Customer Reviews

A Killer Chess Opening Repertoire (Cadogan Chess Books)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

...

The name of this book is deceptive, this is really for d4 only as white... Maybe if you play 1 Nf3 you can transpose into some of these lines. They do least a few games that start out like that and its one reason I got the book. Mostly I bought the book just for 3 of the chapters... For the Barry attack in chapter 1, 150 attack in chapter 2 and The Anti-Dutch in chapter 7... Ill give a basic review of the entire book though... The introduction explains the basic goals of the book and is worth reading... Basically is for people 2000 and below in STR...

Chapter 1 deals with what is called the Barry Attack... The chapter runs from page 7 to page 35 so its decent sized... He gives a basic intro as to why to use the Barry attack and some other things about it... Then gives games and the coverage seems pretty complete to be honest... He does not just data dump so if you actually spend the time and read... You should have a pretty good understanding of the Barry Attack... He gives the basic move order as 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4 Bg7 5. e3 0-0 6. Be2... So you can try that out and see what you think for yourself... Many times the h pawn is sent down the board and is not that easy to stop... The name Barry attack sorta means it looks naive but can have some bite... This is also one of the few books I know that has any coverage of it at all...

Chapter 2 deals with what is known as the 150 Attack... This is good to use vs. Pirc and Modern defense setups... It got its name cuz people in England about 150 rating were using it... That would be about 1800 under most rating systems if you were to convert it... It starts on page 36 and ends on page 51... He gives an introduction about it and some games and for the size of book coverage seems good... He does not data dumb and talks so you should be able to least understand it... This is another opening Ive not seen talked about really in any other book... So I was happy that this and Barry attack were in same book :)... Unlike the Barry Attack chapter he does not have any games that start with 1 Nf3 in this chapter...

Chapter 3 he gets into the Colle-Zuckertort System... Im really not a huge fan of this system... Still I do not really think its totally bad or anything... Just the style I play it does not seem like it will work well with me... He gives it as an alternative to Queen's Gambit games... I prefer the Levitsky attack in these cases personally... Still he starts on page 52 and ends on page 69... I feel this system can be a bit on the drawing side and hard to get a real advantage... The basic setup he gives is 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. Bd3 c5 5. b3... He also has least 1 example using 1 Nf3 and going into it... So this can be good to know if you play 1 Nf3 at times... Figure more options of openings you have to transpose into the better...

Chapter 4 deals with Beating the Anti-Colle systems... The basic setup is 1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 in this chapter... Black responds with moves mostly like ...Bg4, ...Bf5, ...c5, ...Nc6 and also has some 3rd moves by black... The coverage seems pretty decent and at worse you should have basic idea what your doing. It runs from page 70 and ends on page 89 so its got a fair amount of coverage for size of book...

Chapter 5 is the Classic Queen's Indian, this chapter tells what can be bad about using Colle-Zuckertort setup all time... Seems mostly for those having trouble with Queen Indian experts... Starts on page 90 and ends on page 102 so maybe not the most coverage on it... Still if you play Colle-Zuckertort probably will need to check this chapter out as well...

Chapter 6 is the Anti-Benoni which Im not sure how good a chapter it really is... He takes a shot at the Hawk and does not seem to worry much about Benoni... Still says it can get dangerous for either side in those openings... He does not cover any d4 c5 games of the Benoni... That is really what bothers me about this chapter... It starts on page 103 and ends on page 127... So with all those pages could of least touched on that a little bit... Since as white those are the Benoni style games I have the most trouble with...

Chapter 7 deals with what he calls the Anti-Dutch... This guy must of really had a positive childhood using all this Anti stuff in names ;)... I use this sometimes so I was kinda glad that it was in this book to say least... Since really not sure any other books that cover it... Basically the moves are 1 d4 f5 2 Bg5 and the games can get tricky... This can be annoying to black also if they want a certain setup... The chapter starts on page 128 and ends on page 137... I just wish they gave more pages to this chapter and less to one of the others... White wins all 4 games they use as examples... So I guess this must really crush the Dutch :)...

Chapter 8 is a great number but sorta weak Odds and Ends... This chapter is kinda cheesy and has only 1 d4 h6 as the only real game it talks about... He gives some other small examples of other second moves... The coverage he gives to them really is not worth a mention... Just to give an idea he thinks that 1 d4 c5 will end up 2. d5 f5 the Clarendon Court variation which he brags about being 100% with... Also is kind enough to mention beating Hebden with it :)... The chapter starts on page 138 and ends on page 141... So not really sure I consider that much if at all a chapter ;)... The Index in the back is actually done rather well for the 3 pages it gets :)...

