Country of origin | United Kingdom |
---|---|
Headquarters location | London |
Distribution | Central Books [1] |
Publication types | books and CDs |
Nonfiction topics | Chess |
Official website | popularchess |
Popular Chess, formerly known as Everyman Chess and Cadogan Chess, is a major publisher of books and CDs about chess. "Everyman" is a registered trademark of Random House and the company headquarters is in London. Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov is their chief advisor and John Emms is the general editor, assisted by Richard Palliser. The company is now known as "Gloucester Publishers".
In 2024 it was announced that Popular Chess was sold to Quality Chess. [2] Due to a rights issue, Everyman had to continue under the name Popular Chess. [3]
In addition to individual books, the company publishes some series of books. Some of their most famous series of books are:
The Starting Out-series are introductory level books for average players, who have advanced beyond beginner level. These books generally contain a general strategic overview, along with notes on whether the lines are theoretical or not. John Watson has pointed out that the series' main weakness is a lack of in-depth theoretical coverage. [4] Features of the Starting Out series are bolded and graphically labeled notices with tips, warnings and notes. The wide target readership has made the Starting Out series popular. One reviewer [5] expressed concern that many titles are pushed into the Starting Out series as a way of increasing sales, when they would be better suited as a more theoretical work.
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion (1985–2000), political activist and writer. His peak FIDE chess rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the highest recorded until being surpassed by Magnus Carlsen in 2013. From 1984 until his retirement from regular competitive chess in 2005, Kasparov was ranked the world's #1 player for a record 255 months overall. Kasparov also holds records for the most consecutive professional tournament victories (15) and Chess Oscars (11).
The Game of the Century is a chess game that was won by the 13-year-old future world champion Bobby Fischer against Donald Byrne in the Rosenwald Memorial Tournament at the Marshall Chess Club in New York City on October 17, 1956. In Chess Review, Hans Kmoch dubbed it "The Game of the Century" and wrote: "The following game, a stunning masterpiece of combination play performed by a boy of 13 against a formidable opponent, matches the finest on record in the history of chess prodigies."
The Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defence is one of the most popular, reputable, and deeply studied of all chess openings. Modern Chess Openings calls it the "Cadillac" or "Rolls-Royce" of chess openings. The opening is named after the Polish-Argentine grandmaster Miguel Najdorf, although he was not the first strong player to play the variation. Many players have relied on the Najdorf.
The Modern Benoni is a chess opening that begins with the moves 1.d4Nf6 2.c4c5 3.d5e6. It is classified under the ECO codes A60–A79. After the initial moves, Black proceeds to capture on d5, creating a majority of black pawns on the queenside. To support their advance, the king's bishop is usually fianchettoed on g7. These two features differentiate Black's setup from the other Benoni defences and the King's Indian Defence, although transpositions between these openings are common.
The Colle System, also known as the Colle–Koltanowski System, is a chess opening system for White, popularised in the 1920s by the Belgian master Edgard Colle and further developed by George Koltanowski.
John Michael Emms is an English chess Grandmaster and chess author. He tied for first in the 1997 British Championship.
In chess, the Scheveningen Variation of the Sicilian Defence is an opening that is a line of the Open Sicilian characterised by Black setting up a "small centre" with pawns on d6 and e6. There are numerous move orders that reach the Scheveningen; a common one is:
In chess, the Dragon Variation is one of the main lines of the Sicilian Defence and begins with the moves:
Chess Informant is a publishing company from Belgrade, Serbia that periodically produces volumes of a book entitled Chess Informant, as well as the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings, Encyclopaedia of Chess Endings, Opening Monographs, other print publications, and software. Aleksandar Matanović and Milivoje Molerović founded the company in 1966 for the purpose of offering the rest of the world the sort of access to chess information enjoyed by Soviet players. The company has sold three million books in 150 countries, according to its website.
Richard David Palliser is an English chess player and chess writer who holds the title International Master.
My Great Predecessors is a series of chess books written by former World Champion Garry Kasparov et al. The five volumes in the My Great Predecessors series are about the players who preceded Kasparov in being official World Champions. The series of books continued with the Modern Chess volumes that covers developments in the 1970s and Kasparov's games with Anatoly Karpov. The series is being extended with three volumes of Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov, covering his other games. The books contain historical details, but for the most part the books are made up of annotated games.
The game of chess is commonly divided into three phases: the opening, middlegame, and endgame. There is a large body of theory regarding how the game should be played in each of these phases, especially the opening and endgame. Those who write about chess theory, who are often also eminent players, are referred to as "chess theorists" or "chess theoreticians".
Jovanka Houska is an English chess player with the titles International Master (IM) and Woman Grandmaster (WGM). She is a nine-time British Women's Chess Champion.
Hugh Edward Myers was an American chess master and author. He won or tied for first in the state chess championships of Illinois (1951), Wisconsin (1955), Missouri (1962), and Iowa (1983), as well as the USCF Region VIII championship (1983). He played first board for the Dominican Republic in the 1968 and 1976 Chess Olympiads.
The Scandinavian Defense is a chess opening characterized by the moves:
A chess opening book is a book on chess openings. This is by far the most common type of literature on chess. These books describe many major lines, like the Sicilian Defence, Ruy Lopez, and Queen's Gambit, as well as many minor variations of the main lines.
Kasparov's immortal is a chess game played by Garry Kasparov as White against Veselin Topalov as Black at the Hoogovens Wijk aan Zee Chess Tournament 1999 chess tournament. This is one of Kasparov's most famous games; it is considered a masterpiece and Chess.com has listed it as the No. 1 chess game ever played.