The Complete Chess Swindler: How to Save Points from Lost Positions
Chess is a cruel game. We all know that feeling when your position has gone awry and everything seems hopeless. You feel like resigning. But don’t give up! This is precisely the moment to switch to swindle mode. Master the art of provoking errors and you will be able to turn the tables and escape with a draw – or sometimes even steal the full point!

Swindling is a skill that can be trained. In this book, David Smerdon shows how you can use tricks from psychology to marshal hidden resources and exploit your opponent’s biases. In a lost position, your best practical chance often lies not in the computer’s best moves, but in playing your opponent – however bad the evaluation!

With an abundance of eye-popping examples and training exercises, Smerdon identifies the four best friends of every chess swindler: your opponent’s impatience, their hubris, their fear, and their need to stay in control. You’ll also learn about such cunning swindling motifs as the Trojan Horse, the decoy trap, the berserk attack, and ‘window-ledging’. So, come and join the Swindlers’ Club, become a great escape artist and dramatically improve your results. In this instructive and wildly entertaining guide, Smerdon shows you how.

"1136295643"
The Complete Chess Swindler: How to Save Points from Lost Positions
Chess is a cruel game. We all know that feeling when your position has gone awry and everything seems hopeless. You feel like resigning. But don’t give up! This is precisely the moment to switch to swindle mode. Master the art of provoking errors and you will be able to turn the tables and escape with a draw – or sometimes even steal the full point!

Swindling is a skill that can be trained. In this book, David Smerdon shows how you can use tricks from psychology to marshal hidden resources and exploit your opponent’s biases. In a lost position, your best practical chance often lies not in the computer’s best moves, but in playing your opponent – however bad the evaluation!

With an abundance of eye-popping examples and training exercises, Smerdon identifies the four best friends of every chess swindler: your opponent’s impatience, their hubris, their fear, and their need to stay in control. You’ll also learn about such cunning swindling motifs as the Trojan Horse, the decoy trap, the berserk attack, and ‘window-ledging’. So, come and join the Swindlers’ Club, become a great escape artist and dramatically improve your results. In this instructive and wildly entertaining guide, Smerdon shows you how.

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The Complete Chess Swindler: How to Save Points from Lost Positions

The Complete Chess Swindler: How to Save Points from Lost Positions

by David Smerdon
The Complete Chess Swindler: How to Save Points from Lost Positions

The Complete Chess Swindler: How to Save Points from Lost Positions

by David Smerdon

eBook

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Overview

Chess is a cruel game. We all know that feeling when your position has gone awry and everything seems hopeless. You feel like resigning. But don’t give up! This is precisely the moment to switch to swindle mode. Master the art of provoking errors and you will be able to turn the tables and escape with a draw – or sometimes even steal the full point!

Swindling is a skill that can be trained. In this book, David Smerdon shows how you can use tricks from psychology to marshal hidden resources and exploit your opponent’s biases. In a lost position, your best practical chance often lies not in the computer’s best moves, but in playing your opponent – however bad the evaluation!

With an abundance of eye-popping examples and training exercises, Smerdon identifies the four best friends of every chess swindler: your opponent’s impatience, their hubris, their fear, and their need to stay in control. You’ll also learn about such cunning swindling motifs as the Trojan Horse, the decoy trap, the berserk attack, and ‘window-ledging’. So, come and join the Swindlers’ Club, become a great escape artist and dramatically improve your results. In this instructive and wildly entertaining guide, Smerdon shows you how.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9789056919122
Publisher: Continental Sales, Inc.
Publication date: 02/17/2020
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 368
File size: 32 MB
Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

David Smerdon is an Australian chess grandmaster and behavioural economist. In 2015 he published the highly successful chess opening book Smerdon’s Scandinavian.

Table of Contents

Explanation of symbols 6

Acknowledgements 7

Introduction 9

Part I What is a swindle? 17

Chapter 1 When to enter 'Swindle Mode' 30

Part II The Psychology of Swindles 35

Chapter 2 Impatience 38

Chapter 3 Hubris 42

Chapter 4 Fear 45

Chapter 5 Kontrollzwang 50

Chapter 6 The Swindler's Mind 57

Chapter 7 Grit 58

Chapter 8 Optimism 62

Chapter 9 Training Your Mind 68

Part III The Swindler's Toolbox 79

Chapter 10 Trojan Horse 80

Chapter 11 Decoy Trap 86

Chapter 12 Berserk Attack 92

Chapter 13 Window- Ledging 100

Chapter 14 Play the Player 108

Part IV Core Skills 121

Chapter 15 Endgames 123

Chapter 16 Fortresses 144

Chapter 17 Stalemate 160

Chapter 18 Perpetual Check 168

Chapter 19 Creativity 183

Chapter 20 Gamesmanship 195

Part V Swindles in Practice 207

Chapter 21 Master Swindles 208

Chapter 22 Amateur Swindles 254

Chapter 23 My Favourite Swindle 273

Part VI Exercises 277

Test 1 278

Test 2 289

Test 3 299

Solutions to exercises 309

Epilogue 349

Index of names 355

Bibliography 361

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