Attacking the Spanish (Brunello) and Build up Your Chess 3 (Yusupov)

Attacking the Spanish and Build up Your Chess 3 will be at our warehouse on the 15th of July. This means that they will be available in most shops over the following weekend, or on the following Monday.

As always, it will take some time for the books to reach Amazon. The delay is intentional, keep the chess shops alive…

50 thoughts on “Attacking the Spanish (Brunello) and Build up Your Chess 3 (Yusupov)”

  1. What is Yusupov’s target audience in this latest book? About what strength of player?

    Please keep up the good work, Quality Chess! I have several of your books and haven’t come across a bad one yet.

  2. The lessons in Yusupov’s Beyond the Basics series is, I think, based around his Chess Tigers University program.

    In the introduction to book 1, Yusupov writes, “In 2003 I began a 3-year training programme in my chess academy. Three groups were set up according to playing strength: under Elo 1500, under Elo 1800 and under Elo 2100. Each annual stage consisted of 24 teaching modules and 24 tests, plus a final test at the end of the course.”

    So far, each book has had 21 chapters.

  3. Jacob Aagaard

    Thanks, Jesse. Obviously the books have 24 chapters, not the typo 21.

    The series will be in total 9 books, 3 of up to 1500, up to 1800 and up to 2100. The reason why we have not been too outspoken about these limits, as Artur has with the German books, is that we think he has misjudged this range a bit. If you can do what is in the first book, you will definitely be more than 1500 rated. And some things in the last, u2100 book, I find challenging.

    The latest book is a u2100 book, but the level in it is rather high at places. In gerenal I would recommend anyone wanting to work with these books, to go through them all. If some of them are a bit easy, you will get through them quite quickly anyway :-).

  4. Can you please give me specific information when will be new books available in Niggemann Store Germany?

  5. When will you have an excerpt up for Attacking the Spanish? I’m trying to decide if I need to add it to my next book order.

  6. Krisitjan Horvat

    A suggestion for the new chess series!

    It’s true that today’s chess players, and I mean GM’s and IM’s, are dumber than players before computer era. Why? Today they just buffle opening moves and forged engine analysis.

    What we really need today are well commented games in desired opning which we play.

    So i propose that you publish c600ented games in KIng’s Indian, Ruy Lopez, QGD etc.

    You can include history and famous players, and last but not least most important endgame/strategy/tactics overview.

    No one dares to do that. So don’t blame me if I would call chess publishers a greedy parrots who never dare to go astary in unexplored areas of chess beauty.

  7. Jacob Aagaard

    I have finally learned how to update the excerpts on the site (we have recently changed server and the proceedure is different). Attacking the Spanish is available now, the same is the case for Build up you chess 2 and 3.

    I do not think chess publishers in general lack courage. I certainly don’t think we do. It has been a long time since anyone has done tournament books, then we did San Luis 2005. John Nunn said the classical opening manual is dead, but with the GM repertoire series and other books based more on finding new ideas and moving theory ahead, we have proved that things change, they don’t simply fall away.

    I am not sure that particular project is fitting for us at the moment. We try to do things that we find inspiring to make, but at the moment we are trying to just fulfil our agreements with the authors and get the books out!

  8. I don’t think a greedy parrot would find huge amounts to feed on in the chess publishing arena…much richer pickings in other areas. Nevertheless, in such a niche market there still remains a requirment to publish books that will cover the costs – otherwise the publisher will be very short lived.

    With regard to the suggestion of 500+ games on a specific opening with all the corresponding plans etc – to some extent i think we have got something like this with the ‘Berlin Wall’.

    That said i think doing something like this on the King’s Indian would be a huge seller. Whilst there are lots of books on this already, i am not aware of anything which excels at explaining the middlegame motifs e.g. in the classical how should black develop his attack on the kingside etc.

    On a seperate note – i think a book dealing with pawns storms would make for entertaining reading which would have relevance to a broad range of players.

  9. Horst Besselhock :
    but you don’t have a guts to do it, haven’t you?

    Certainly not. First of all, it is not “a guts” but “a gut”. Secondly, it is not “a gut”, but “the gut”. Finally, it is not “the gut”, but “the guts”, although “the heart” would also work in this context.

