Customer Reviews

Zuke 'Em - The Colle-Zukertort Revolutionized: A chess opening for everyone. Phoenix Attack Edition

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

b3-Colle was the opening system of choice for the unofficial world champion Akiba Rubinstein. The opening is easy to reproduce over the board - just play d4, e3, Bd3, Nf3, Nbd2, b3, Bb2, 0-0, a3, Ne5 ... that is 10 moves - against any setup by black. A simple 10-move sequence that is good enough for world championship is rare! Needless to say, Black has many good responses, and White needs to have a World Champion's understanding of all resulting positions to play the middlegame.

Enter Zuke 'Em. David Rudel breaks down the b3-Colle opening into 68 easily digestible variations over a hundred pages and then proceeds to explain the ideas behind them, so that memorization is minimized. This forms only half the book. In the remaining half, he shows you when NOT to play the b3-Colle but transpose into some other opening, HOW to do so and HOW to follow-through.

Ultimately, he includes a training section in the book to aid you in recalling tactics, strategies, critical moments in opening and move orders.

Note to beginners: A lot of beginners are generally afraid of playing 1 d4. However, with Zuke 'Em, a beginner can get through the opening without losing a pawn, and emerge into a fairly understandable middle game position, where a lot of tactics lurk. Classical Bishop Sacrifice, two bishops sacrfice, Attacking with two knights and a Queen, Attacking with only major pieces - all these theme occur regularly in b3-Colle middlegame - very frequently. David Rudel uses a conversational tone in the book and explains the ideas so that even a kid can understand the material. This should be your FIRST OPENING BOOK!

Note: The book adds a lot to a Killer chess opening repertoire by Aaron Summerscale, but, refers you to it for 150 attack and Barry attack and Dutch Stonewall. So, for a complete repertoire, you will need to buy Summerscale's book.

Experience: I read chapters 1-5, part of 11 and part of 12 in one sitting. These cover the main b3-colle lines. The books is unputtable - so, you need to have a CHESS BOARD nearby and gallons of coffee before you start reading it for the first time.

Aftermath: I have now had the book for over a month. I have reread the chapters 4 and 5 (the main chapters on b3-Colle) at least 5 times over. I look up other lines as and when they arise in my games. There were certain anti-Colle lines givein Summerscale's book that I was uncomfortable playing, but Zuke 'Em addressed ALL of them. Now, I am confident that I will always have a complete repertoire preparation at hand.

If you are a club-level chess player who likes d-pawn openings, then this is a book well worth perusing. If you play the Zukertort opening, then it is simply a must read. A club-level player himself, author David Rudel knows his target audience and how they think, and has written a book that speaks to them with clarity and understanding.

Although the frontiers of top-level chess knowledge are driven by concrete analysis these days--much of it computer generated--down at the club level it is still true that understanding the ideas behind a opening is more efficient than memorizing variations. In this book, Rudel has laid out the variations of the Zukertort opening in a way that strives to convey the ideas as clearly as possible, so that the Zukertort player will know how to adjust to meet Black's counterplans.

A very strong player would probably criticize this book for being too short on concrete analysis and too long on generalizations. There is no doubt some truth to this. However, the large amounts of concrete analysis that populate the typical openings book aren't absorbed and retained by the typical club-level player anyway, and often merely obscure the forest for the trees. As for generalizations, these--while fallible--have the important psychological effect of giving the player who has learned them a confidence that he knows what's going on in a given position. This is the great virtue of Rudel's book: it leaves you feeling that all the bases of practical importance have been covered, and that you have received enough training so that you can usually reach positions where you know more about what's going on than your opponent does.

Visual learners will greatly appreciate the practical design of Rudel's book, the snapshots of positions and visual demonstration of the opening, the lines, and his analysis. In-a-nutshell concepts that are easy to learn followed by deep analysis allow a beginner to pick up this opening in a short time and then "grow into" the situational complexities that Rudel deftly addresses.

I bought this book because I decided to "get serious" and learn an opening system that I could consistently use and apply without hundreds of hours of study. Here is what I found:

1. The author provides a learnable 10-move opening that's viable against virtually every black opening sequence and is learnable in a day or two
2. After understanding the key opening concepts that go along with the opening, which Rudel explains in plain english and an easy-to-digest-and-recall way, he explains the purpose and "plan" for each piece - which was incredibly helpful to formulating responses during the game
3. In a short time I had a straight-forward "if-then" thought process for choosing responsive moves ESPECIALLY when I did not know the name, let alone the concept behind, black's defensive maneuvers
4. I find myself going back and re-reading sections after I have put them to use

The book and Rudel's explanations go much deeper. Once past the first opening chapters, the depth of analysis and rebuttal Rudel applied to scenarios white may encounter when playing the Colle-Zukertort is amazingly helpful. This is not a book that just gives you the first 10 moves and says "good luck," it is a book that delves deep into what you should be doing and aiming for with your pieces in the continuing lines.

