By 1996 Claude Bloodgood was rated 2702 and was the second highest rated chess player in the United States, behind only Gata Kamsky, who was the US Champion and was playing a match against Anatoly Karpov for the World Chess Championship.Many people including myself accused Bloodgood of manipulating the rating system. For example, it was widely believed that when a new chess player would enter the prison system, Bloodgood and the other players would lose games to this new player giving him a high rating. Once the high rating was established, then the new player would start losing, raising everybody else's rating.This sort of crude manipulation would not have worked in Bloodgood's case because of the large number of players in the Virginia prison system. Others have tried this and have been caught.Bloodgood did not manipulate the rating system. His games were legitimate. His rating rose to astronomical levels because of a flaw in the system.When the rating system was started in 1950, every player who got an even score of 6-6 in the 1950 US Open was assigned a rating of 2000.That was the starting point. Players rated over 2100 were classified as experts, over 2300 were masters, over 2500 were Senior Masters and over 2700 were grandmasters.Within about two years, it was noticed that everybody's rating was dropping. The only two players over 2700, Reshevsky and Fine, had lost those ratings.

An easy-to-understand guide to chess strategy -- conceptual planning -- has always been the amateur's dream. This book makes that dream a reality. This comprehensive guide in dictionary form, the first of its kind, makes all aspects of chess strategy quick, easy, and painlessly accessible to players of all degrees of strength. Each strategic concept is listed alphabetically and followed by a clear, easy-to-absorb explanation accompanied by examples of how this strategy is used in practice. Such great World Champions as Steinitz, Capablanca, Petrosian, Fischer, and Karpov have used these strategies in virtually all of their games. Now you can arm yourself with their weapons. As you incorporate these weapons into your own play, they will enrich your appreciation of the game and lead you to one beautiful victory after another.

Welcome to the Dark Knight System, a weapon which can be used against virtually every opening White can play! In the Dark Knight System, Black begins with 1...Nc6 and adopts a dark-square strategy. The Dark Knight System is a potent mix of several other openings, blending portions of the King's Indian, Pirc, Scotch and Tango, but it contains many independent lines too. It forces White onto his own devices very early on in the game. When forced to improvise, even strong players are prone to playing weak moves or expending their time and energy in the opening. In this book, FIDE Master James Schuyler invites you to join him in a study of his favourite Black opening. Drawing on over 25 years' experience with 1...Nc6, he presents a repertoire for Black, studies the important tactical and strategic ideas, examines key issues such as move orders, and tells you everything you need to know about the Dark Knight System. *A repertoire for Black with 1...Nc6*Covers 1 e4, 1 d4, 1 c4 and other moves*Packed with new ideas and critical analysis

The Catalan is a solid yet flexible chess opening system that is popular on all levels. Both amateurs and top-level strategists such as Vladimir Kramnik and Vishy Anand employ this opening to put a lot of unpleasant pressure on Black. In The Powerful Catalan grandmaster Victor Bologan presents a complete repertoire for White that covers all of Black’s responses. Also included are those variations where Black tries to steer the game into other openings like the Queen’s Indian or the Tarrasch Defence. The book is classically structured (starting with the rarest variations before moving on to the most popular ones) and contains original analysis of many recent tournament games. Bologan’s clearly formulated verbal explanations are essential for a good understanding of the strategic plans and the tactical themes of the Catalan. ,