Go - the oriental game of controlling territory - challenges each player to balance strategy and tactics. Each move must balance competing needs: to build your influence or weaken his, to secure your territory or to invade hers. Each player strives to find moves that work at multiple levels, and to counter their opponent's aims.In go there are various capturing techniques which require sacrificing stones. Most beginners fail to see these moves. Even advanced players might overlook them if they don't pay attention. Mastering these techniques equips a player with powerful weapons for both attack and defense. In addition, the training in visualization that the reader gets by studying these tactical finesses will serve him or her in good stead even in more straightforward positions.The Art of Capturing Stones is a problem book. This book provides thorough training in three types of techniques, namely, under the stories (Ishi-no-shita), killing oversized eyes (Nakade), and other sacrificing techniques. By working through the problems, the reader can practice these skills and improve his or her level of play.

The game of chess has challenged and delighted the world for centuries. In "Back to Basics: Fundamentals," the essential building blocks of the royal game are presented simply and in an easy-to-understand format.

With the expert guidance of chess master Branislav Francuski, you will learn how the chess pieces move and capture; the underlying principles of the game; how to spot and carry out simple checkmates; and understand the basic tactical ideas that are so important to playing and winning.

"In this book, I try to emphasize and clarify the chess fundamentals that young players need to know, as a strong grasp of the basics will eventually lead to the strategic thinking that is necessary for advanced play." - From the Author's Preface

Fundamental concepts, tactical themes and other significant points of the game are underscored by over 800 diagrams and positions. Solutions and clear explanations are supplemented by important principles, highlighted in blue.

Whether used alone or with an instructor, Back to Basic: Fundamentals will put you on the road to good chess!

The Power of the Pieces In his new, ground-breaking series, The Power of the Pieces, Belorussian grandmaster Sergey Kasparov examines the strengths, weaknesses and overall characteristics of each piece on the chessboard. This first volume in the series is about the bishop. Its role in the opening, middlegame and endgame is discussed in detail, amply supported by over 140 examples from tournament praxis. Topics include: Bishops of the Same Color; Opposite-Color Bishops; Bishop vs. Knight; Bishop vs. Rook; Two Bishops vs. Knight and Bishop; Bishop vs. Pawns; The King's Indian Bishop; The French Bishop; The Nimzo-Indian Bishop; The Fianchetto on g2; The Stonewall Bishop; The Advantage of the Two Bishops; The "Bad" Bishop; The Attacking Bishop; and Opposite-color Bishops in the Middlegame. Popular chess author Sergey Kasparov is known for his entertaining writing style. His books are always instructive and insightful. Books previously published by Russell Enterprises include The Exchange Sacrifice and Doubled Pawns.

A Look into Bobby's Mind From December 1966 until January 1970, Bobby Fischer wrote a chess column for Boys' Life, the official magazine of the Boy Scouts of America. Now, for the first time, all of these columns have been collected in one volume. It is an eclectic mix, a fascinating look at Fischer's writing and thinking as he reached his prime, maturing into the strongest player in the world. In these columns, he answers many readers' questions - from basic to sophisticated. His answers provide a unique glimpse into Fischer's thinking at the chessboard. The time period covered in these columns was one of the most critical in Fischer's career. It was during this time period that his opus magnum, My Sixty Memorable Games, was released. And as player, he grew from one of a few super-grandmasters to the best player in the world. The only thing missing was an actual title match. That of course would soon come. These columns are a diverse collection of tips for players, comments on playing, annotated games and casual observations. The games and annotations are presented in modern English algebraic notation. As Andy Soltis notes in his foreword, -You read [Fischer's Boys' Life columns] to see what was going on in that remarkable mind. As quirky as Checkmate was, these columns tell us a lot.-

Join the master sleuth as he and Dr. Watson examine interrupted chess matches at clubs and country homes, examining the pieces' current positions to identify previous moves. Rather than predicting the outcome of these games, the Baker Street duo focus on past events, using the same variety of logical reasoning that unlocks the secrets to their ever-popular mysteries. Holmes instructs Watson (and us) in the intricacies of retrograde analysis in order to deduce on which square the white queen was captured, whether a pawn has been promoted, and which piece has been replaced by a coin. The mysteries grow increasingly complex, culminating in a double murder perpetrated by the devious Professor Moriarty.
Philosopher and logician Raymond Smullyan brilliantly recaptures the mood of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's tales. Readers need only a knowledge of how the pieces move; the first puzzles explain all of the concepts that arise later on. These witty and challenging problems will captivate chess aficionados, puzzle enthusiasts, Sherlock Holmes fans, and everyone who relishes mysteries, crime stories, and tales of detection.

This whimsical Italian fantasy, originally published in 1922, belongs on the shelf next to The Little Prince and Alice and Wonderland. Simple language by translator Gilson gives the novel a poetic tone, while STO's charming black-and-white illustrations add humor.--VOYA

Alone in a room with nothing but an old mirror and a chess set, a young boy anticipates a boring afternoon. But like Alice just before she fell down the rabbit hole--and wound up in Wonderland--this boy is about to embark on a marvelous adventure. Gazing at the mirror, he discovers that the chess pieces (the reflections, not the real ones) are alive! When the White King invites him into the world on the other side, the excitement begins. There, all the rules of the real world are reversed. There, you can have a perfectly reasonable conversation with a perfectly unreasonable chess piece. There, you can meet anyone who's ever looked into the mirror (even a hundred years ago). This bewildering experience leads to some odd questions: What goes on inside a mirror when no one is looking at it? What if the reflected world is more real than the one where we live? And speaking of our world, how will our hero get back to this side of the mirror?

