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Miniatures in the Najdorf Sicilian
The subject of this book is the Najdorf Sicilian, which arises after 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6. Its purpose is to entertain and educate you. The entertainment consists of 100 main games all of which are 25 moves or less. In addition to the main games, you will find miniatures included in the notes, along with many other complete games.
The education part involves solving tactical puzzles, reasoning your way to the right move, spotting combinations and studying the theory associated with these lines. While the theoretical coverage may not necessarily be as deep as in opening monographs or repertoire books, there's usually more than enough to give you a good understanding of the particular line, making it easier for you to incorporate it into your opening repertoire. We have also tried to include some key alternatives with analysis to give you an idea of other possibilities for both sides.
As for the games, they are typically between players with a rating of at least 2350 and in fact are often stronger. However, we have made some exceptions to this guiding principle when a lower-rated player beats a player rated above the magical 2350 number. So that the performances of the players may be evaluated better, their ELO ratings have been included.
The Najdorf has been and continues to be a tremendously popular opening at all levels. It is sharp, unbalanced, with many theory-laden lines - and fun. The main lines after 6 Bg5 e6 7 f4 are steeped in theory, making them tricky to play, especially for players with limited time to study. That being said, we have presented a number of games in sidelines which will offer both sides the opportunity to play this opening without having to worry about studying sufficient amount of theory.
Instructive and entertaining. That is how a chess book should be! Getting absorbed and amazed without even thinking about it - which is what this this e-book will do to you - learning and (which is important at my age) remembering becomes much easier and enjoyable. The format works surprisingly well - miniatures don't have to be dull - sometime less is really more.
Grandmaster Sune Berg Hansen, six-time Danish Champion
Every chess player dreams of winning quickly and beautifully in his favorite opening. Carsten Hansen's new "Miniatures" Series shows you how to do that, divided by opening! A novel and entertaining approach. But as they say - wait, there is more! It's in the nature of chess that miniatures can only be won following mistakes by the opponent. The books can also show you which early mistakes to avoid so that you don't lose quickly and beautifully in your favorite opening. Get the volumes with your openings and use them as preparation for your next tournament!
- Grandmaster Lars Bo Hansen
An opening book based only on miniatures? Maybe sounds odd at first, but works well in the sharp Najdorf, and even in the more positional Queen's Indian Defence. As usual, Carsten's theoretical coverage is thorough, and the books are not repertoire based, but gives a full examination of these topical openings. Is it limiting to only show miniatures? Maybe, but one somehow get the purified version of a successful strategy, when the games are not complex battles, but a slam-dunk! - Grandmaster Peter Heine Nielsen, coach & second to World Champion Magnus Carlsen
Excerpts, including the Table of Contents and the Foreword, of most Russell Enterprises books are available at http://russell-enterprises.com/excerptsdownloads.html.
