| Neil McDonald | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country | England |
| Born | 21 January 1967 Gravesend, Kent, England |
| Title | Grandmaster (1996) |
| FIDE rating | 2407 (December 2023) |
| Peak rating | 2500 (July 1996) |
Neil McDonald [1] (born 21 January 1967) is an English chess grandmaster and chess writer.
As an English Chess Federation coach [2] he has trained many of the country's strongest junior players and was Head Coach of the English Chess Federation team at the Greece World Schools Championship in 2013. [3] He regularly escorts blind and partially sighted chess players to international World Championship events.
McDonald authored the French Defence monthly updates on chesspublishing.com from October 1999 until March 2009, [4] 1 e4 ... updates from November 2009 until January 2010, [5] 1 e4 ... from June 2014 until February 2015 [6] and returned to 1 e4 ... in March 2017 until January 2018. [7]
He became an International Master in 1986 and was awarded the Grandmaster title in 1996.
McDonald obtained his FIDE Trainer qualification in 2016. [8]
| The Chess Press | Year | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| Opening Guides: Dutch Leningrad | 1997 | ISBN 978-1-901259-03-2 |
| Batsford Books | Year | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| Planning (Think Like a Chess Master) | 1995 | ISBN 978-0-7134-7573-9 |
| Winning With the Kalashnikov | 1995 | ISBN 978-0-7134-7576-0 |
| Mastering the French (with Andrew Harley) | 1997 | ISBN 978-0-7134-5716-2 |
| The King's Gambit: A Modern View | 1998 | ISBN 978-0-7134-8451-9 |
| Mastering Chess Tactics | 2002 | ISBN 978-0-7134-8772-5 |
| The Sveshnikov Sicilian | 2003 | ISBN 978-0-7134-8581-3 |
| Mastering Checkmates | 2003 | ISBN 978-0-7134-8774-9 |
| The Benko Gambit Revealed | 2004 | ISBN 978-0-7134-8868-5 |
| Chess: The Art of Logical Thinking | 2004 | ISBN 978-0-7134-8894-4 |
| The Sicilian Bb5 Revealed | 2005 | ISBN 978-0-7134-8980-4 |
| The Art of Planning in Chess: Move By Move | 2006 | ISBN 978-0-7134-9025-1 |
| Chess Success: Planning After the Opening | 2007 | ISBN 978-0-7134-9071-8 |
| Everyman Chess [9] | Year | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| Positional Sacrifices | 1995 | ISBN 978-1-85744-110-9 |
| Modern Chess Miniatures | 1995 | ISBN 978-1-85744-166-6 |
| Practical Endgame Play | 1996 | ISBN 978-1-85744-176-5 |
| French Winawer | 2000 | ISBN 978-1-85744-276-2 |
| Modern Defence (with Jon Speelman) | 2000 | ISBN 978-1-85744-281-6 |
| Main Line Caro-Kann | 2001 | ISBN 978-1-85744-227-4 |
| Concise Chess Openings | 2001 | ISBN 978-1-85744-297-7 |
| Concise Chess Endings | 2002 | ISBN 978-1-85744-313-4 |
| Starting Out: The English | 2003 | ISBN 978-1-85744-322-6 |
| Concise Chess Middlegames | 2004 | ISBN 978-1-85744-356-1 |
| Starting Out: The Dutch Defence | 2005 | ISBN 978-1-85744-377-6 |
| The Masters: Rudolf Spielmann Master of Invention | 2006 | ISBN 978-1-85744-406-3 |
| Starting Out: 1 e4: A reliable repertoire for the improving player | 2006 | ISBN 978-1-85744-416-2 |
| Starting Out: Queen's Gambit Declined | 2006 | ISBN 978-1-85744-426-1 |
| Chess Secrets: The Giants of Strategy: Learn from Kramnik, Karpov, Petrosian, Capablanca and Nimzowitsch | 2007 | ISBN 978-1-85744-541-1 |
| How to Play against 1 e4 | 2009 | ISBN 978-1-85744-586-2 |
| Chess Secrets: The Giants of Power Play: Learn from Topalov, Geller, Bronstein, Alekhine and Morphy | 2009 | ISBN 978-1-85744-597-8 |
| Starting Out: The Réti | 2010 | ISBN 978-1-85744-622-7 |
| Play the Dutch: An Opening Repertoire for Black based on the Leningrad Variation | 2010 | ISBN 978-1-85744-641-8 |
| The Ruy Lopez: Move by Move | 2011 | ISBN 978-1-85744-669-2 |
| Break the Rules! A Modern Look at Chess Strategy | 2012 | ISBN 978-1-85744-673-9 |
| King's Indian Attack: Move by Move | 2014 | ISBN 978-1-85744-988-4 |
| The Catalan: Move by Move | 2017 | ISBN 978-1-78194-263-5 |
| Coach Yourself | 2019 | ISBN 978-1-78194-512-4 |
| Your Chess Battle Plan | 2020 | ISBN 978-1-78194-528-5 |
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