Join him on his fantastic journey where nothing is more absurd than reason or more important than freedom of imagination.

[A] story told in a voice that's charmingly direct, sweetly self-referential...and more than a little trippy...Like all good books for children, it also has unusual insights into childhood itself: '...when you're ten years old, standing or sitting are exactly the same.'--Philadelphia Inquirer

The narrator's dry wit, reminiscent of P. G. Wodehouse, makes for an appealing journey and, coupled with the whimsical pen-and-ink drawings, a charming package with a timeless air.--Publishers Weekly

Motherhood is the theme of these two intimate novellas by Italian writer Bontempelli, who preceded such better-known authors of 'magic realism' as Jorge Luis Borges and Alejo Carpentier by more than two decades in his fusion of the miraculous and the matter-of-fact...The elegantly restrained passion of these two tales, penned in Bontempelli's delicate prose, proves yet again the writer's literary genius.--Publishers Weekly (review of Separations)

Separations is a complete triumph. Bontempelli's work prefigured the magic realism popularized by many Latin American writers, andSeparations is an excellent example of this style. Elegant, superbly crafted, and masterfully written, these tales are not easily forgotten; the heroines are haunting and the plots finely honed. Bontempelli is truly a 'fantastic' writer.--Library Journal (review of Separations)

A protégé of Pirandello, Massimo Bontempelli (1878-1960) was a prolific writer of poetry, plays, and prose fiction. Bontempelli now occupies a major place in 20th century Italian letters, and his works are translated in every major European language.

Sergio Tofano, also known as STO, was an Italian illustrator, actor, director, and playwright. For fifty years his illustrated work appeared in the children's supplement of Corriere della Sera, one of the oldest and most widely read newspapers in Italy.

Estelle Gilson's translation of Umberto Saba's Stories and Recollections won both the Italo Calvino and PEN Renato Poggioli awards, and the MLA's first Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione award in 1994 as the best literary translation of the previous two years. Her fiction, essays, and articles appear in many publications. She translated Bontempelli's Separations.

Learn to build and fly your own authentic traditional chinese kites with this user-friendly crafts book.

Kites and China are practically synonymous, since these childhood toys were originally invented there before becoming popular around the world. For over 2000 years, kites have been a common sight in China, from the imperial court to the common people, and over that time period the craftsmanship of the kite has been perfected--and includes a diversity and richness of styles.

In Chinese Kites, you'll learn not only the history and varied forms of the Chinese kite, but also how to produce, step-by-step, a beautiful Chinese kite of your own! Learn how to:

Create the kite's framework Paint colorful designs

Master the techniques of putting the painted cover on the framework

Fly your creation!

With Chinese Kites, you will be able to experience firsthand the joy of seeing a kite you made soaring across the sky.

Kunstformen der Natur, or Art Forms in Nature, encapsulates biologist Ernst Haeckel's response to Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. Haeckel published these exquisitely rendered depictions of flora and fauna in ten installments of ten illustrations from 1899 to 1904, aiming to widen the general public's understanding of naturalism. Haeckel also clearly saw his illustrations as more than just scientific documentation: in introducing one of his plates, he wrote that its patterns would not be out of place in embroideries or on urns and bottles. Haeckel's elaborate forms have been called a precursor to Art Nouveau, and his influence even stretched to architecture. These illustrations derive from a copy of Kunstformen der Natur in the Case Book Collection in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress. The Library holds over 173 million items in almost all media and in more than 470 languages.

Generations of chess players have grown up on Fred Reinfeld's books. He has a way of reducing the most intricate, complicated combinations to their basic components. After Reinfeld explains a combination, it makes sense. Reinfeld not only taught us how to play the game well, but also implanted in us his enthusiastic passion for learning. His books are peppered throughout with words and phrases in italics to emphasize ideas. Moves are punctuated with single, double, and even triple exclamation marks and question marks to span the entire spectrum of emotions the moves conjure up. The Complete Chess Course is filled with advice on how to play better chess, regardless of how strong or weak a player you may be. It begins with the most fundamental ideas, reviewing the basic moves of the pieces and pawns, and continues with fantastic examples from the very best players. We are taken through a full course of chess strategy and tactics; he introduces us to the nine bad moves and how to refute them as well as how to avoid making them. We learn how to handle the white pieces and how to fight back with the black pieces. We get a much-needed lesson on how to win the game when we have gained a big advantage, and another, equally important lesson on how to put up the stiffest resistance when in an inferior position. We get treated to a full spectrum of the many ways to make the most of whatever position we get in one of the best chapters of any book I've seen: Book Six on How to Fight Back. Fred guides us through some master games, revealing the secrets of their struggles to overcome strong resistance. These secrets include how to meet the crisis; how to simplify; and the point of no return. Finally, we are treated to an introduction to the major openings, including what to strive for in gambits, classical structures, hypermodern structures, as well as off beat lines. Hint: play to control the center and develop your pieces. Absorb the material included in this volume and you will play chess at a fairly high level. Or read through it all and enjoy Fred's masterful explanations. In either case, you will be entranced by his enthusiasm for the intricate relationships the pieces experience in the context of a game or even a standout plan or combination.

Puzzle fans have fallen for KenKen and now crave more challenging puzzles. The puzzles in this edition range in size from 6x6 grids to 9x9 grids and for the first time there will also be grids without application symbols. It's the ultimate KenKen challenge!

This edition will also include How to Solve instructions and an introduction by puzzlemaster Will Shortz.

Includes:
*100 very challenging KenKen puzzles
*Puzzles range in size from 6x6 grids to mind-bending 9x9 grids
* Introduction and solving instructions by puzzlemaster Will Shortz