    Krisitjan Horvat :
    No one dares to do that. So don’t blame me if I would call chess publishers a greedy parrots who never dare to go astary in unexplored areas of chess beauty.

    I don’t even know where to start with this one.

  10. In my humble opinion, good books don’t necessarily have to involve a great amount of risks or structural novelties. Books of good (or better!) quality written with serious and a touch of passion, answering an expectation from the readers, is very likely to be a success.

    Personally I would be very interested in thematic tactics/strategic books concerning specific openings. The titles could sound like “Tactics in the Sicilian” and contain hundreds of thematic moves ordered as a puzzle book.

  11. Jacob Aagaard

    Yes, this is exclusively from the Sicilian. Also there is a new book by Everyman with standard sacrifices, and one from Lemoir.

    I think I should say how we choose what books to publish; it is actually quite simple, we publish books that excites us. In the past we have published 2-3 books for commercial reasons (mainly early on), books we did not feel especially happy about. All three were commercial failures. We did not like working on them and we felt bad about publishing them.

    So these days we publish things that somehow interest us. We have given up on the idea of becoming rich and instead sit in the office and “build” for the pure pleasure of it.

    I personally like to work with authors who have good ideas, but are not experienced authors. It probably comes from a life philosophy based on practicing the basics. I have loved working with Marin for example. He has developed in his own unique direction, of course, but I have been able to tell him what worked and what did not along the way.

    The thing about these suggestions for books that come here on the site is, that although we certainly read them with great interest and they do inspire our long term thinking, we cannot just start writing them the next day. We have about 25 books planned for the next 12 months. We are busy :-). But we do plan ahead and we do listen. If the right author comes along, we might very well use some idea from this blog.

    I hope this comprehensive answer satisfies those with serious questions.

  12. I can’t help but notice that there are no games collections in your catalogue. Is this a philosophical choice or simply the way things have developed? Would there be any players you would like to work with for such a book?

  13. Jacob Aagaard

    We have been in discussions with three very exciting names so far, but for reasons other than economic and creative, these have not worked out. I would love to do game collections, these are probably my favourite kind of chess books, but the player should be a great one, of course.

  14. Jacob Aagaard

    By the way, there are also not really any endgame books in our catalogue. The reason for this is that we have not found a project where we can contribute anything yet.

  15. We in Russia are used to be supreme in chess! Even from time to time there is a one or two sparks of genius in the rest of the world, our supremacy in chess is undisputable.

    I’m surprised that you can’t produce works about KID and Ruy Lopez where a tremendous contribution can be added, in a following way:

    a) genuine historic insights
    b) a revolution is ongoing: disection of the new approach
    c) strategic approach reconsidered
    d) tactics are the main course
    e) most prominent adherents
    f) pawn structures and center formation
    g) statistics, anecdotes, interviews with best practitioners

    I must admit that I’m very disappointed with Quality Chess about this proposal by previous posters. Such project would be very difficult, just as your King’s Gambit book which is stuck bellow someone’s bed!?

    A trendsetter must be avantgardistic: it must show a difference! So don’t chicken out right now!

    Today we see some strange and oblivious people who stick a nick “GM” just as they obtained a PhD title. But unfortunately today everyone with good memory and some cash can be an ordinary, dumb GM.

    We in Russia make a difference.

  16. @Ivan Grozni

    Thank you, Ivan. It’s always nice to hear such coherent thoughts about the wonders of Russian chess.

    Re your surprise about our alleged lack of contributions about the KID and Ruy Lopez. Well, we have commisioned a new book on the KID by an expert, and Markos’s Beat the KID found some fans. I also think Marin’s two books on 1.e4 e5 made a major contribution on the Ruy Lopez. We will also soon have a book by Brunello called Attacking the Spanish.

  17. @Jacob Aagaard

    “The series will be in total 9 books, 3 of up to 1500, up to 1800 and up to 2100.”

    Mr Aagaard Im interested in these series of books “Build Up Your Chess”, but as far as I knew there would be only 3 books, 1st one for , could you elaborate on this new information about 9 books?

