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Basic Chess Openings (Paperback)

by Gabor Kallai (Author) "This, the first volume of Basic Chess Openings, is entirely concerned with those openings starting with the move 1 e4..." (more)
Key Phrases: mutual chances, black king position, chess openings, Basic Chess Openings, Open Variation, King's Gambit (more...)

4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Using a fresh approach, Hungarian Grandmaste r Kallai explains the basic principles of every popular mode rn chess opening. He concentrates on developing a solid unde rstanding of the ideas of each opening. '

Product Details

Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: Everyman Publishers (April 1997)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1857441133
ISBN-13: 978-1857441130
Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #138,028 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
This, the first volume of Basic Chess Openings, is entirely concerned with those openings starting with the move 1 e4. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
mutual chances, black king position, chess openings, bishop pair, queenside play, pawn centre, spatial advantage, queenside castling, promising attack, pawn structure, pawn majority, kingside attack, black kingside, pawn sacrifice, queenside pawns, tremendous attack, tournament practice, extra pawn, equal game, unclear position, white centre

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Basic Chess Openings, Open Variation, King's Gambit, King's Indian, Italian Game, Keres Attack, Scheveningen Variation, Exchange Variation, Four Knights Variation, Russian Game, Ruy Lopez, Sveshnikov Variation, Two Knights Defence, Closed Variation, French Defence, Panov Attack, Scotch Game, Vienna Game, Advance Variation, Falkbeer Counter-Gambit, Improved Steinitz, Petroff's Defence, Positional Variation, Scandinavian Defence, Scotch Gambit

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Citations (learn more)

1 book cites this book:

More Basic Chess Openings by Gabor Kallai in Front Matter

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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Average Customer Review

4.6 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you want to KNOW openings......this is the book for you., June 27, 1999

By	christian9279@yahoo.com (unites states) - See all my reviews

I highly recomend this book. As an intermediate player (1700-1800), I found myself usually getting behind in the beggining against more advanced players. This will teach you just about every opening (along with "More Basic Chess Openings") and ensure your confidence at the start of a game. If you have never picked up a chess book, like myself, this is where you should start.

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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book that bridges basic openings books with MCO, November 14, 2002

By A Customer

I have a number of general opening books: NCO, Horowitz's Theory and Pratice, Fine"s Ideas Behind Chess Opening's. Kallai's book is far superior to Fine's. It reads easier and provides more details (variations). It also shows the basic traps for both sides. I am surprised that this series of books are not more popular... I turned in my Fine's book and have no regrets.

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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great way to get started, August 18, 2004

By	E. Nichols (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

My only problem with the book is the title: it is only about e4 openings, mostly from white's perspective. The companion d4 book is probably necessary to learn how to respond when playing black against d4.

5 stars otherwise; I love the presentation. I started learning openings with Reinfeld's very basic primer, but I think it would be easy to start with this book. I especially value the discussion of middlegame plans after each main variation; this is lacking in many other opening books that focus on variations. A nice balance of details and strategy.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, crucial!
The two books by Kallai are quite wonderful. They are a nice modern complement to 500 Master Games of Chess by Tartakower. Read more

Published on March 12, 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent content. Atrocious binding.
The content of this book is very helpful for beginners or intermediate players (like me) who want to learn the basics of king pawn openings. Read more

Published on August 30, 1999

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book with plenty of detail for all levels of play
I really like this book. It covers many of the 1 e4 openings in great depth. As opposed to simply telling you the opening, Grandmaster Kallai describes what is actually happening... Read more

Published on May 18, 1999

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book for lower level club players.
I enjoyed this book. It is clear concerning viability of different lines. Many opening books are too detailed for my level of play. Read more

Published on January 20, 1999 by Zaklothar

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