What I personally find extraordinarily helpful is an entire chapter or index of "snapshots" of opening positions in the Colle-Zukertort that allow you to look at the position on your own board, compare it to the book, and then quickly flip to the appropriate chapter and section of analysis of that position.

Those of you who learn by doing--or are buying the book for a friend or loved one who is "hands on" in the way they learn--will get so much out of this book because of Rudel's style of writing and presentation.

The Colle-Zukertort, or Rubenstein Attack, has been around quite a long while, but has not enjoyed the fame and popularity of many other chess openings. It is considered by many to be too simplistic and lacking in dynamic potential, especially for players of high caliber. In "Zuke 'Em: The Colle-Zukertort Revolutionized," David Rudel presents this opening in a lively, through, and innovative way. Rudel is a longtime practitioner of the Colle-Zukertort, and his loyalty to the opening comes through in nearly every page. The book contains the following, in user-friendly, highly readable text: 1) an introduction to the Colle-Zukertort, featuring both moves and ideas, 2) a synthesis of knowledge found in priot books on the opening, 3) a plethora of new ideas, suggestions, and alternatives for the Colle-Zukertort player, and, 4) chapters devoted solely to training in the opening and to new ideas to be analysed and tested. In short, pretty much everything one would need to become well-familiarized with the Colle-Zukertort opening.

The book is refreshingly candid and enthusiastic in its tone. Author Rudel reminds the reader that the ideas and suggestions come from him and that there are likely to be inaccuracies and errors. But he has done a lot of homework on the opening, closely examining past treatments and mixing known theory with improvements and fresh ideas. Rudel has used the technology now available to all chessplayers in order to evaluate different variations in terms of winning percentage. The reader gets a sense of a more "scientific" approach to the opening than past authors may have used. And the number of variations and approaches should prove to anyone that the Colle-Zukertort is anything but simplistic.

For chess players who are new to the Colle-Zukertort, there is plenty of introductory material and clear explanations. For those who have played the opening for a while, there is enough new content and training tools to make "Zuke 'Em" a useful and exciting addition to chess libraries. Ideas, and not just variations and game references, along with clear and understandable explanations of strategies for both sides, make this book different from most other opening books on the market. Hopefully, David Rudel will apply the same format and style to other openings in the near future.

THE REAL McCOY
Zuke `Em, by David Rudel, is a must read for anyone who plays the dynamic Zukertort variation of the Colle System or anyone who wishes to learn to play it. The book clearly surpasses even the very good books by Grandmasters Aaron Summerscale(who graciously wrote the foreword) and Andrew Soltis. Among the many fine qualities of Zuke `Em are (1) It introduces numerous heretofore unknown or unheralded novelties for dealing with many of the counterthrusts that players of the black pieces are likely to play. For example, Rudel's recommendations for meeting the two main attacks on white's very valuable king's bishop when the bishop is placed on d3 are truly exciting and powerful. (2) Another exciting feature of this book is its unusual, perhaps unique, chapter-length analyses of the most common efforts made by players of the black pieces to avoid the dangerous Zukertort attack by switching to a defensive formation that prevents white from continuing with his customary assault lines. For example, many players of the black pieces meet the Zukertort by developing the black queen's bishop outside of the pawn chain. Rudel presents enlightening analyses of these lines that should provide unwelcome surprises for the player who is accustomed to thwarting white's attack with such tactics. (3) The book is admirably well-organized and generally easy to follow. It is written in a light (but not light-weight!), and often humorous manner that should appeal to many readers. (4) Finally, the book's publisher has given the reader a sturdy soft back cover and a pleasing mix of type fonts, bold section headings, and easy-to-follow principal lines of play. I cannot state too emphatically that this is a high-quality treatment of the venerable Colle-Zukertort attack that will benefit players ranging from patzers to masters.