    Thanks.

  18. Hey come on guys, I just want to know if there are going to be more volumes from “Build Up Your Chess”, or are these 3 books the only ones. Some info would be appreciated.

  19. Noel,

    Yusupov will write a total of 9 books, in 3 series each of 3 books. The series are called: Build up your Chess, Boost your Chess, Chess Evolution. The series follow the same format of one book at the “Fundamentals” level, one at “Beyond the Basics”, one at “Mastery”.

    The delay in replying was because your comments were caught in a filter while I was on holiday.

  20. Jacob’s told us the Yusupov series will be, β€œ9 books: 3 of up to 1500, up to 1800 and up to 2100.”

    John told us how the series will be structured.

    Putting these two together we get (i think):

    Build up your chess 1 – fundamentals (U1500)
    Build up your chess 2 – beyond the basics (U1800)
    Build up your chess 3 – mastery (U2100)

    Boost your chess 1 – fundamentals (U1500)
    Boost your chess 2 – beyond the basics (U1800)
    Boost your chess 3 – mastery (U2100)

    Chess evolution 1 – fundamentals (U1500)
    Chess evolution 2 – beyond the basics (U1800)
    Chess evolution 3 – mastery (U2100)

    Is this right?

  21. I have just bought Grandmaster Repertoire vol 1. It looks a very good book. Does anyone have any advice on how to work through it (what chapters are critical) Also I saw that in Build up your chess 3 Yuspov discusses a white repertoire with 1d4. Is this a mainline repertoire or is it one based on the colle and trompovsky etc.

  22. @Tony Rotella

    Sorry Tony,

    Probably too early for specifics, but it should be a highly theoretical work by a GM who is a KID expert. I know that’s annoyingly vague, but I’ll give more details when I can.

  23. @Jesse Gersenson

    Jesse,

    You have the structure of the 3 Yusupov series exactly right, although I would say the rating ranges are just a rough estimate – different players will find different parts of the books more challenging.

  24. Having recently gone through Schandorff’s play the queens gambit – is there any chance you can persuade him to write more on the remaining defences to 1 d4.

  25. It seems there is a lot of interest in Yusupov’s books. I have purchased the first two in his Build Up Your Chess series and can certainly vouch for their quality and value. I’m thoroughly enjoying working through the first volume, I’m 6 chapters in so far.

    Is there any further information as to what these new volumes will include? Do they focus on specific themes or are they general topics mixed up like the current series?

    What I particularly want to know is the following. Presuming there is little to no overlap and that each series is worth buying even if you have a previous series should we wait after completing Build Up Your Chess Vol 1 for the release of Boost Your Chess Vol 1 and then Chess Evolution Vol 1 or should we work through all three books of a series in order first, then start a new series with Vol 1 again?

    Also are there any vague dates tentatively outlined for these new books, by vague I just mean are we likely to see the first in another series before the end of 09, or are these books going to be delayed until 2010 at the earliest etc.?

    Sorry for the many questions, but I’m greatly excited by these books!

  26. Kevin I agree on everything that you asked !!! Im also looking forward to these new series by the good guy Yusupov πŸ™‚

  27. Tony Rotella :
    Riddle me this, if you can:
    Has this KID expert / GM written a book on the KID before?

    Tony,
    I am wary of giving too much away in this guessing game for reasons I mentioned elsewhere (basically, we don’t want to announce a book until we are sure we can deliver) However, the KID expert/GM has written books, but not on the KID.

  28. Kieran :
    Having recently gone through Schandorff’s play the queens gambit – is there any chance you can persuade him to write more on the remaining defences to 1 d4.

    Kieran,
    We had the same thought, but if it does happen it won’t be for a while. Lars is busy with writing the GM Repertoire on the Caro-Kann, as well as playing.

  29. @Kevin
    Kevin,

    I believe the new Yusupov series will be in the same style as the first series, but there will not be any repetition of material. I say that not having seen the new series yet, but I have faith in the quality of Artur’s work.

