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300 Most Important Tactical Chess Positions

Thomas Engqvist

Batsford

Format:

Paperback ISBN: 9781849946124

Paperback publication date: 4 March 2021

Category: Chess

Paperback price:

£ 17.99

eBook ISBN: 9781849947039

eBook publication date: 4 March 2021

Category: Chess

eBook price: £ 12.99

  Our price: £

An International Master’s instructive guide to essential tactical strategies and positions in chess. 

A comprehensive book from the Swedish International Master Thomas Engqvist for understanding the most important tactical chess positions in the opening of a game, the middle game and the endgame. It cuts to the chase on the must useful tactical positions at each stage of the game. Knowing the positions is one thing but this experienced coach shows you how to create them, even out of nothing, in the spirit of Tal and Alekhine.

It covers other important facets of tactical play, including calculation (how to calculate with the help of stepping stones), attacking play such as defence and counter attack, and even psychological tactics. Each numbered position can be seen as a test-yourself quiz (with answers given below the diagrams) to help cement tactical understanding. Since it’s advisable to revise the positions from time to time, this book can be your life-long companion, enabling you to dramatically increase your tactical chess understanding. 

The perfect guide for players who want to reach a higher level but don’t have time to spend hours every week on less productive study.

ABOUT THE Author

Thomas Engqvist is an International Master from Sweden. He has over 30 years’ experience as a chess coach and teacher. He has worked with players at world championship level in both junior and correspondence chess. He is the author of 300 Most Important Chess Positions and 300 Most Important Tactical Chess Positions, both published by Batsford.

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REVIEWS

‘An excellent read for any player serious about getting better at chess’

American Chess Magazine

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Bridgerton’s England

Discover the elegance and romance of Georgian England in Bridgerton's magnificent filming locations

Antonia Hicks

Pitkin

Format:

Paperback ISBN: 9781841659251

Paperback publication date: 20 May 2021

Series: Location Guides

Category: Popular Culture

Paperback price:

£ 6.99

eBook ISBN: 9781841659305

eBook publication date: 29 April 2021

Series: Location Guides

Category: Popular Culture

eBook price: £ 3.99

  Our price: £

Bridgerton’s England is a location guide to all the key filming sites in the hit Netflix series with author Antonia Hicks linking each fictional location to its real-life counterpart.

Winston Churchill’s former gentleman’s retreat, The Reform Club, becomes ‘Whites Club’ where Anthony Bridgerton and Simon Basset meet to discuss infidelities and smoke cigars, and 18th-century dress shop ‘Modiste’ is a deli in Bath’s Abbey Street.

Readers can learn about the locations used for the Bridgertons, Featheringtons, Lady Danbury, the Duke of Hastings, Queen Charlotte, Whites, Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, Somerset House, Primrose Hill, and Cliveden Castle. Sites include Stowe and Painshill Park, Henry VIII’s Hampton Court, Castle Howard, Bath’s Royal Crescent, Holburne Art Museum, Wilton House, Lancaster House and the most upmarket Air Force officer’s mess in the world!

This is the perfect book for fans of the show but also of grand stately homes and sweeping classical landscapes that producers Chris Van Dusen and Shonda Rhimes picked to bring Julia Quinn’s novels to life on the screen. Almost all the stately homes, houses, parks and gardens used in Bridgerton are open to the public and the book examines their history, linking important scenes to each location and giving details of where and when you can visit them to relive the drama.

ABOUT THE Author

Antonia Hicks MA graduated from Oxford University with a degree in Ancient and Modern History. Her dissertation was titled ‘Perceptions of adultery and marriage within the epistolary culture of the late 18th century’ for which she undertook original research into the letters of the Duchess of Devonshire. She’s a passionate fan of Broadway musicals, Peaky Blinders and Bridgerton.

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REVIEWS

‘Sumptuous new book’

Tatler

‘insightful descriptions and stunning pictures’

Mail Online

The Illustrated Provence Letters of Van Gogh

Martin Bailey

Batsford

Format:

Hardback ISBN: 9781849946582

Hardback publication date: 4 February 2021

Series: Illustrated Letters

Category: Biography

Hardback price:

£ 16.99

OUT OF STOCK

eBook ISBN: 9781849947015

eBook publication date: 4 February 2021

Series: Illustrated Letters

Category: Biography

eBook price: £ 11.99

  Our price: £

‘I cannot help that my pictures do not sell. Nevertheless, the time will come when people will see that they are worth more than the price of the paint …’ Vincent van Gogh

Discover the moving story of Vincent van Gogh, with his artistic genius and emotional torment told through personal letters, sketches and paintings in this beautiful reissue of a previous bestseller.

