Customer Reviews

Modern Chess Openings (Mckay Chess Library)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a beginning player, (ICC standard rating around 1300), I find MCO to be extremely useful to familiarize myself quickly with the correct responses to virtually any opening. At my level, my opponents quickly leave the book; but up to the point they do, at least I'm not the first one to make a mistake. If one wants to quickly get familiar with an opening without studying it in great depth, MCO works. I'm sure it's useful to better players also; but I'm just commenting from a beginners point of view.

The Chess-Player's mandatory reference work. If you are a postal player, or aspire to be a good player one day, this book absolutely, positively belongs on your shelf.

You don't think careful study of the opening's will improve your game? Look at the author. (Nick DeFirmian.) Right after he finished this book, he won the U.S. Championship. 'Nuff Said!

A full chess openings book. Everything you want to study about chess openings you can find in it. It is resumed and it's not complex. Good and easy to read!

This is the definative opening book, unless you want an encylopedic set for a lot more money! The book is very systematic and gives good background information. I don't think it will be outdated anytime in the next few decades... The MCO is a necessary reference for anyone studing from any chess book, as well as being highly instructive on its own merits. This should be one of the first books a player ever buys!

MCO is basically a collection of the openings from many thousands of master chess games, with evaluations, all well presented. This is a very useful thing for club-level chess players to have.

The main competition in book form is from Batsford_Chess_Openings 2nd edition. BCO-2 is newer and more up-to-date, better organised, and has less errors in most openings. MCO-13 is not bad in these areas, but BCO-2 is better.

On the other hand, MCO-13 has better written chapter introductions and includes a few complete games for most openings. This is useful for players as it shows what types of middle- and end-games they are likely to get into.

Both books now face tough competition from computer software.

Modern Chess Openings is a comprehensive look and analysis of a whole lot of different starts to the game of chess, from the basic and obvious variations that everyone knows, to things that are very obscure.

Some go very many moves deep and comment on the soundness or viability of the various branches for high level play.

The MCO is a handy one volume reference which covers is both exhaustive, and novice-friendly.

Nobody can study chess with an opening book, and this is the one to have! Openings are organized by moves, discussed historically and philosophically, and are easily compared!

The newest references in MCO-13 are fom the 1980's and a lot of water has passed over the dam since then. If you must, buy this for its historic value. (Eric Schiller's otherwise fine Standard Chess Openings is not the answer for those looking for a single-volume reference. That book is an idea-based book illustrating opening themes rather than main theoretical lines. See my review under that title.)