    Your question about which order to read them is interesting, but I am not sure there is a single correct answer. Chess knowledge is often specific, so the order you read the books may not be critical. For example, someone who reads Volume 2 of the first series (the “Beyond the Basics” level) will probably still learn a lot from Volume 1 of the second series (the “Fundamentals” level).

    Publication dates are still up in the air, but the first book of the second series is probably well over a year away.

  30. The chapters of all 9 books is outlined, in German, on Yusupov’s site:
    http://jussupow.de/22982.html

    All 9 books will be a smattering of topics, as were the first three books translated/published by Quality Chess.

    For the under 1500 players, Yusupov dedicates 46% (11/24) of his chapters to tactics. If you’re waiting for the other under 1500 books to come out, and if you haven’t read it, read Understanding Chess Tactics by Martin Weteschnik. It’s a book about chess tactics, published by Quality Chess.

    Number of chapters per topic for each book in each series

    The Fundamentals (U1500) series
    ————————————

    • Openings – 2 (8%)
    • Tactics – 11 (47%)
    • Calculation – 2 (8%)
    • Strategy – 2 (8%)
    • Positional play – 3 (12%)
    • Endgame – 4 (17%)

    Beyond the Basics (U1800) series
    ———————————

    • Openings – 4 (17%)
    • Tactics – 8 (33%)
    • Calculation – 2 (8%)
    • Strategy – 2 (8%)
    • Positional – 4 (17%)
    • Endgames – 4 (17%)

    Mastery (U2100) series
    ————————

    • Openings – 4 (17%)
    • Tactics – 4 (17%)
    • Calculation – 4 (17%)
    • Strategy – 4 (17%)
    • Positional – 4 (17%)
    • Endgames – 4 (17%)
  31. Aditya Mookerjee

    I am reading the first book, Build up your chess, the fundamentals, but I find, that it is not possible to finish a chapter in one day. In fact, in the manner I read through the examples, after looking at the positions for some time, I do not find the time to read through the examples in a day. The topics are quite straight forward, and I remember quite a few of the mating motif’s by memory, even though I have not committed them consciously to memory. I have yet to finish reading the first chapter.
    The printing of the books is very good quality, and so is the quality of the paper used. It’s a pleasure reading the books of quality chess. I try to do justice to Mr Yusupov’s reputation, by trying hard.

  32. I – as a german – do fully agree with Jacob. I very much prefer the Quality-Layout and bought the english version for that one reason (but the german edition is hardcover at a lower price!). By the way I think that even the U1500 Series provides excellent practical training material for a decent Elo-2000 player as well. Albeit I got the mark “excellent” on all exercices so far I missed out at least one point on each of them.

  33. can any one tell about these chess book series
    1.school of chess excellence
    2.school of future chess champion
    are these two series good?
    can any one know about these book.than these you know any good chess books?

  34. Jesse Gersenson :Jacob’s told us the Yusupov series will be, β€œ9 books: 3 of up to 1500, up to 1800 and up to 2100.”
    John told us how the series will be structured.
    Putting these two together we get (i think):
    Build up your chess 1 – fundamentals (U1500)Build up your chess 2 – beyond the basics (U1800)Build up your chess 3 – mastery (U2100)
    Boost your chess 1 – fundamentals (U1500)Boost your chess 2 – beyond the basics (U1800)Boost your chess 3 – mastery (U2100)
    Chess evolution 1 – fundamentals (U1500)Chess evolution 2 – beyond the basics (U1800)Chess evolution 3 – mastery (U2100)

    So in essence, assuming you are a fairly new player,you need to read build up your chess 1 (fundamentals), Boost your chess 1 (fundamentals) and then Chess Evolution 1 (Fundamentals) before moving on to the next level ie Build up your Chess 2 (Beyond the Basics), Boost Your Chess 2 (Beyond the Basics) etc.
    I’ve had different information supplied to me by various bookshops, hence my query.
    Is this right?

  35. In each series, is there a progression between Build->Boost->Evolution?

    The reason I ask this, is that in series 1 (fundamentals), I’m just about done “Build”. “Boost” isn’t immediately available, but “Evolution” is.

    Would it be okay to read series 1 (fundamentals) in the order “Build” -> “Evolution” -> “Boost” ?

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