Vincent van Gogh’s letters are a written testimony to the artist’s struggle to survive and work. This fascinating book’s combination of deeply personal letters alongside rough sketches and finished paintings gives an intimate insight into the painter’s domestic life in Arles and Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, his spiritual torment and the creative process.

The Illustrated Provence Letters of Van Gogh engages with the mind of the artist, reflecting his close bond with his brother and closest companion Theo, his relationship with fellow artists and friends, his ongoing struggle with mental illness, and his passion for art.

Martin Bailey’s introduction provides essential background information about Vincent’s early life, setting the period in Provence in perspective. Biographical notes about the recipients of Vincent’s letters are provided as well as a guide for visitors to those places painted by Van Gogh.

IMAGES

ABOUT THE Editor

Martin Bailey is a leading Van Gogh specialist and investigative reporter for The Art Newspaper. He has curated several exhibitions, including Tate Britain’s 2019 show Van Gogh and Britain. His most recent books are The Sunflowers are Mine: The Story of Van Gogh’s MasterpieceStudio of the South: Van Gogh in Provence; Starry Night: Van Gogh at the Asylum; and Living with Vincent van Gogh: The Homes & Landscapes that shaped the Artist.

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The Illustrated letters of Oscar Wilde

Juliet Gardiner

Batsford

Format:

Hardback ISBN: 9781849945837

Hardback publication date: 14 May 2020

Series: Illustrated Letters

Category: Biography

Hardback price:

£ 16.99

eBook ISBN: 9781849946766

eBook publication date: 29 January 2021

Series: Illustrated Letters

Category: Biography

eBook price: £ 11.99

  Our price: £

"I don’t regret for a single moment having lived for pleasure. I did it to the full, as one should do anything one does. I lived on honeycomb." Oscar Wilde

Although it is over 120 years since his infamous trial for indecency, Oscar Wilde has never held greater fascination for us. This packed illustrated biography tells the life of Oscar Wilde through his own words – private letters, poems, plays, stories and legendary witticisms. It includes his relationships with key artists and writers of the time, including John Ruskin, Charles Ricketts, and Lillie Langtry.

It is illustrated throughout with paintings, engravings, contemporary photographs, cartoons and caricatures of Wilde and his social circle. With illustrations and paintings by Aubrey Beardsley, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, James Whistler and Max Beerbohm, it is a beautiful evocation of the glittering fin de siecle word by its most fascinating wordsmith and aesthete.

The book details Wilde’s ruin after the trial and its outcome. The profundity of his writing from prison and exile form an epitaph, not only to his own life, but also for the era that carelessly delighted in it.

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  • The Illustrated Letters of Oscar Wilde extract

    ‘I Have Got as Far as the House of Detention’ chapter extract.

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Bamboos

Christine Recht

Max Felix Wetterwald

Batsford

Format:

eBook ISBN: 9781849942133

eBook publication date: 5 February 2015

Category: Gardening

eBook price: £ 12.99

  Our price: £

Bamboos are fascinating for their beauty, elegance and variety of form, not to mention their importance in the symbolism of Far Eastern poetry and art. Garden designers have for a long time recognised the many possibilities offered by this unique plant. Here the reader is offered all the information they need to grow bamboos in garden, on balconies and terraces, in conservatories and even in roof gardens. Fascination with bamboos has led many gardeners to buy them but ignorance of their requirements has often brought frustration and despair. This book aims to correct that situation and offers a major source of detailed reference and inspirational colour pictures.

ABOUT THE Author

Christine Recht is a journalist specializing in building-, interior- and garden-design.

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ABOUT THE Author

Max Felix Wetterwald is a photographer and photographic journalist – his themes are gardens, flowers and wildlife.

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Jon Speelman’s Best Games

Jon Speelman

Batsford

Format:

eBook ISBN: 9781849942331

eBook publication date: 12 November 2014

Category: Chess

eBook price: £ 9.99

  Our price: £

Mind-bending analysis and instructive comment from a man who has participated in world chess at the very highest levels. World championship candidate and three-times British Champion Jon Speelman annotates the best of his games. He is renowned as a great fighter and analyst, and a highly original player. This book provides entertainment and instruction in abudance.

The Unknown James Dean

Robert Tanitch

Batsford

Format:

eBook ISBN: 9781849942492

eBook publication date: 30 October 2014

Category: Popular Culture

eBook price: £ 5.99

  Our price: £

This biography, lavishly illustrated, traces Dean’s development as an actor through his film work and numerous lesser-known roles in the theatre and television.

The Hog in the 21th Century

Robert King

Batsford

Format:

eBook ISBN: 9781849942171

eBook publication date: 29 December 2014

Category: Games

eBook price: £ 6.99

  Our price: £

Bridge players all over the world are familiar with Victor Mollo’s incredible cast of characters. Now this new collection of stories from "The Griffins Club" follows the sage of Mollo’s menagerie, as Hideous Hog and Rueful Rabbit bewitch, bother, and bewilder their opponents.

