Customer Reviews:
Utter crap.......2005-12-22
The late Tony Miles, a grandmaster, once reviewed this book for a magazine. Here was his review, in its entirety.
"Utter crap". I concur wholeheartedly. This book should never have been printed. I mourn the loss of the thousands of trees that were chopped down to provide the wood pulp necessary to print this blight upon the chess world.
I cannot express in strong enough language that this book should be avoided at all costs. Real chess players do not own this book. Ask anyone in the chess community if this book should be purchased, and once their laughter dies down, you'll get a "No."
If you wish to read a real opening manual, purchase Modern Chess Openings instead of wasting your money on this.
Schiller get Fritz and use it.......2005-03-10
What this book will give you is a brief history of each opening. Like so and so played this for the first time 1872, blah, blah. Now that part of this book I liked! It's nice to have this chess history.
The part I did not like was the analysis part of this book. At least have enough moves in the analysis to match Basic Chess Openings let's say. Have Fritz come up with some new moves for you in these rare openings. It takes work, and the reader should get this at least.
I could of given this book 2 stars for the history part, but the lack of real analysis really got my goat.
Grandmaster Tony Miles' review said it best:.......2003-12-16
Miles' two-word review in Kingpin magazine of this typical Schiller book: "utter crap." (Miles was noted for unorthodox play himself, btw. For example, he famously won a game against Anatoly Karpov by responding to 1. e4 with 1... a6.)
Schiller is noted for sloppy database-dump books with lots and lots of errors. Use your chess funds for books that will teach you something valuable and are written by real players. Try authors like Silman, Nunn, Gallagher, Gligoric, Seirawan, Euwe, and Emms. All of these authors are MUCH better players and also use time and care in writing their books.
Not as I expected.......2003-06-23
When I got this book I thought it would be like another of his books I've got: Who's Afraid of the King's Gambit. It turns out that I was wrong. I like that there's so many openings and variations, but I noticed SEVERAL mistakes that sometimes made it hard to understand. I couldn't decide to rate it 3 or 4 stars, but I picked 3 because I was hoping for more diagrams. If I could I'd rate it 3 1/2 stars, but...
Laugh out loud fun!.......2003-02-15
I really enjoy this book a lot. It is definetly my favorite Eric Schiller chess book. Eric has a love of the unusual in chess. He is a member of the yahoo unorthodox chess openings group, and posts there frequently. In this book he goes into territory most Masters would rather stay clear of.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I would consider it chess "light reading" rather than something that will help you gain 400 points to your rating. I literally was laughing outloud at some of the absurd openings that are featured, and what Eric Schiller had to say about them.
I personally like to play unorthodox openings such as the grob (1. g4), even in tournament play. Most of the openings in this book are REALLY unorthodox, not just slightly off the path of main opening theroy. You could play 10 years of tournament chess and never see most of the openings that are in here.
I liked Schiller's comments on what constitues an unorthodox opening, specifically how two opening principles must be broken. For example just bringing the queen out early is not enough to be unorthodox, like the Center Counter defense. The names of some of the openings are quite fun too!
So I would recommend reading this book if you want to take a walk on the wild side, and not as something that needs to be seriously studied so that you can be prepared for the next tournament. One of Schiller's best and most original efforts!
Customer Reviews:
Love the Enthusiasm and Material; Hate the Proofreading.......2007-08-18
This is a typical Cardoza book in that editing, proofreading, and careful production were not part of the equation. I can't understand why this publisher seems to take pride in sloppy work. That out of the way...
Schiller admittedly loves to hype the things he loves, but that's fine. He is a big fan of the Tarrasch, but he backs this with solid knowledge and extensive practice, so it all works to the good. And that's the upside of Cardoza's line of books: they brim with enthusiasm, excitement, interesting ideas, and above all a philosophy of getting out there and winning. After a couple of hours with this book, you just can't wait to get out there and play and try out your new ideas. That's no small thing--- how many chess books make you want an afternoon nap instead?
There are few full books to be found about the Tarrasch. Schiller's book fills a real hole. (The other book I know of is Aagaard and Lund's "Meeting 1. d4" which, while quite good, is more theoretical and dry.) Schiller definitely concentrates on ideas and typical plans and tactics for both sides. The writing style and presentation is cogent and easy to follow. You cannot get through this book without having a thorough conception of the flow of the Tarrasch. Enough material is presented on variants and alternatives to make the book a reasonable enough reference, though you might have to hunt around a bit; of course the book is not "theoretically complete" but it never seemed intended to be. As a good practical introduction, this book will have you playing the Tarrasch in tournament games rather quickly (as it is doing for me).