If you play 1 d4 or 1 Nf3 I would think about getting this book... I would say its a solid 4 star book and would of been 5 if not for a few things... The final chapter is kinda weak and maybe some of the systems he talks about are not the best... I would of rather Levitsky attack over Colle-Zuckertort... Still to each their own on that part... Really he left some gaps that I run into and that annoyed me... Many games I play I do 1 d4 and they reply ...c5 or ...e5 and wish he covered that... I really got this book for 3 chapters so I can't complain... I know someone that used this book to get over 1700 on ICC... He swears by the Colle-Zuckertort and other systems in book... This is not for those who like to play early c4 as white... Or who are against blocking their c pawn before pushing it... This is good for those that play 1 d4 and hate pushing c pawn and don't mind blocking it... Also for those that play 1 Nf3 and want more systems to transpose into... Not to mention the Anti-Dutch is worth a try... I have won a few games with it and it can really annoy black... I would say of the newer books this one is better written than most I see... Also he does not just data dump he talks about stuff and gives general ideas...

I a was kind of a "trying-hard" chess player studying e4 to include in my repetoire as white, influenced largely by the books I read suggesting that e4 is best. But I found out myself that e4 is just not for me. For one, I have to study and memorize bulks of theory, else my opponent will always be the better prepared. I am not a full-time chess player so I cannot accomplish that. I was almost tempted to study the most off-beat openings if I had not read 'Secrets of Practical Chess' where Nunn advises against such openings because the reason why GM's do not use those openings is they are defective.

Why not d4? So I decided to consider d4. I came to know GM Summerscale when I bought his video about the Colle-Zukertort system. The system is so easy to understand that I started to use it in no time after I watched some parts of the video. I won some, lose some. In most of my lost games, black uses a setup where the Colle-Zukertort is not effective such as the Kings Indian, Queen's Indian and pirc. I did not know this. I thought that the Colle-Zukertort can be applied against any black setup.

The Killer Opening Repertoire now equips me against any possible black setup. It does not have bulks of variations because you don't have to know detailed variations. Once you know the patterns, you'll know what to move against any black reply (!)

I like the chapter about the Anti-Colle systems. The Colle-Zukertort is now very popular that many black players attempt to sidestep the main lines (just like white sidesteping the main line sicilian making alapin so popular). I encountered a lot of games in ICC along these lines.

But other chapters are similarly important and clearly written. I think the most amazing is the Barry Attack (against the King's Indian Setup). My winning percentage against the King's Indian using this setup significantly increased.

The book can be read in any order you want. For me, I directly go to the

part where the lines are similar to the last few game/s I played so that I can review where my opponent and I deviated from the book lines. I am thinking of encoding this into ChessBase format to make it more convenient to review.

I wish there is a similar book for black. A similar approach was by Purdy (24 hour opening repetoire for black) but this is a bad buy because for one it is very outdated. Also, much of the given lines are not taken from grand master games which is GM Nunn's strict requirement for an opening repertoire book.

If you are struggling with e4 like me, it is most likely that this book of Summerscale is the right one for you.

As a low to mid level club player I think Summerscale's book is terrific. I've played Queen pawn openings (Colle System, Torre Attack, London System) for a while, but Summerscale does some really special things with Queen pawn openings in this book. First, instead of offering a single "all purpose" pawn structure (like the standard d4, e3, c3 triangle) he presents various patterns of pawn and piece placement. The various patterns of development all have a similar "flavor", but each is tailored to attack against a specific defensive pattern that Black might play. These patterns combine to form a complete opening reperoire to use with the White pieces. Second, Summerscale presents some interesting and flexible attacking variations. I especially like his choice of the Colle-Zukertort against 1...d5 and his choice of the Barry attack against King's Indian formations. Third, this book presents complete games that show how these systems can win games for White in modern grandmaster chess, and also historical games that show how ideas have evolved. Fourth, this book is well layed out, with good introductions to each section and a clear index of variations at the end. I really like this book!

Opening repertoire books for white are a tricky proposition for a chess author. It is more common to find repertoire books for the black pieces - often based around a particular first move which thereby ensures that whatever white's continuation, the game will be channelled for at least a few more moves in the system of black's choosing. I am thinking, for example, of Yrjola & Tella's excellent 'Explosive Opening Repertoire for Black' in which 1 ... d6 is played against any white opening move. The difficultly is that a white repertoire must be able to cope with a vast variety of black responses - from the Nimzovitch (1 ... Nc6) to the Modern (1 ... g6) and everything in between - yet must not overwhelm the reader by presenting endless variations. Yet there are some successes in presenting a repertoire for the white player - Kosten's 'Dynamic English', Palliser's 'Play 1.d4!' and this book by Summerscale.

