Customer Reviews

The Chess Advantage in Black and White: Opening Moves of the Grandmasters

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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.

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.

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.

The Chess Advantage in Black and White by IM Larry Kaufman is something new. There have been many opening repertoire books have appeared before but either they aim merely to get the student out of the opening at all costs or demand large chunks of time to memorize lines for an opening advantage at the 2500 level. A good example of the second type of repertoire book is the excellent series on 1.Nf3 by GM Alexander Khalifman.

Kaufman's proposed repertoire, 1.e4 as White with the Exchange Ruy and Bb5 versus the Sicilian and the Semi-Slav and Berlin Ruy Lopez as Black, won't blow opponents off the board, but has sufficient venom to fight for an opening advantage. The advantage of this kind of repertoire is that theoretical study becomes much more manageable when you escape the highway of trendy theory.

Most of the book is IM Kaufman and some of his silicon friends. Computer analysis can often be useful but definitely benefits from tweaking by a knowledgeable user. Kaufman is certainly a knowledgeable user that has been at the cutting edge of computer chess development for many years.

The repertoire itself is quite reasonable. It seems like the Rossolimo Sicilian (3.Bb5) appears more often as 3.d4 these days. Certainly the Semi-Slav (Meran and Moscow variation) is no stranger to GM chess. I also like the idea of advocating the subtle Berlin defense.

Few openings strike terror into the heart of a chess fan like the Berlin Defense. Using it like a virtuoso, Vladimir Kramnik not only won the (a?) world chess championship from Garry Kasparov, but also, simultaneously, succeeded in putting thousands of chess lovers into a coma-like state. Okay, let's grant that the Berlin isn't the Botvinnik Variation of the Semi-Slav or the English Attack in the Najdorf. What it is, however, is mysterious and annoying to many players - and that's a fact that we as chess players, as opposed to chess fans, can certainly use! If we play and understand the Berlin and our opponents play natural, normal moves, we will have excellent winning chances! Best of all, while the games will be long, some themes are pretty straightforward. The power of the two bishops, a little patience, and ...the Berlin Defense - it will be worth your while.

The Chess Advantage in Black and White provides a solid repertoire but begs the question exactly who is it aimed for. Players below 1500 FIDE will see 500 pages of analysis and throw their hands up. Super GMs will want more than the clear pluses for White that the repertoire leads to. My guess is that this book best serves players in the FIDE 2200-2500 range who are ambitious about their chess and who want save precious time on study.

Deeply Recommended

I like to play the e4 e5 openings. I'm currently a C class player, but should be a couple hundred points higher in 6-8 months. (I started playing serious chess a couple months ago.) My knowledge of openings is extremely limited, and I was looking for a solution to this. My new 'openings coach' suggested this book as he has a copy and thought it was a perfect fit for my style. I agree. It is far easier to learn from than others I have looked at. We have played through a great deal of the content together and what I like is that the 'totality' of the book fit well together. What is covered is covered well. In one half of the book each line is presented on how to play as black, the other as how to play as white. The book is very easy to read.

This is a great repertoire book. Lots of work went into the book and it was also computer-checked for accuracy. The lines, after reading some reviews, are probably a bit for the 'positional player' (Note: I have actually read the book). I particularly like how the author, IM Larry Kaufman, sometimes chooses the '2nd' best option to cut out theory (i.e. we don't have to memorize as much).

The author sets up an opening system for you that may or may not fit our style - as typical of most books that select a system for you. However, the book will provide you with a fair number of good ideas for a player who already has developed their opening system.
Some of the lines are not the strongest, and often obvious questions come up about alternate moves that seem like reasonable continuations. Explaining on what is going on is lacking for the lower rated player. Therefore, this book is recommended for players between perhaps about 1400 and 2000.

Larry Kaufmann is an older IM who happens to be a mathematics professor, and in this book it really shows. As you might expect from a mathematician, his primary criterion for selecting a repertoire is numerically-calculated past performance by rating. This trust-the-numbers approach produces a repertoire that could put anyone to sleep. It is all early endgames and quiet variations. Hey, I like to play endgames, but this repertoire goes way overboard in that direction. You might call it the Stillwater Repertoire. It is for people who despise tactics, hate sharp positions, and cannot stand attacking the opponent's king. It is the Quaker Repertoire. It is the Pacifist's Last Stand. It is the Repertoire for Nodding Off In Math Class.

Kaufman maintains that his soporific suggestions are perfect for battling higher-rated opponents. When things are very quiet, you might hang on for a draw, and maybe even occasionally win. That is an old ploy: against better players, steer the game into quiet waters. Like most old ploys, it fails miserably. Strong players always jump at the chance to grind you down in a long endgame. That is what they do best. Against lower-rated opposition, they are much more concerned about sharp positions, where one blunder might lose the game for them. Well, they will never face a sharp position against any sucker who plays the Pacifist Repertoire.

