Nunn's Chess Openings (Cadogan Chess Books) [Paperback]

John Nunn (Author), Joe Gallagher (Author), John Emms (Author), Graham Burgess (Author)

Book Description

Series: Cadogan Chess Books | Publication Date: February 1, 1999

Nunn's Chess Openings is written by a team of experts -- four writers who are acclaimed as outstanding chess writers and experts in their fields. The expert team's collective knowledge and experience covers all openings. Each section is written by a player with expertise in that area, enabling Nunn's Chess Openings to provide the sort of insider knowledge that can only be gained by playing an opening against tough opposition.

Setting it above the rest, the majority of game references are from the 1990s. Computers have also been used to make the book extremely accurate: full use has been made of databases of millions of games; tables have been generated from computer files, eliminating notation errors, impossible variations, etc.; powerful analytical engines have assisted with the analysis of tactical positions; a final "blundercheck" has made sure there are no wrong moves given.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Nunn's Chess Openings is the chess-player's new bible. This single volume covers all chess openings in detail and will enable every chess-player, right up to grandmaster standard, to play the opening with confidence. As World Champion Garry Kasparov once said in an interview, 'A really good opening survey should be written by a team of experts.' Nunn's Chess Openings is indeed written by a team of experts: four players who are acclaimed as outstanding chess writers and experts in their fields. The team's collective knowledge and experience embrace all openings, so each section of Nunn's Chess Opeings provides the sort of insider knowledge that will give you the edge on your opponents. This ultimate survival guide to the chess openings is up-to-date and comprehensive, written by four experts under the leadership of John Nunn, contains crystal-clear tables for maximum ease of reference, and is computer-checked for accuracy. John Nunn has been a grandmaster for 20 years and has played for the English National Team from 1974 up to the present day. A the 1984 Chess Olympiad he won three individual gold medals and in 1988-9 finished sixth overall in the World Cup. In recent years he has turned more to writing, establishing a reputation as arguably the worlds' foremost chess author. He has twice won the British Chess Federation Book of the Year Award. Graham Burgess is a highly-regarded chess author. He holds the world record for marathon blitz chess-playing and won the British Chess Federation Book of the Year Award in 1997. John Emms is a leading English grandmaster who tied for first place in the super-strong 1997 British Championship. He is a professional trainer, writer and player. Joe Gallagher is a grandmaster who plays regularly for the Swiss National Team. He has written several highly-regarded opening books. (6 7/8' X 9 13/16', 544 pages)

About the Author

FIDE Master Graham Burgess is a highly accomplished and versatile writer on chess, whose Mammoth Book of Chess won the British Chess Federation book of the Year Award in 1997. He holds the world record for marathon blitz chess-playing. John Nunn has been a grandmaster for 20 years and has played for the English National Team from 1974 up to the present day. At the 1984 Chess Olympiad he won three individual gold medals and in 1988-9 finished sixth overall in the World Cup. In recent years he has turned more to writing, establishing a reputation as arguably the world's foremost chess author. He has twice won the British Chess Federation Book of the Year Award. Joe Gallagher is a highly respected author of numerous best-selling chess books including being co-author of the single volume openings work Nunn¿s Chess Openings. John Emms is one of Britain¿s strongest Grandmasters and is a member of the English national team. He has also carved out a reputation for being an excellent chess writer and has many works under his name. He is co-author of the very popular openings bible Nunn¿s Chess Openings.

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Everyman Chess; 1st edition (February 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857442210
• ISBN-13: 978-1857442212
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.9 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #813,925 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

194 of 195 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good reference on the openings, July 13, 2006

By 

John Watson "Long Time Chess Player" (Central USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nunn's Chess Openings (Cadogan Chess Books) (Paperback)

There are basically two popular 1 volume opening reference books, "Nunn's Chess Openings" and "Modern Chess Openings". I have heard many opinions as to which is better. I personally think that each has their individual strong points as to accuracy (I like Nunn better) and better coverage of more of the major openings (I like MCO better). So my advice? Get both and have the best of two worlds. If you are a beginner, or in search of that perfect opening to suit your style then you need a book that covers the ideas behind the openings and should book looking at books that cover that, such as "Understanding the Chess Openings" or a good opening trap book. You want to know the ideas behind the openings and not to just memorize lines.

87 of 91 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Opening Book for the Serious Student, December 13, 1999

By 

A.J. Goldsby I "A.J.G." (Pensacola, FL (U.S.A.)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nunn's Chess Openings (Cadogan Chess Books) (Paperback)

This is the "GrandMaster" of opening books. I am a Master and I teach chess for a living. When my students want to learn an opening, or need a one volume reference for learning new openings, this is the book I recommend to them. A "MUST" for the Postal player! There is more information and fewer mistakes in this book, than any opening compendium I have ever seen! WARNING: If you are a casual chess player, or looking for for a book to help you improve and learn something, this is not the book you seek. This is a book for very serious chess players. If you have never used an opening book before, you will find this book a very difficult "read." Its just lines and recommendations for what is best in the openings. There are a great deal of symbols and lines that end with an evaluation like "White is slightly better." There is nothing that explains why White is better. Unless this type of dialogue would be useful to you, you are better off not buying this book.

83 of 88 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I AGREE: EXCELLENT REFERENCE FOR STRONGER PLAYERS, December 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Nunn's Chess Openings (Cadogan Chess Books) (Paperback)

Top Grandmaster analysis, computer-checked, state-of-the-art variations makes NCO an excellent reference for stronger or very serious players. However, BE WARNED, NCO has little or no prose explanations of its evaluations(You've got to figure out why White is better, worse, etc.), neither are "thematic" ideas discussed. And NCO does not give those plausible or discredited lines that Kasparov, Karpov, and Anand would never play but are played by that smug fellow at your local club (So you're still on your own, unless he does you the favor of playing the "best" lines). Finally, unless you're familiar with ECO cataloging, the format isn't all that friendly (You've got to know what the Benko Gambit is to look it up, for example). I am only rated USCF 1940, and prefer more tutorial advice than NCO gives, and really prefer Modern Chess Openings Edition 14 by N. DeFirmian as it also gives one page intros to the major lines (as does NCO) but ALSO gives prose evaluations as to why White is worse, better, etc.. It is also VERY easy to look up openings, and its introductions make one curious to play out an opening. Take a look also at Standard Chess Openings by Schiller which is filled with prose desriptions, discussion, and analysis of the openings, as well as opening tips, repertoire possibilities. The drawback though is that other players claim it is far shallower than either NCO or MCO, as well as being less accurate. I have NCO and MCO, the first is for "status" and the second, for use.