In many ways, for the average player, I would opine that this book is the better choice. Summerscale presents a queen pawn repertoire with an emphasis on quick development and an attacking set up. Kosten's book, while very well written, advocates quite a sophisticated set up requiring reasonable positional knowledge. Palliser's book is very good, and he presents a solid repertoire using the theoretical best move for white 2.c4, but it is also very comprehensive and thus requires a lot of time to study.

By not playing 2.c4 white, in theory, is not pressuring black quite as much - but there are compensating advantages. The most obvious is that the amount of study required is drastically reduced. Another is that white tends to remain in the system of their choosing. Less obviously, these systems lend themselves well to a style of play based on attacking, straightforward chess which is simply quite fun to play. I would recommend - in fact I would say it is essential - reading Vukovic's classic 'Art of Attack in Chess' if you wish to adopt this repertoire in order to get the most out of the aggressive setups you will (hopefully) obtain.

But let's not get carried away here. These systems, while easy to learn, can certainly be countered by black. Black can equalise without too much difficultly if they know what they are doing. On the other hand, even the theoretically best openings played in master games usually end up with only a small advantage to white.

In my opinion, a more serious defect is in the presentation of the repertoire. The 'complete game' format - while often touted as enabling better comprehension of an opening - also makes it far more difficult to spot holes in the system. For example, I compared the system that Summerscale advocates against the Pirc (150 Attack) with the lines given in the Yrjola & Tella book, which uses the Pirc (in Summerscale's book, you reach the 150 attack by 1.d4 d6 2.e4). In the main line, around move 5, the move given by Yrjola & Tella is simply not considered. Nothing, no mention and its a good move (which I won't disclose - in case you ever use the 150 attack against me in internet chess!). As black, I certainly would not fear the 150 attack based on what I have seen in the Summerscale book. However, this only confirms the point I made above - black can equalise if they know what to do. I guess using this book is about trade offs - you study less, and your games are probably more fun if you find attacking fun, but you have less chance of a lasting advantage against a good player.

Physically, this an attractive book. High quality paper, nice typesetting and I like the graphic design on the cover.

Overall then Summerscale presents a repertoire that is easy to learn and fun to use, with a few holes which you may be able to plug using other sources. A parting thought - as other reviewers have noted, some of Summerscales lines are less effective against black's indian systems. Have you considered the Trompowsky (1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5)? It is also an attacking line that is fun to play, and in conjunction with Summerscale's book will broaden your repertoire.

Tired of the same old Queen's Gambit declined? Facing the King's Indian defence with the same old tired ideas White is supposed to employ? Need something unfamiliar to Pirc defence, Benoni defence and Dutch defence players? Here's your answer!! An all purpose book for the Queen's pawn player, ideas and games are given to show you that 2.c4 can be avoided while still maintaining nice attacking chances. Even though 2.e4 is still given when facing the Pirc, the move order shortly after will leave Pirc players on their own since they can have quite a few 'normal' variations memorized to some extent. I have had particular success with the Berry Attack facing King's Indian defence players. It's great because instead of White castling Kingside and often coming under fire with Black's Kingside pawn advances, White holds off, perhaps castling Queenside instead, and ramming the King's Rook pawn (H Pawn) down Black's throat, eventually opening the Black Kingisde up, which is exactly the opposite of what Black is expecting. I love this book and will continue to employ the ideas put forth when the mood strikes me.

I have been searching for an opening repertoire for my whole chess life. I keep coming back to this book as most of my answer. I don't want to play 1. e4 because I hate facing the French and the Sicilian (and for that matter, I am not fond of the Caro-Kann, nor do I like facing 1...e5!). I am a 1. d4 player, but I have never been completely comfortable playing 2. c4 because I am a control freak and this move cedes control of the opening to black. He can play queen's gambit accepted, or, alternately, benoni, king's indian, pirc, etc. etc. etc. I find that playing 2. Nf3 gives me more a sense of control over the opening. In addition, it is a safe move, furthers development, and sometimes irritates black players of king's indian, etc. etc. This book by Summerscale is the first place I have found a repertoire that suits my needs. It is truly amazing how it does this. It is a well-written book, it is exciting, and it has lots of analysis. I know I may eventually get to be a 2. c4 player, but I am not there yet. In the meantime, this amazing book will carry me through.

