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52 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
First-rate guide to second-best repertoire, March 17, 2004
This review is from: The Chess Advantage in Black and White: Opening Moves of the Grandmasters (Paperback)
Kaufman's approach in this repertoire book is to recommend strategically sound variations for white and black that have a GM following, perform better than par in practice but which are not the first choices of theory. The rationale for his choices outlined in the Introduction is very compelling and far superior to Berliner's "System" (with its axes to grind) and Shereshevsky's 'Conveyor' repertoire (which was designed for Soviet-era kids with a chance of becoming greats as opposed to plateauing club players like me). Kaufman quotes over 200 recent games or game fragments by 2400+ players using succinct but clear annotations. He favors Silman-esque evaluations in terms of the significant positional features over plus/equals signs, so this is incidentally a good middlegame strategy manual. (The role of the 2 bishops is particularly stressed.) My only regret is that I can't keep the repertoire to myself, as everyone will start playing these lines. -- Oh, and those are: for White, Spanish Exchange, Sicilian Bb5, French Tarrasch, C-K Advance, etc.; and as Black, Spanish Berlin, QGD Semi-Slav (Moscow, not Botvinnik, and a positional Bd6 defense to the Meran). A final and interesting point: the recommendations are validated with but not dominated by computer-checked analysis. As an expert in computer chess, Kaufman is uniquely well qualified to provide this kind of human-machine symbiotic analysis. Even if you don't like the sound of some of these lines, give it a chance: The book is a labor of love, not a "Win as White/Black with..." potboiler.
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very solid choice of openings., June 10, 2004
This review is from: The Chess Advantage in Black and White: Opening Moves of the Grandmasters (Paperback)
Here is a new book by Kaufman, who is (was) known for excellent writing about computer chess ... approximately 10-15 years ago. (This is my short review; I may post a longer one on my web site.) The basic goal of this book is very singular and specific - to write a "repertoire" book for players who are interested in such things. (A book like this is to provide a student with a program to learn certain openings, in order to be prepared for any possible chess opening that a player might use against them.) The "R.H." chess meter on the back cover places this book for players who fall between the "intermediate" and "advanced" category. (HINT: Beginners would find this book of little or no use.) I spent a lot of time in this book the past week, I went over most of the lines, and I analyzed some in great detail. My initial impression was very favorable. I can tell you that this is NOT one of those books that were bashed out in a great hurry. The author is very frank and honest with you. He had some very specific goals when he wrote this book. (497 pages!) He did not want to always play the "best and most fashionable lines," as this can be a very difficult proposition. (After 1.e4, c5; 2.Nf3, d6; the <best> move according to theory, is 3.d4. But this leads to the Open Sicilian, which could take up hundreds of books to really address properly. Instead Kaufman opts for the move, 3.Bb5+. It is simple, effective, and has a high surprise value. Additionally, there is no easy way to get to a draw, and White can still obtain a viable edge out of the opening.) The author avoided lines where castling on opposite sides occurred and everything hangs by one tempo, similarly he avoided other razor-sharp lines ... where the theory is likely to change on an almost daily basis. (He states in the introduction that he wanted to produce a book of lasting value, that might still be viable 10-20 years from now.) The author also used a "committee" of computer programs to help him find the best moves. The author, IM Larry Kaufman, proposes that you play 1.e4, as White. (The core of your repertoire will be the Spanish Exchange. 1.e4, e5; 2.Nf3, Nc6; 3.Bb5, a6; 4.Bxc6, etc.) He provides you with a sensible line for every possible opening that any opponent might try to use against you. There are dozens of very good suggestions in here. (And probably many "TN's" as well.) Kaufman also proposes that you meet 1.e4 with 1...e5; using primarily The Berlin Defense. (An excellent recommendation, a GM co-authored this chapter.) He also advises using the Semi-Slav against an opponent who opens with the Queen Pawn. (1.d4) His list of five criteria on page # 377 shows that much thought went into the choice of openings. There are MANY positives to this book.
# 1.) Virtually any opening that a prospective opponent could pick is provided for. Many times, the line that you will use is solid, and very good. Not only do you stand an excellent chance of gaining a very concrete advantage, there is the distinct possibility that your opponent might not have studied these lines.
# 2.) ALL the analysis has been meticulously checked with more than one computer program. (I found NO large or major mistakes.) Compare this ... to many other books that I have dealt with lately, where the author claims a computer was used, but the volume is still replete with many errors and mistakes.
# 3.) Since many of these continuations are not main line theory, there is little chance that theory will change before you get a chance to use them.
# 4.) The author explains the basic ideas and strategies of an opening at the beginning of each section or chapter. I did find a few drawbacks to this book:
# 1.) Many of the lines are VERY long, 15-25 moves, (or more). The emphasis here is on being able to memorize a lot of material for your next tournament. (If you forget a line, you might be a dead duck.)
