Customer Reviews

The Trompowsky (Chess Press Opening Guides)

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

 

 

Maybe 3 stars is a little bit too harsh since Gallagher provides a nice collection of up-to-date Trompovsky games. However, all books of this series suffer from the same drawback: the lack of complete coverage of the opening. This becomes especially obvious with Gallagher's book. As he points out himself the Trompowsky can lead to a vast amount of different pawn structures. As a consequence it would take an even larger amount of games to point out the various ideas of the Trompowsky. This can't be done in a book of 144 pages. Still Gallagher does a good job, but the book can only serve as a basis for own studies of this interesting opening.

It is true that if you like learning lots of theory, then this book may not be enough. But clearly this is not a reference book. Features I like:

(a) SUMMARIES at the end of each chapter come down with definite conclusions as to which lines are the best for white.

(b) It is a good book to buy if you want to purchase a SINGLE BOOK as an "attack" treatise, middlegame manual and your opening book for white. This is due to its large collection of Hodgson games.

(c) It covers 1...d5 2 Bg5 for those bored with the QUEEN'S GAMBIT.

(d) It covers lines that are most likely to come up in practice not obscure ones. He clearly understands how the club player playing black would naturally react. This is important for me as I am a medical student and DON'T HAVE TIME to study lots of variations.

(e) There is a definite sense of ENJOYMENT by the author.

It is true that if you like learning lots of theory, then this book may not be enough. But clearly this is not a reference book. Features I like:

(a) SUMMARIES at the end of each chapter come down with definite conclusions as to which lines are the best for white.

(b) It is a good book to buy if you want to purchase a SINGLE BOOK as an "attack" treatise, middlegame manual and your opening book for white. This is due to its large collection of Hodgson games.

(c) It covers 1...d5 2 Bg5 for those bored with the QUEEN'S GAMBIT.

(d) It covers lines that are most likely to come up in practice not obscure ones. He clearly understands how the club player playing black would naturally react. This is important for me as I am a medical student and DON'T HAVE TIME to study lots of variations.

(e) There is a definite sense of ENJOYMENT by the author.

Good book with some gaps that come up rather on regular basis not covered... Still not many books are out on this topic and it does have value... Basically if you like Hodgson you most likely will like this book... Many of his games are covered in here and that is a treat within itself... Gallagher does maybe 2 pages on the Levitsky Attack(Queen's Bishop Attack)... Many just call it the Pseudo Tromp... Basically moves usually go d4 d5 Bg5 but also this setup works well vs. the Dutch... The author seems honest and does not make it seem nothing can stop this opening... Still he shows it is very playable and perhaps one of the better d4 openings... The summaries at the end of chapters makes it easier to navigate... Unlike some opening books that just clump stuff and do not say much... The author should at least give what he thinks is good or not etc... Some sort of short synapse, which he does... The annotations of the games might be worth the price of the book alone... I can't give it 5 stars cuz of the lack of coverage in areas... Still for a 144 page book you can't really expect complete coverage... The cover says Opening Guides which is pretty accurate... Cuz this book is more of a guide to give ideas than complete... Still you should be able to understand and play Tromp better from this book... The gaps in coverage you will have to fill yourself or find games from other players to... Basically 4 stars cuz its just not a mindless dump of data... Gallagher really does seem to have a passion for this opening... Also the limited coverage of Levitsky attack is nice to see... What I find very important is he does give basic ideas about opening... How White's b pawn tends to be weak and thats where black usually attacks... Also how in many games White does knights vs bishops... Black even gains Bishop pair in many games, so this isnt for the faint of heart... If you are ready to realize the full potential of your Knights go for it... If your not good with your knights, this opening might not be the one for you... This opening is good if you enjoy having the harder to predict attacking chances with your knights... Some of best players in history have used their Knights... Fischer was a master with his knights and that helped seperate him from the rest... Also many like Kasparov and he is obsessed with his knights... Many players always want bishop pair and never try openings like this one... This is not an easy opening that someone passive will win with... If your a boring stonewall player, you might not like this... Or other systems like the Colle and Catalan... So think hard if you can handle this opening before trying and buying this book...

I don't really like this opening any more, it's too loose. This book doesn't explain the positions well, and there are a lot of gaps, which is unaccaptable. Most of the games are Hodgeson's. The treatment on the Levitsky Attack (1. d4/d5, 2. Bg5) was nice.

Being quite an anti-establishment player when it comes to openings for both Black and White, I found out I was playing the Trompowsky from another player! Quickly purchasing this book after that discovery, my white game has since improved significantly. In fact, last week I beat an experienced player with the Tromp in 15 moves. However, I do think that 2 Bg5 is not a necessary move, if you don't intend to take the N on f6 or chase it away. 2...Ne4 can cause complications, especially if black subsequently plays c5, Qb6, Bf5, etc.That can get VERY tricky to defend against. I humbly suggest 2...Bf4 instead. That way, e5 is secured, and the N on f6 must take 2 moves to threaten the B on f4. Also if black simply plays 1...d5, then 2 Bf4 is fine as well. c5 is met by Nf6, cxd5 by Nxd5, and Black cannot play e5 due to the Bishop at f4. I also really like playing c3 and Nd2, since it can help possible queenside castling. e3 then c4 is also fine if Black hasn't played c5 yet. One thing is for sure: if both White and Black have castled kingside, 80%+ of the action will be on the queenside. In the book, the only way to force mate on the kingside is to move both knights several times and with throw in some sacrifices, but this opening is no better than any other for a tactical White player to do that. Focus on the queenside and center.