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Mastering the Chess Openings Volume 4
Mastering the Chess Openings, Volume 4 by John Watson, Gambit Publications 2011, Figurine Algebraic Notation, Paperback. 320 pages £17.99/$29.95 Reviewed by the Duke of Brunswick
Mastering the Chess Openings, Volume 3 by John Watson, Gambit Publications 2008, Figurine Algebraic Notation, Paperback, 351pp. $29.95
30 years ago, the American international master John Watson became well known for publishing a four-volume series for Batsford on the English Opening (1 c4). Later he published a very popular repertoire series on the French Defence which, in my opinion, has made the French the second most popular opening against 1 e4 in the UK. At the moment, Watson is coming to the end of a four volume cycle which encompasses all the significant chess openings. His third volume of the Mastering the Chess Openings series covers the English Opening where Black plays 1…c5, 1…e5 or 1…Nf6. A fourth and final volume has been designated to cover 1 Nf3 and moves such as 1 b3, 1 b4, 1 f4, 1 g3 and 1 Nc3. In addition, a few lines with 1 c4, where Black replies 1…c6, 1…b6, 1…g6 and 1…f5 will also be dealt with.
Caro-Kann Defence: Panov Attack
by Anatoly Karpov and Mikhail Podgaets, B.T. Batsford, London 2006. 284 pages. £15.99
This book is the second of a series dealing with the Caro-Kann opening. The first volume covered the Fantasy and Advance variations and gave the fullest coverage of any book to date on these lines of the Caro-Kann.
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The Chigorin Defence According to Morozevich
by Alexander Morozevich & Vladimir Barsky
(New in Chess, 2007)
Chigorin Defence 1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nc6 (fully revised English edition, Kania)
By Valeri Bronznik
Why should you play the Chigorin Defence to the queen's pawn opening (1 d4 d5 2 c4 Nc6)? Like its sister opening, the Verseov (1 d4 d5 2 Nc3) it drives the game into the territory which it's practitioner wants. Already on move two you will be calling the shots as Black in an opening which, even in this day and age, has received little attention. Why should you not play the Chigorin Defence? Well, apart from Chigorin over a hundred years ago, no great player has made it an important part of his repertoire. True, Colle played it in the 1920s (and was soundly defeated by Alekhine for his pains) and a number of Soviet players, notably Smyslov, used the Chigorin on occasion in the years after the war. But it never caught on.
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The Chess Advantage in Black and White
By Larry Kaufman
Opening repertoire books have become the staple diet of chess publishing houses. Typically, you will be told how to play a play a particular opening, what will cause your opponent the most difficulties and how to get the maximum results with the minimum effort. Armed with this knowledge you can expect to sweep away the hapless opposition in the next club match. But all too often, it doesn't happen this way.
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Caro-Kann Defence: Panov Attack
by Anatoly Karpov and Mikhail Podgaets, B.T. Batsford, London 2006. 284 pages. £15.99
This book is the second of a series dealing with the Caro-Kann opening. The first volume covered the Fantasy and Advance variations and gave the fullest coverage of any book to date on these lines of the Caro-Kann.
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