"...just play d4, e3, Bd3, Nf3, Nbd2, b3, Bb2, 0-0, a3, Ne5 ... that is 10 moves - against any setup by black." This set-up works against ALMOST any set-up and of course move order is very important. What concerns me is that the author says on page 51:

1. d4 Nf6
2. Nf3 d5
3. e3 e6
4. Bd3 c5
5. b3 Nc6
6. 0-0 Bd6
7. Bb2 0-0

And then comments that 8. dxc5!! is the very best move in this position. But then the author says, "Without further ado, for players 1800 and under I suggest 8. Ne5!?" Why would the author suggest a move which he himself considers to be inferior? Even IM Silman limits the scope of the books effectiveness when he said, "The lines are very effective for players rated 1200-1900."

What happens when you are facing an expert or master at a tournament? How effective are these lines going to be then? I also have difficulty taking chess advice from a club-level player no matter how long he/she has played a particular opening.

I can't say enough about this book. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool gambit player who used to play the Colle and Stonewall Attack. I largely dropped them when my games kept going in strange directions that screwed up my plans. The Zukertort Colle in general and this excellent book in particular have rekindled my interest in this strong opening system. David Rudel has done a remarkable amount of research to address all the questions you may have about the ZC. It doesn't even read like a typical chess book, with a conversational and cogent style that makes it all very, very understandable. This is a Five Star book!

When you buy this book you do not only get a reliable openingrepetoire that will serve you a lifetime, but you are also invited into a community of Colle & Colle-Zukertort fans. What makes this book absolutely outstanding is that it has a supporting website, where you can ask questions if there is something you do not understand. A unique feature! Rudel do also publish new findings on the site, so the material is evolving all the time. The contents of the book is highly original and Rudel adresses all black answers - even nonstandard Colle setups. The only thing he does not cover is 150 & Berry attacks. The prose in the book is quite good. This is not a dry openingbook, but a labour of love; that makes the book a fun read too. I high recommend this book and i hope you will have as much fun with it as I have - it is a real killer! :-)

Among effective white openings the Colle is perhaps the easiest to learn and also sets you up best for solid pawn structures should you transition into the endgame. At the highest levels the Colle is seen as overly drawish which is a large detraction since all things being equal, white has the initiative and a tendency to draw with white is not a positive. For the vast bulk of us who seek to simply play better or succeed in local tournaments, learning the Colle is a terrific idea as it offers an exceptionally reliable opening without a need for rigorous study. David Rudel has presented "Zuke-em" with the idea that the Colle-Zukertort (a fianchetto of the queen bishop) gives better winning chances. At the highest levels, this has also been refuted, although many of the Colle-Zukertort variations transition into the Queen's Gambit which is a GM mainstay.

Among the positives of this book is its presentation. Rudel does an excellent job explaining the theory behind variations and the attacking ideas. He includes reasoning for deviating from other top Colle books enabling the reader to understand why certain ideas might be better than others. Rudel also includes many ideas not presented in any other books that I am aware of which is always a nice element to discover in any chess book.

The potential for flawed theory is one issue that should be of interest to anyone pursuing this book. I can attest firsthand that these lines hold up very well into the 2200 range (I have used the Colle effectively up to this level); yet when I run some of these variations into the latest versions of Fritz (computer analysis) with a playing strength between 2500-2600, it defines some of the suggested lines as slightly less than equal. For most of us that might not matter much as we don't often encounter games against playing strengths well into the master levels and above; yet if you are going to learn an opening few can argue its best to learn the absolute optimal ideas if possible - and its unclear if this book accomplished that.

I could also find no record of David Rudel's chess playing career which should be a huge red flag to any interested chess player (in fact, there is one player on record in the USCF from the late 1990s with a rating in the 1300s - I'll give the author the benefit of the doubt here that this is not him). It's certainly possible to know correct theory without being able to handle the pressures of playing it effectively, yet with so many GMs writing books why take such a gamble?

For beginning players this book is surely more than adequate, yet for serious players I'd caution not to treat this book anything more than a collection of potential ideas.

I am a very dedicated chess amateur with very limited chess study time. I bought this book several months ago when I was trying to learn more about The Colle Zukertort. I have found the material in this book extremely helpful in achieving more 1-0 s' but more importantly I have found the presentation of the material very refreshing and different from many other boring chess opening books, in other words more readable for us the mortals at the lower end of the chess scale.
In reference to some of the negative reviews I can only say : what you get out of any chess book is directly proportional to the effort you put into it. Simple reading is definitely not enough. A good book should encourage one to seek more knowledge and a second opinion if possible. Zuke'Em has done that for me.
KeenChessReader