My books

Ding Liren’s Best Games (A Chess Biography)

About

On 30 April 2023, in Astana, Kazakhstan, Chinese grandmaster Ding Liren sensationally defeated Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi in a dramatic battle for the chess crown. Ding Liren not only became the 17th World Chess Champion, but he also won the hearts of chess fans across the globe with his incredible fighting spirit and disarming interviews. At the final press conference, the new champion said the match ‘reflected the deepest of his soul’.

Humble and almost vulnerable in his demeanour, Ding Liren is a formidable fighter with a rich inner chess world. Throughout his career, his creative output has been immense. His games feature outstanding precision, rationality and superior endgame technique on the one hand and a talent to find brilliant, imaginative solutions on the other. His stoicism in the face of adversity and ability to quickly learn from mistakes and adapt to his opponents is unique.

Few chess greats can boast that they reached first place in both the blitz and rapid world rankings and became World Champion in classical chess. Even fewer can claim an unbeaten streak of 100 classical games. That’s how special Ding Liren is.

In this best games collection, grandmaster Davorin Kuljasevic follows and explores Ding Liren’s rise from his first chess steps in provincial China to the top of the chess world. Making no secret of his admiration for this extraordinary chess genius, the author describes Ding Liren’s successes and setbacks and how these experiences shaped him as a player and a person.

Davorin Kuljasevic is an International Grandmaster born in Croatia. He graduated from Texas Tech University and is an experienced coach. His first book Beyond Material: Ignore the Face Value of Your Pieces was a finalist for the Boleslavsky-Averbakh Award, the best book prize of FIDE, the International Chess Federation. His second book, How To Study Chess on Your Own, was an international bestseller.

The How to Study Chess on Your Own Workbook Volume 2 (Exercises and Training for 1500-1800 Elo)

About

This second-volume workbook in Davorin Kuljasevic’s How to Study Chess on Your Own series is optimized for chess players with an Elo rating between 1500 and 1800 but is helpful for anyone between 1200 and 2000. The astounding success of his How to Study Chess on Your Own made clear that thousands of chess players want to improve their game and like to work on their training at least partially by themselves.

Kuljasevic has used his coaching experience to identify the typical mistakes of club players and create a broad and exciting training schedule to address them. Tasks like these will challenge you:

  • Solve visualization puzzles
  • Find the best middlegame move – and find a hidden tactic
  • Evaluate a critical piece-trade decision
  • Analyze a practical endgame position

With these exercises and tools, any chess student can start training immediately.

Davorin Kuljasevic is an International Grandmaster born in Croatia. He graduated from Texas Tech University and is an experienced coach. His bestselling book Beyond Material: Ignore the Face Value of Your Pieces was a finalist for the Boleslavsky-Averbakh Award, the best book prize of FIDE, the International Chess Federation.

The How to Study Chess on Your Own Workbook (Volume 1: Exercises and Training for Club Players (1800 – 2100)

About

The astounding success of How To Study Chess on Your Own made clear that there are thousands of chess players who want to improve their game. And chess players like to work on their training at least partially by themselves.

The bestselling book by GM Kuljasevic offered a structured approach and provided the training plans. Due to popular demand, Kuljasevic now presents a Workbook with the accompanying exercises and training tools a chess student can use to immediately start his training.

Most workbooks offer puzzles and puzzles only. But Kuljasevic has used his experience as a coach to create a broader and more interesting training schedule. You will be challenged by tasks like these:

  • Solve positional play puzzles
  • Find the best move – and find the mini-plan
  • Play out a typical middlegame structure – against a friend or against an engine, carefully set a an appropriate level
  • Simulation – study and replay a strategic model game
  • Analyze – try to understand a given middlegame position

Volume 1 is optimized for chess players with an Elo rating between 1800 and 2100 but is useful for anyone between 1600 and 2300. Volumes 2 and 3 will serve the needs of beginners and more advanced club players.

Davorin Kuljasevic is an International Grandmaster born in Croatia. He graduated from Texas Tech University and is an experienced coach. His bestselling book Beyond Material: Ignore the Face Value of Your Pieces was a finalist for the Boleslavsky-Averbakh Award, the best book prize of FIDE, the International Chess Federation.

How to Study Chess on Your Own

About

Study chess without wasting your time and energy

Every chess player wants to improve, but many, if not most, lack the tools or the discipline to study in an effective way. With so much material on offer, the eternal question is: ‘How can I study chess without wasting my time and energy?’

Davorin Kuljasevic provides the full and ultimate answer, as he presents a structured study approach that has long-term improvement value. He explains how to study and what to study, offers specific advice for the various stages of the game and points out how to integrate all elements in an actionable study plan.

  • How do you optimize your learning process?
  • How do you develop good study habits and get rid of useless ones?
  • What study resources are appropriate for players of different levels?

Many self-improvement guides are essentially little more than a collection of exercises. Davorin Kuljasevic reflects on learning techniques and priorities in a fundamental way. And although this is not an exercise book, it is full of instructive examples looked at from unusual angles.

To provide a solid self-study framework, Kuljasevic categorizes lots of important aspects of chess study in a guide that is rich in illustrative tables, figures and bullet points. Anyone, from casual player to chess professional, will take away a multitude of original learning methods and valuable practical improvement ideas.