Later on if you want to become a complete Tarrasch specialist you'll need a little more material, such as a game collection. But for getting going and learning the concepts, this book will take you quite far. You just have to grin and bear it when really obvious typos appear multiple times in one line.
Overall 4 stars for content and sheer enthusiasm and energy; one star off for poor editing.
Great book on Tarrasch.......2002-12-12
Schiller is a Tarrasch fanatic, and it shows in this thick (288 pages) well-produced epic on the Tarrasch Defence. It brims with enthusiasm and with tactics, strategies, traps, theory, history--everything you need to play and love the Tarrasch. The overview and typical strategies sections at the beginning are beautiful. Schiller does not sugarcoat this Defence, but he does promise you exciting chess and that by studying this opening your overall game will improve. It is important to learn how to play with an isolated d-pawn. Another great benefit of the Tarrasch is you can play the pawn structure against nearly any opening (even against 1. e4 you can play a French and have the same structure. Even though Kasparov gave up the Tarrasch, obviously it is a worthy opening if several world champions have played it. Solve the problem of the Bc8 being trapped in the most forthright way! Play the Tarrasch, and get this book!
Awful Book Cover and Content..........2002-01-04
When you first see this book you figure, well the content has to be better than the cover. As amazing as it might sound, the content is even worse. The amount of errors really baffled me and stressed me out. Trying to look up things and the entire layout is just awful. How awful books like this get published is beyond my knowledge. Perhaps someone lost a bet or Schiller owns their soul. Maybe if your a 900 player this would help you break 1000. If your getting this book thinking your gonna be able to defend d4. I guess your gonna have to find out the hard way how shoddy this book is. A bad chess player that writes awful books is a scary thing. I think Ken Smith and Schiller should start their own club. Donate your money to a good charity or buy yourself something worth having. The only use this book has is the hope of being burned when no logs are left.
Poor organization and editing hurt useful book.......2000-05-15
The problem with this book is that it really seems like the author and editor didn't care about putting out a great product.
There are lots of problems with this book. There are far too many typos (it's hard to edit a chess book, but come one!) and the organization is horrid. It's easy to miss crucial subvariations, and the lack of proper indexing, combined with poor organization, makes it very hard to find the game you need.
Schiller's "strategic overview" in the beginning is a great idea, but it's executed poorly. A few examples concerning advancing the d-pawn here (rather than just scattered throughout the book) would work wonders.
So why two stars? Well, because despite its numerous flaws, I find myself using this book a lot. There aren't any other good books on the Tarasch defense these days, and it's an excellent weapon for the club player. There is a lot of good information in here, it's just so hard tofind!
Complete Queen's Pawn is a great place to start.......1999-11-29
After reading this book I am pretty much at ease defending the Queen pawn opening. The strategy presented here will get you through the first 10 or so moves and keep you out of trouble. After that you are of course on your own but not without some ideas and places to look for white weakness. I liked the summary of the strategy that was given in the Overview and Strategic Goals chapters. The short study of alternatives in the last few chapters is also very helpful if the game does not open exactly as planned.
Customer Reviews:
Lean and Mean.......2007-07-16
This book provides the outline of a good aggressive system for Black. Schiller takes us down roads less travelled here with good commentary. The only regret is the lack of variations covered. This is a relatively thin paperback, and anyone who seriously adopts the system will have to develop his/her own variation notes for many uncovered responses generated from over-the-board play.
Fun, exciting chess.......2002-11-05
The value of these gambits is that you will never play boring chess, and you will be forced to be aggressive to try to win. IN that sense, these gambits force you to become a much better player, and force you to learn tactics, because if you can't spot tactics to give you an edge, you will simply be a pawn down! Schiller's books are alive with energy and enthusiasm. FOr these reasons, I love this book, and find myself picking it up quite often. Face it, the Center Counter (and gambit variations) can be a very effective tool as black: he dictates the opening and can be better prepared than white.
Interesting Repertoire Book !.......2000-11-18
This book focuses on the Von Henning Schara Gambit against 1. d4 and the Center Counter (Icelandic and Porteguese Gambits) against 1. e4.
In general, both of thses lines offer very interesting counter chances for a player of the black pieces willing to invest a pawn to unbalance things. This is very important if you are attempting to play for a win with black, rather than just holding a draw.
I am not much of an expert (yet) in the Von Henning Schara, but I done extensive studying and playing the Center Counter (Icelandic Gambit and Porteguese) System featured in the book. I have to take exception with some of the other reviewers, I thought that the book actually seemed rather thorough compared to many of the other books I have read on the subject.
What really impressed me was the amount of analysis available on some of the sideline variations leading to the main line. (I have encountered these specific variations quite frequently, both over the board and on the internet).
