John Cox

The Berlin variation of the Spanish is one of the most popular chess openings among world-class players. After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 Black can play a completely sound opening based mainly on understanding rather than memorizing theory. Many opening books make this claim, but the scarcity of forcing lines in the Berlin mean that in this case it is true. The trick is to gain the requisite understanding, and this is where John Cox's eloquent prose comes into its own. After reading his explanations it will be clear why this robust opening has been nicknamed The Berlin Wall.

No opening in recent times has captured the imagination of the chess public more than the Sicilian Sveshnikov. Initially popularized in the 1970s, the Sveshnikov has exploded onto the chess scene at the highest levels and is now regarded by many experts as one of Black's most promising answers to 1 e4. One of its major attractions is that more often than not the opening leads to incredibly sharp and complex play. In such situations both sides must play with extreme accuracy just to stay on the board as a single slip may lead to disaster!

Building and maintaining an opening repertoire can be a demanding task -- for a start there are an enormous number of different lines to choose from. There's a strong temptation amongst beginners and improving players to opt solely for tricky lines in order to snare unsuspecting opponents, but this approach has only short-term value. As players improve and their opponents become stronger, very often these crafty lines don't stand up to close scrutiny, and suddenly they back to square one with no suitable opening weapons. In Starting Out with 1 e4! and Starting Out with 1 d4! Neil McDonald and John Cox solve this perennial problem by providing the reader with a strong and trustworthy repertoire with the white pieces based on the popular opening moves 1 e4 and 1 d4. The recommended lines given here have stood the test of time and are regularly employed by Grandmasters. Reading these books will give players the confidence to play these variations against all strengths of player and provides them with reliable opening armoury for years to come. These books are written in Everyman Chess's distinctive Starting Out style, with plenty of notes, tips, and warnings throughout to help the aspiring player. English Grandmaster Neil McDonald is an experienced and successful player on the international chess circuit. He is a respected chess coach, who has trained many of England's strongest junior players. McDonald is also a talented chess writer and has many outstanding works to his name. Earlier Everyman Chess books include Concise Chess Openings and Starting Out: The Dutch Defence. John Cox is a FIDE Master and a former junior international and British Junior Champion. Previous works for Everyman Chess include Starting Out: Alekhine's Defence and Dealing with d4 Deviations. Other Books in Series Starting Out with 1 d4!

This book fills an enormous void in chess literature. There are a countless number of players who are very happy to defend the black side of the Queen's Gambit or play the Nimzo-Indian, Queen's Indian, Bogo-Indian, or Benoni. However, more often than not they have been forced to muddle their way through a whole variety of annoying sidelines White has at his or her disposal, including the dreaded Trompowsky, the tricky Blackmar-Diemer Gambit and the tiresome Colle Variation. Now finally, help is at hand! In this unique book John Cox reveals everything Black players need to know about all of White's offbeat tries, presenting Black with no-nonsense answers to every white option. Readers will be fully armed to deal with anything that White can throw at them. In fact, they will have all the White players running back to the main lines!

In this easy-to-read guide, openings expert John Cox goes back to basics, studying the essential principles of Alekhine's Defence and its numerous variations. Throughout the book there are an abundance of notes, tips, and warnings to guide improving players, while key strategies, ideas, and tactics for both sides are clearly illustrated.

Real life examples of communication with the Great Shepherd, taken from over twenty-five years of experiences. These short testimonies will encourage you to listen as "My Sheep Know My Voice." John Cox retired at age fifty-five after spending thirty-five years at Kodak Canada, where he did everything from shovel coal to supervise the Main Chemical Lab. Mr Cox worked with kids from the Humber Boulevard Ontario Housing Project for many years. He also served as a President of the Toronto Chapter of Full Gospel Business Men's fellowship for several years and spoke at chapters throughout Ontario. He served as Senior Pastor of a Toronto church for six years. With all this, John still managed time for hockey, fishing, hunting, and a hobby of fish taxidermy. Mixed in with all these is a singing ministry, which he shares with his wife Pauline, in coffee houses, churches, and prisons. John wrote this book, as the title may suggest, ...because the Holy Spirit told him to.