# 2.) Many possible - and even likely moves - are not provided for by this author.
# 3.) Some of the continuations examined here are distinctly inferior. {For one side.} Many improvements will probably be found before the next edition. (Despite what the author says, I doubt that a book like this would be of much use to a really strong Master, say rated 2400 or better.)
# 4.) Some of the games are gross mis-matches. (Page 235 is one such example. White is rated nearly 2600, while Black holds an unimpressive 2215 rating.) I prefer to base my theoretical decisions on games between really strong players with less than a 150 point differential in their respective ratings. But all these questions are secondary to the overall aim and quality of the book. (On a scale of 1-10, I would give the author at least a 7.5 here.) This is an in-depth and high-quality book that deserves very serious consideration. Players rated 1000-2300 ... that have been searching for a REAL repertoire ... will find this book enormously helpful. Postal players will probably find that this book is a MUST!! In closing, I truly liked this book; and give it a high recommendation.
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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent chess opening repertoire book, January 10, 2005
This review is from: The Chess Advantage in Black and White: Opening Moves of the Grandmasters (Paperback)
Should you pick chess openings that suit your style? Of course you should. But there are considerations that may restrict your choices. Some openings concede your opponent a choice of moves that offer such a big advantage that studying them is a waste of time. And others, such as the Marshall Gambit against the Ruy Lopez, are so good that most of your opponents will avoid them.
This book has some suggestions that you may want to try, just to see if they suit you. My point is simple. If you do indeed like some lines in this book, you can be sure that they make sense, they score well at any level of chess, and you can get to play them. In addition, the openings are solid enough so that studying them is worthwhile. And the author checked his analyses using three strong software packages ("Fritz 8," "Junior 8," and "Hiarcs 8 and 9").
With White, Kaufman suggests an Exchange Ruy. No Flohr-Zaitsev-Karpov Variations. No Breyers. No Chigorins. No Marshalls. No Moellers. No Archangelsks. And no Open Variations! Instead, those who want to avoid your Exchange Variation after 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 will have to try the Steinitz (3...Nf6 4 0-0 d6), the Bird (3...Nd4), the Cozio (3...g6), the Schliemann (3...f5 4 d3), the Classical Berlin (3...Bc5 4 0-0 Bc5 5 Ne5), or the Berlin proper (3...Nf6 4 0-0 Ne4 5 Re1 Nd6 6 Ne5 Be7 7 Bf1). And those who want to avoid all this on move two will need to choose among the Russian (2...Nf6), the Philidor (2...d6), the Latvian (2...f5 3 Ne5), and the Elephant (2...d5 3 ed). This book tells you how to do well against all these choices. As for the Exchange Ruy itself, let's just say that I'd much rather have White than Black in it!
With White against the Sicilian, the author advises 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 Bb5+. And 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5. Um, okay. That avoids the dangerous Najdorf variation. And the Kalashnikov. And the Dragon. While White has fine chances in these Open Sicilians, the games become very tactical. But that does leave us without a very scary line against 1 e4 c5 Nf3 e6 (with Black aiming to play a Scheveningen or a Taimanov). Since we're refusing to play 3 d4, that means 3 b3 (or 3 d3). Still, these are not bad choices, and I can understand why Kaufman recommends them.
Against 1 d4 (and in many cases, 1 c4 or 1 Nf3 since White often starts with any of these moves to get into a Queen's Gambit), Kaufman recommends the Semi-Slav, and the variation 1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 c6 4 Nf3 Nf6 5 e3 Nbd7 6 Bd3 dc 7 Bc4 b5 8 Bd3 Bd6 in particular.
Still, I think the best part of this book is the defense to 1 e4. Let's have some applause for the Berlin Defence to the Ruy Lopez, please! Very few books devote so much space to playing it with Black (19 carefully analyzed games!). The main line leads to an endgame where Black often has the Bishop pair (or a Bishop against a Knight). Sometimes, the Black King winds up safely on the Queenside, on b7 or c6, supporting the Black pawn majority there (with these pawns on the opposite colored squares from White's missing Bishop). I'd rather have Black than White in such positions. And the whole idea is better than, say, the Marshall Gambit, because that just turns into an Anti-Marshall or an Exchange Variation much of the time. The Berlin line is 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 (3 Bc4 Bc5) Nf6 4 0-0 (4 Qe2 Bc5) Ne4 5 d4 (5 Re1 Nd6 6 Ne5 Ne5 7 Re5+ Be7 8 Nc3 0-0) Nd6 6 Bc6 (6 de Nb5 7 a4 Nbd4) dc 7 de Nf5 8 Qd8+ Kd8 9 Nc3. Here Kaufman recommends 9...Ke8, but he also analyzes both 9...Ne7 and 9...Bd7 which, if you can get away with one of them, can lead to the excellent endgame I was just talking about.
This is a carefully written book and I strongly recommend it.
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