Richard Palliser – författare

Grandmaster Simon Williams was taught the English Opening at the age of six and 1 c4 was his weapon of choice until long after he became an International Master. For this new work, he teamed up with acclaimed theoretician International Master Richard Palliser to explore his old favourite.

1 c4 remains an excellent choice for the club and tournament player. This book focuses on the set-up popularised by the sixth world champion, Mikhail Botvinnik, the so-called Botvinnik formation with 2 Nc3, 3 g3, 4 Bg2, 5 e4 and 6 Nge2. This system is compact but still aggressive and rewards an understanding of plans and strategies rather than rote memorisation of moves.

In Opening Repertoire: The Iron English leading chess authors Simon Williams and Richard Palliser guide the reader through the complexities of this dynamic variation and carves out a repertoire for White. They examine all aspects of this highly complex opening and provide the reader with well-researched, fresh, and innovative analysis. Each annotated game has valuable lessons on how to play the opening and contains instructive commentary on typical middlegame plans.

Are you bored with playing it safe in the opening? Had enough of developing your pieces sensibly, aiming to control the centre and getting your king castled? Do you yearn to tear the opposition apart in the style of the great 19th century masters? Then Grandmaster Gambits 1 e4 is the book for you!

The highly successful writing duo of Richard Palliser and Simon (GingerGM) Williams have teamed up again to create a repertoire based on jettisoning a pawn (and often a whole lot more) very early on. Whatever opening your opponent favours against 1 e4, the authors have a dynamic gambiteering counter which will throw them onto their own resources.

The Sicilian Defence? Attack it with the Wing Gambit.

1...e5? Tear Black apart with the Max Lange Attack.

The French? Suffocate Black with the Advance Variation including Magnus Carlsen's souped-up version of the Milner-Barry Gambit.

The Caro-Kann? Play the Hillbilly Attack with 2 Bc4! Your opponent might laugh but they won't be laughing when you crash through on f7.

Forget about playing "properly" in the opening. Open 1 e4, play the Grandmaster Gambits and rip your unprepared opponents apart!

Richard Palliser is an International Master and the editor of CHESS Magazine. In 2006 he became Joint British Rapidplay Champion and in 2019 finished third in the British Championship. He has established a reputation as a skilled chess writer and written many works for Everyman, including the bestselling The Complete Chess Workout.

Simon Williams is a Grandmaster, a well-known presenter and a widely-followed streamer, as well as a popular writer whose previous books have received great praise. He is much admired for his dynamic and spontaneous attacking style.

The English chess explosion of the 1970s lit the fuse for a golden era in the 1980s, when a wave of brilliant British players rose to the very top of world chess. England became a major force in international competition, producing players who could stand head-to-head with the traditional superpowers of the game. The movement culminated in Nigel Short’s World Championship challenge in 1993 — but its true legacy lay in the astonishing creativity of its leading lights.

This book celebrates the play and influence of Tony Miles, John Nunn, Jon Speelman, Nigel Short, Michael Adams and Matthew Sadler, all of whom achieved world class status. Although all of them had a very clear understanding of the principles of classical chess they all very much ploughed their own creative furrows. Their extraordinary creativity created immense practical problems for even the strongest opponents and gave rise to some of the most memorable games of the modern era. As well as featuring numerous amazing games, this book will demonstrate how you can harness some of this creativity and introduce it into your own play.

IM Richard Palliser outlines a combative Trompowsky (1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5) repertoire for White. The lines analysed deal with all of Black’s common responses.

A perennial favourite of creative players, the ‘Tromp’ sets Black complex problems from the very beginning. It has been played by Anand in a World Championship match and used as a surprise weapon by Carlsen, Nakamura, Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa and many other top players. While offbeat, the Trompowsky is difficult to face.

One colourful variation outlined within is the audacious 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 Ne4 3. h4!? – a favourite of ‘Mr Trompowsky’, the four-time British Champion, Julian Hodgson. Leading to unusual and rich middlegame play, this variation maintains its venom in 2024.

The English chess explosion of the 1970s lit the fuse for a golden era in the 1980s, when a wave of brilliant British players rose to the very top of world chess. England became a major force in international competition, producing players who could stand head-to-head with the traditional superpowers of the game. The movement culminated in Nigel Short’s World Championship challenge in 1993 — but its true legacy lay in the astonishing creativity of its leading lights.

This book celebrates the play and influence of Tony Miles, John Nunn, Jon Speelman, Nigel Short, Michael Adams and Matthew Sadler, all of whom achieved world class status. Although all of them had a very clear understanding of the principles of classical chess they all very much ploughed their own creative furrows. Their extraordinary creativity created immense practical problems for even the strongest opponents and gave rise to some of the most memorable games of the modern era. As well as featuring numerous amazing games, this book will demonstrate how you can harness some of this creativity and introduce it into your own play.

Grandmaster Simon Williams was taught the English Opening at the age of six and 1 c4 was his weapon of choice until long after he became an International Master. For this new work, he teamed up with acclaimed theoretician International Master Richard Palliser to explore his old favourite.

1 c4 remains an excellent choice for the club and tournament player. This book focuses on the set-up popularised by the sixth world champion, Mikhail Botvinnik, the so-called Botvinnik formation with 2 Nc3, 3 g3, 4 Bg2, 5 e4 and 6 Nge2. This system is compact but still aggressive and rewards an understanding of plans and strategies rather than rote memorisation of moves.

In Opening Repertoire: The Iron English leading chess authors Simon Williams and Richard Palliser guide the reader through the complexities of this dynamic variation and carves out a repertoire for White. They examine all aspects of this highly complex opening and provide the reader with well-researched, fresh, and innovative analysis. Each annotated game has valuable lessons on how to play the opening and contains instructive commentary on typical middlegame plans.