ABOUT THE Author

Robert King is a keen amateur player and a professional playwright.

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Bridge for Beginners

Zia Mahmood

Audrey Grant

Omar Sharif

Batsford

Format:

eBook ISBN: 9781849942072

eBook publication date: 30 October 2014

Category: Crafts

eBook price: £ 9.99

  Our price: £

Bridge ia an easy game to learn but it takes a lifetime to master. This monumental work is designed to take the student to a level at which he or she can play in a bridge club or tournament with confidence. This book was originally published as three volumes on Bidding, Declarer Play and Defence. It combines the talents of top Canadian bridge teacher Audrey Grant, regarded as the leading tutor in North America, and the charismatic and world-renowned bridge player Zia Mahmud, voted bridge personality of the decade by both International Popular Bridge Monthly and Bridge Today. Zia presented the BBc television series Play Bridge with Zia and his lively and lucid style is ideal to popularise the game for a wide audience.

100 Traditional Bobbin Lace Patterns

Bridget M. Cook

Geraldine Stott

Batsford

Format:

eBook ISBN: 9781849942362

eBook publication date: 24 November 2014

Category: Crafts

eBook price: £ 14.99

  Our price: £

Here is a collection of 100 traditional patterns for Bucks Point lace, one of the finest laces In England. The diagrams are colour-coded for clarity, and each pattern Is printed in detailed, diagrammatic form. There is one pattern on each page or on adjacent pages with its relevant pricking and an actual-sizee photograph of the completed piece of lace. The number of bobbins and the thread used are also noted. Not only are there 100 traditiooat patterns contained within this book. but the majority have an unusual or interesting feature in their construction not readily observed or pethaps fully appreciated at first glance. Some of the patterns have been sligltly adapted from the original to complement modern threads and all have been painstakingly researched from various museums. Lace makers, from those just starting to the experienced, will find here a wealth of readily understandable patterns at thetr fingertips.

ABOUT THE Author

Bridget M Cook is an internationally renowned lacemaker, designer, teacher and author. Her teaching tours have taken her to America, Australia and Europe. She is the author of several Batsford lacemaking books, including Russian Lace Patterns. 

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ABOUT THE Author

Geraldine Stott has been involved in making and demonstrating bobbin lace for many years, and has collaborated with a fashion designer in producing haute couture lace garments and accessories. She has sold her work in Harrods and Liberty in London, and has demonstrated in the presence of HM the Queen.

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Films of Sam Peckinpah

Neil Fulwood

Batsford

Format:

eBook ISBN: 9781849942546

eBook publication date: 12 November 2014

Category: Popular Culture

eBook price: £ 6.99

  Our price: £

A detailed look at the work of one of America’s great film directors. Sam Peckinpah helped to redefine the Western, clearing the board of genre cliches in order to present an intelligent examination of the motivation behind, and effects of, violence. The accusations against Peckinpah for making violent films, both Westerns and non-Westerns, for the sake of it as well as misogyny have become cliches themselves. Like their creator, the men who walk or ride through Peckinpah’s films are deep, complex and often flawed. Technical accomplishment and the ability to draw out great preformances from his actors are only part of what sets Peckinpah’s Films apart. It is their depth and intensity that make them unique. This book takes an in-depth look at the man, his early work for television, and all his films. It covers the critical reception of his films, Peckinpah’s approach to film direction, his on-set behaviour, and studio interference during editing. An Appraisal of the iconography of his films plus an analysis of recurring themes and pre-occupations show that his best work was the most personal.

ABOUT THE Author

Neil Fulwood lives in Nottingham, England and in addition to writing about film has published various poems and short stories.

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Winning Bridge in the Menagerie

Victor Mollo

Batsford

Format:

eBook ISBN: 9781849942102

eBook publication date: 29 December 2014

Category: Games

eBook price: £ 5.99

  Our price: £

This classic card-play book by Victor Mollo is given a new dimension by the use of the Menagerie characters. Sophia the Siren has become the bridge tutor to some rich and ambitious ladies. To give them the best education money can buy she enlists the help of the Griffins. Who better to teach them safety plays than Karapet, the unluckiest man since Job? And who could show them how to win the post mortem better than Molly the Mule? From the Hideous Hog, they learn how sheer genius can triumph over adversity, and from the Rueful Rabbit, how sheer luck can triumph over genius.

ABOUT THE Author

Victor Mollo, born in Leningrad, was a journalist and became one of the world’s most successful bridge authors. His menagerie series has received worldwide acclaim.

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