With White, Kaufman suggests 1. e4. Against 1. ... e5 Kaufmann recommends the ultra-quiet Exchange Variation of the Ruy Lopez. It could be called the Endgame Variation. Against 1. ... c5 you can play the silent Rossolimo and Moscow variations with Bb5, except after the move-order 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6, when Kaufman varies with the Super-Ultra-Quiet 3. b3. Yes, your main weapons as White will be sustained efforts to bore your opponents to sleep. You can probably guess what will happen against the French: that's right, the Tarrasch, the Quietest One. Ditto for the Pirc (h3 variations), the Caro-Kann (the Advance variation), and Alekhine's Defense (early Be2 and O-O). You could play these lines for a year without attempting one kingside attack.

As you may have guessed, with the Black pieces Kaufmann recommends the quietest first moves for Black: 1. e4 e5, and 1. d4 d5. Your main weapon against 1. e4 will be--you guessed it--the Berlin variation of the Ruy Lopez. Yes, the favorite of Kramnik, a GM noted for continuously drawing, especially with black. Catch Kramnik's new book, "My 60,000 Memorable Draws," where half the games are Berlins. I tried the Berlin Ruy for quite awhile online. It is excruciatingly uncomfortable. Your king can barely move. Your bishops can barely move. Your rooks cannot get out. Oh, and your bishop pair might be worth something by move 144, but probably not, as one of your holy men gets traded long before then. Against the King's Gambit, the Scotch, the Vienna, etc., Kaufmann found lines that rush the queens off the board (perhaps he dislikes queens) and steer directly into Quietville Junction. Keep the rules of chess handy if you take up this repertoire, because periodically you will forget how the queen moves and what she looks like.

Against 1. d4 Kaufman recommends the quietest possible variation of the Semi-Slav, with ... Bd6 against almost everything, which GM Arthur Bisguier has used for decades as a drawing weapon. Most of the Meran variations reviewed by Kaufmann lead to rapid exchanges and early endgames. Kaufmann gives reassurances that you will grind out victories against lower-rated opponents. Not that you will enjoy fighting for the full six hours against an opponent rated 300 points below you, struggling to prove that your bishop is slightly better than his knight, when you know that he would have folded by move 28 had you played a normal opening. If you play this repertoire, you may motivate the tournament organizers to make a special endurance prize, just for you, for being the very last to finish his game in every single round of the tournament.

Unlike everyone else, Kaufmann takes seriously the weird mathematical conclusions that he published in an infamous Chess Life article. He analyzed a big database and came up with some pretty strange theories. He maintained, for example, that the bishop pair is worth half a pawn. That remark provoked sardonic cracks in innumerable chess books and articles. Kaufman's trust-the-numbers dogmatism is the opposite of what you learn from Silman or Soltis, who teach you how to fight for an advantage on either side of the bishop pair. Another eccentric conclusion was that a rook pawn is worth more when it gets doubled on the knight file after capturing toward the center. So Kaufmann hilariously keeps commenting on how, in this or that opening variation, your position is improved after your opponent "promotes" your rook pawn to a doubled knight-pawn. All these bizarre numbers-are-gods comments cannot be read with a straight face.

Instead of taking Kaufman's suggestions, fire up your database and start scanning through games, quickly and easily, until you notice openings that lead into the kinds of positions that you find appealing, positions that you enjoy playing, and can therefore play well. That is how tournament players select an opening repertoire. It is a personal matter. The opening repertoire suitable for one player is unlikely to be suitable for another. People are different, and prefer different kinds of positions. This is the major argument against any opening repertoire book. Kaufmann's repertoire may be suitable for Kaufmann himself, but people are different, so it is unlikely to be the preference of anyone else. Save your money and buy some other book that is more likely to be useful.

I was amazed to discover that the book has no index, no key for opening moves etc. You either have to know his name for the openings and variations, perhaps generally known but not by me, hunt page by page for the proper line. Good if you want to follow his lines - the implied objective of the book, but horrible for a reference.

It is very difficult to locate a line given opening set. No index is amazing in today's publishing!

This book is really very bogus. I am not sure where this analysis comes from but it does not hold up.

Let's take one example page 297, has a variation of the Italian game. It is game 7. The note for move 12 says that white can not stand to play a3 because of ... Ba6. Well, the delorie computer webpage basically disproves that quite simply. The basic point is that black has a bishop that is hanging. He has no time to play either ...c5 or ...Ba6. After ...Bxd2 13. Qxd2 Ba6 black does not seem to have a way to get at the "stuck" king. Since white simply plays Qc2 and Ng5 is aways a threat. This whole line seems to be predicated on some wild dream. The book is full of this kind of blathering and not worth the money.