Customer Reviews

Opening Systems for Competitive Chess Players

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Well written. Emphasizes piece play over complex variations,and contains many forcing variations to keep you in familiar teritory(and your opponents out of comfortable book lines).The one weakeness is that ,despite the book's cliams, the variations for white are not a complete system and must be suplemented by other sources. As a weekend chess club warrior, I found the book to provide an excellent opening repetoire for black, and I enjoyed the large number of well annotated games which provide good insight into the typical middle and endgame possitions that arise from these openings. For a class D,C,or B player this book would be a good addition to your chess library.

I have a well thumbed copy of this book. It has been the foundation of my repertoire for a number of years. I am no pro, just a better than average club hack. The strength of this opening system is that it is solid from both sides of the board. One is not likely to fall apart by move 10. On the other hand it is not an exhaustive system. There is not much against the Dutch. There is not a plan against early Benoni systems. As black the Queen's Gambit Tartakower system is great. The Caro-Kann requires considerable theoretical knowledge. Against prepared opponents one has to be on toes against the Panov-Bottvinik attack, the multiple advance systems, and the grind of the main line Petrosian Smyslov system. I have argued with Smith and Hall, but I keep coming back. I have won many games by playing solid until the other person self destructed. I reccomend it as a good foundation repertoire for average cautious players like me.

I have a well worn copy of this book too. As a USCF class B player rated 1750, I find this an excellent book to create an opening repertoire. The systems offered are solid and the books explains the openings without needing to memorize things by rote. Be aware though, that the repertoire is not for the swashbuckling attacking player. The Torre Attack, Caro-Kann, and Queen's Gambit Declined Tartakower's variation are for positional chess. It is true some supplemental information is needed for say the Dutch Defense but I rarely encounter the Dutch Defense in tournament play. The systems cover 95% of what is going to be thrown at you.

I am USCF rated class B player elo 1771. I have used this book for years and it provides a good opening system for white and black without a large amount of study time needed. No opening book repertoire can cover everything unless they make the book very long and cumbersome. Players always find systems that are off beat or solid but not often played like the Dutch. Caution: This is not a book if you are an attacking player that likes a real slugfest. The openings are more for the technician and cautious positional player (like me). The Torre Attack is solid but not a dynamic opening to gain an advantage. This is true of the Caro-Kann too. The Tartakover's variation of the QGD is a universal system and was a favorite of Spassky's. These openings will give you a good solid start. This is certainly a good book for the under 2000 rated player.