A few months ago i resumed correspondence chess after a break of many years, i purchased six opening books, this is being used much more than the others.
I am a strong player (2400 correspondence 2200 otb) and have to say that this book has helped me greatly. The colle zukertort seems very good for correspondence chess, black dosent have much counterplay and i have found the kingside attacks generated build up slowly and have real force behind them. Especially good against opponents who are using computer help as they dont see the attack coming until its too late.
I have had many people playing the c5 lines against me and i found the benoni section good. Playing Nc3 instead of c4 is underrated and seems to give white good positions.
For a booked up club player i think this book will repay itself many times, it will be a tournament winner. It really is the only book you will need for white

I found this book from Mr.Summerscale while searching for something more aggressive as white with respect to the Queen's Gambit (I know this seems strange, but let me explain). I used to play the QG simply for 2. c4 ... is generally considered the best follow-up to 1. d4 .... The most of the times I exited the opening phase with an advantage (I have a good memory :-) but at the very beginning of the middlegame ... well ... I simply didn't know what to do! My opponents defended very calmly and very well, waiting for the right moment to counterattack and eventually win the game.
"A killer Chess Opening Repertoire" doesn't contain a killer chess opening repertoire at all! Neither of the lines suggested by Mr.Summerscale will promise you an advantage in the opening, and if black knows what he is doing he is able to equalize without problems. But this is not a problem! The greatness of this book is simple: you are armed with a solid, reliable, difficult to crack opening system for white. You are unlikely to get caught into an opening trap, and if black doesn't exactly know what he is doing (which is the most of the cases in Club/Tournament play) he is likely to equalize and ... eventually lose the game.
Yes, through this book I learned the most important thing of chess (for me): the relation among the opening and the middlegame, and how to understand an opening THROUGH the middlegame positions it produces.
Now I hardly get an advantage in the opening against good opponents, but after the opening I know what to do very well, and I enjoy my games more.

A few remarks about the opening lines the book suggests:

a) after 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. Bd3 c4 Summerscale suggest 5. b3 ..., the Colle-Zukertort System. Don't underestimate this opening! It is played quite frequently by GM Artur Yusupov, and if a player of this calibre play the opening, well ... I can definely trust in it!

b) after 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 Summerscale suggest 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4 ..., the Barry Attack. This is a very exciting opening system, likely to caught the "unaware but always thrustfull" KID player in obscure territory. Even the line suggested by (the great) Joe Gallagher in his "Beating the Anti King's Indian" maybe let black to almost equalize, but brought the game on a positional ground which is certainly not what the KID player wants. And if the KID aficionado don't know the line really well... the white fun will start!

c) against the Pirc/Modern (What? The Pirc? But I play 1. d4 ...! Ok, but after 1. d4 g6 or 1. d4 d6 you MUST play 2. e4 ...!) Summerscale suggest the "150 Attack". I don't like the name, but the name is the only thing I don't like, and since Peter Leko agrees :-) I'm convinced as well! Learn to play well the "150 Attack" and you will find your opponents to change their repertoire! (BTW even Alburt and Chernin, in their "Pirc Alert!", the bibble of the Pirc, treat the "150" setup with great respect)

d) against the Benoni Summerscale suggest a line with d5, stating the Colle-Zukertort to be not quite good since black can delay ...d5! I prefer to stick to the Colle, even if this time I prefer the Koltanowski variation, which is not covered in the Summerscale book (if you are interested, I can suggest "The Ultimate Colle" by Gary Lane)

e) against the Dutch, Summerscale suggests 2. Bg5.... Leaving apart that this line can be completely ruled out by the move order 1. d4 e6! (the exclamation mark assumes black wants to follow-up with 2. ... f5, being ready for a French after 2. e4 ...), I'm sorry but I don't know very well this chapter because I play the Dutch myself as black and when faced with it as white I prefer one of the main lines. If you have no time to spend on the main line Dutch, then I think 2. Bg5... is a good choice, but you have to find something after 1. d4 e6 2. Nf3 f5.

f) against the Queen's Indian, again Summerscale opts to leave apart the Colle-Zukertort since black can avoid ...d5 for as long as he wishes. Ok, but I don't want to learn a new line, and following a suggestion from Mr.Lane's book (see above) I stick to the Colle-Zukertort nevertheless.

To summarize, five starts for a great book which teaches you how to study openings, and give you a very good system to start.

I would say this is one of the best opening books available. It covers ALL black answers to 1.d4 and the games presented are well enough analyzed to give the reader the idea of where the game is heading towards. I gave this book "only" 4 stars because the coverage of 1.d4 f5 could have been improved a bit (actually a bit much...) but apart from that it is well worth every penny! Up to a rating of 2300 everyone will find something to surprise his opponents.

The home work was not done 100% for this book.

The main theme of the book is the 150 attack and the Barry Attack. Now the Barry Attack is a facinating idea vs Grunfeld and Kings Indian Players.

The problem of the book it does not mention the main line of the Barry I feel. 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bf4 Bg7 5.e3 0-0
6.Be2 c5 7.d:c Qa5 8.Nd2 Now why this book does not mention this line of the Barry is just beyond me. I feel this is by far whites best way of getting an advantage. Not the Ne5 stuff the book suggests.

But the book has some awesome ideas in it! But you need to study them on your own from other sources.