Customer Reviews

Beating the Sicilian 3 (Batsford Chess Library)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Striving to win all your games as White when playing against 1...c5!? then there is no doubt that this popular book is a must buy. Author John Nunn offers a good solid response to any variation your opponent might play (for example Be2 vs Najdorf, Keres Attack vs. Scheveningen, 9.0-0-0 vs. Dragon), with a harmonious balance of variations, games, and notes to avoid overwhelming you with too much information. Each chapter has a concise and informative introduction which is followed by key games showing the main strategy for the given variation. Couple this with a useful index of variations and the books attractive layout and you have one of the most useful books on the Sicilian Defence available.

For those of you that want to beat those pesky Sicilianites, this is the book for you!!! Nunn and Gallagher do an excellent job of providing White with good variations of the Open Sicilian. Prior to reading this book, when I was trying out the Closed Sicilian and King's Indian Attack against it, I went winless in 7 games with only 1 draw. Since cracking this book open, and playing 3.d4 instead of those Anti-Sicilian systems that just don't work, to the date of this review, I have yet to be beat in a tournament game playing the open variation as White. For those of you that play the Sicilian as Black (which I absolutely refuse to do), hold on to your hats. You'll be in for a beating if your opponent has read this book!!

Up until 2003, this was the only book to have created a repertoire using the open sicilian for white. Authors shyed away from making a book like that in between 1995 and 2003 because it is such a massive task, and the latest book, experts vs the sicilian used about four times the authors of Beating the Sicilian 3. At the time of publishing, this book was cutting edge. However, now that the year in 2007, the time has come to move on from this book, because only kalshnikov analysis can last this long. The new book is definitely the masterful Exprts vs. the sicilian. 5 stars for initial quality, 1 star for 2007 quality.

This book is a great way to achieve positions of at least equality. It is easy to find variations with the index. Very exciting moves to exploit opponents' mistakes. Stepping into the wealth of theory involved with the Sicilian requires a guide, this is a must. You won't regret buying this book.

This is a highly recommended book to one of the most frequently encountered openings, so I bought it. It takes two weeks to read five pages and the profuse variations strain my brain. This is not a book for a beginner. Be forewarned. If you are an elite player or exceptionally gifted (over 1800), disregard this.