Davorin Kuljasevic is an International Grandmaster born in Croatia. He graduated from Texas Tech University and is an experienced coach. His bestselling book Beyond Material: Ignore the Face Value of Your Pieces was a finalist for the Boleslavsky-Averbakh Award, the best book prize of FIDE, the International Chess Federation.

Praise for How to Study Chess on Your Own by Davorin Kuljasevic:

“The book is well-structured didactically, as it should be in light of the importance of the subject. What Kuljasevic does very well is relate all angles (study methods, priorities, sources of study material) to playing levels, so you can work out what is effective at your particular level, and, even more important, what isn’t. To illustrate how thorough his approach is: in the second chapter Kuljasevic describes fifteen study methods and indicates for all of them the practical relevance, the time it consumes and the long-term learning potential. After the methodical chapters he works on the various elements of the game: opening, tactics, endgame and middlegame. The chapter on the endgame is a must. Everyone struggles with how to train the ending , but Kuljasevic shows very clearly how you should tackle this and what advantages this has.
I recommend this book unconditionally, it will be the standard work on studying chess for years. It is a must for every chess trainer and talented youngster who is ready to work a lot on breaking through. Davorin Kuljasevic has outdone himself and I am looking forward to his future books.” – Barry Braeken, Schaaksite

“Many players know the age-old problem of how to study chess. Davorin Kuljasevic shows a good middle way between learning everything in all books by heart and only playing. Be inspired!” – Grandmaster Karsten Müller, co-author of Winning with the Slow (but Venemous!) Italian

“As an experienced coach [Kuljasevic] explains how a motivated player should approach improvement and what they should study. Before starting to study priorities need to established, and Kuljasevic shows the importnace of methods and discipline. Whoever finds endgames boring should read the chapter ‘Make your endgame stude more enjoyable’. A unique book on self-study.” – Barend Wilders, Nederlands Dagblad

“An extremely impressive book on an increasingly important aspect of chess: ‘how to learn’ as opposed to ‘what to learn’. Davorin Kuljasevic has clearly put an enormous amount of thought and hard work into writing it. If you’re within the target market – you want to improve your chess and have a lot of time available for that purpose – I’d give this book a very strong recommendation.
Even if you only have a few hours (or even less) a week, rather than a few hours a day to set aside for chess study, you’re sure to find much invaluable advice about how to make the most of your time.
There’s a lot of great – and highly instructive – chess in the book as well, so you might enjoy it for that alone. Kuljasevic’s previous book was shortlisted for FIDE’s 2020 Book of the Year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this book was similarly honoured. He’s clearly an exceptional writer as well as an exceptional coach.” Richard James, British Chess News

Beyond Material (Ignore the Face Value of Your Pieces and Discover the Importance of Time, Space and Psychology in Chess)

About

In order to win a game of chess you very often have to sacrifice material. Gathering the courage to do so while accurately assessing the potential benefits is a real challenge. The big question is always: what’s my compensation? 

Generations of chess players grew up with the idea that a sacrifice was correct if the material was swiftly returned, with interest. Almost by reflex, they spent lots of time counting, quantifying the static value of their pieces. But is that really the best way to determine the correctness of a sacrifice?

In this book, Grandmaster Davorin Kuljasevic teaches you how to look beyond the material balance when you evaluate positions. With loads of instructive examples he shows how the actual value of your pieces fluctuates during the game, depending on many non-material factors. Some of those factors are space-related, such as mobility, harmony, outposts, structures, files and diagonals. Other factors are related to time, and to the way the moves unfold: tempo, initiative, a threat, an attack.

Modern chess players need to be able to suppress their need for immediate gratification. In order to gain the upper hand you often have to live with uncertain compensation. With many fascinating examples, Kuljasevic teaches you the essential skill of taking calculated risks. After studying Beyond Material, winning games by sacrificing material will become second nature to you.

Davorin Kuljasevic is an International Grandmaster born in Croatia. He graduated from Texas Tech University and played in USCL 2007 and 2008 for Dallas Destiny, the team that became US champion in both these years. He is an experienced coach and a winner of many tournaments.

“A fascinating effort that deserves a wide audience. One of the best books I have read this year.”
–International Master John Donaldson

“This book will take intermediate players to a new dimension of chess understanding and practical performance. As you read Beyond Material it feels as if Kuljasevic was next to you as a coach. The examples in the book are not geared to impress you, but to help you to become a better chess player. This book does a great service to players with a positional oriented solid style. The author shows how to grow to a more dynamic/flexible approach to chess.” — Miguel Ararat, Gainesville Chess Training

“An enjoyable and thought-provoking read, quite different from more ‘normal’ chess book fare. It’s a super piece of work, and an excellent take on a neglected area of the game.” — Ian Marks, Chess Schotland

“I like the author’s style. There is enough material here to keep even the keenest of chess students busy for some time and it definitely has the potential to change the way a player thinks. A very good book. It provides a plethora of excellent material, which is both entertaining and instructive, while remaining fully accessible to club players.” — Sean Marsh, CHESS Monthly

“Interesting, well thought-out and pleasantly written. A book with a clever structure, richly illustrated with game examples and analysis, which I highly recommend to all serious tournament players.” — Florian Jacobs, Max Euwe Center Amsterdam