My feeling on repertoire books is that their job is to get you acquated with a system by explaining the key ideas, and then provide a number of illustrative games to see the ideas in action. This book does an okay job of fulfilling that objective.
Beyond that, if you want to find some highly obscure line it is time to consult a specialized database and find those games yourself. I don't think that a reasonably priced, normal sized book can provide that level of detail.
Overall, this is a pretty decent book. It is probably best suited for players in the rating range of 1300 - 1900 USCF.
Barely passable.......2000-05-20
While this book is a step up from Schiller's "Gambit Opening for White" it is really quite incomplete and is missing a lot of key lines. The formatting is poor, and there are a lot of typos.
This is too bad, because a good book on the Schara gambit (which forms the core of Schiller's repetriore against 1.d4) would be useful to a lot of players. This, however, probably isn't that book.
There's enough material in here for you to figure out how to play these defenses, but I, for one, expect more for my money.
An interesting introduction..........2000-04-12
This Book brings up some interesting and obscure lines, but the discussion is rather incomplete and not every possibility is adequately planned for.
Customer Reviews:
A Dissapointment.......2004-03-17
I have one huge problem with this book and it isnt the typos or the cover its pages 41-166 (over a third of the book) titled the "Summary of the Theory". I don't know if Nunn is a close friend and Gufeld is trying to help sales of NCO, but I cannot count how many times he refers to this opening manual. When encountering certain moves (some very important) he merely recites NCO to about move 18 and says "white is better---NCO", then goes to the next move gives an alternative cites NCO 10 moves deep and says "is even--NCO". That is basically the explanation you get to critical lines, not even a why they are better, he doesnt even bother explaining the main lines, he just gives alternatives based on NCO! To be fair occasionally he recites from BCO and MCO or from lines played in previous games (of course without any explanation). And occasionally he will throw in a game which helps take up some of the space during these sloppy 120 pages, which isnt bad but he usually skips the opening thoughts. The rest of the book is OK and might be worthwhile if you have money to waste but if you get this book just skip pages 41-166. I have plenty of chess books, and this is one of the worse.
Good but badly typed........2002-06-21
This book is well structured. A part for the history and evolution of the opening (that is seldom seen), another part for the variations, well classified but few comments on the characteristics of the systems. A third part made of specific themes related for Black and White, and a part for important games.
The only real unpleasant thing with this book is the quantity of typing errors. Surely the authors didn't revised it neither the responsible for typing was a chess player.
You Can't Judge a Book By its Cover.......2002-02-22
As my co-reviewer correctly points out, this book, Secrets of the King's Indian, is quite similar to another book of GM Gufeld, Secrets of the Sicilian Dragon, with respect to its cover design. Like most great Grandmasters, Mr. Gufeld is more interested in chess than such materialistic matters as cover designs, etc. The text itself is quite enlightening, and should be taken as authoritative, especially given GM Gufeld's renowned successes with the KI.
It strikes me as rather strange that my co-reviewer would admit to enjoying the text and deriving benefit from it, but seeks to warn potential buyers about deficiencies in the cover design, lest they be "as dissapointed as he was." I will take the liberty of speaking for all serious chess players in saying that content is what counts, and furthermore, "you can't judge a book by its cover."
the trick.......2001-09-24
Ok, some people prefer to talk when their anger has faded away, but i operate differently. I bought this book one week ago, and fortunately I 'm still angry enough to want to talk.
First of all, my respect for Gufeld is unquestionable. I like the way he writes, and I love his attitude about the game. The other book of the same authors "Secrets of the Dragon" was perfect for me, since it's a book about the ideas behind the opening, and not about rigorous knowledge of the different variations.
On these grounds, I wanted to try this book too. What the hell, the same authors, similar title, I should like this book as much as the "Dragon" one, right? And indeed, the content is of the same value, although of course the king's indian is much harder to generalise on in camparison to the sicilian dragon.
Unfortunately, the similarities don't stop at the value of the content. Same front cover (showing Gufeld playing the sicilian!!), same preface by Schiller(only changing the word "dragon" to "KID"- King's Indian Defense), same back cover (where at the bottom of my copy they even forgot to change the word "dragon" to "KID", so it reads "the Dragon hall of fame" instead of "the KID hall of fame" !), same introduction to the opening.
Don't get me wrong, I 'm not saying that this book is not worth buying, it serves the same purpose that "Secrets of the dragon" served. It's a book about the ideas of the opening, and I 'm sure that it's not only me who's looking for opening books like these two. But I just wanted to warn you about the "copy-paste" method that these guys are using, so that you wouldn't be disappointed as much as I was.
Customer Reviews:
Great repertoire book for club player.......2002-05-22
This is an excellent, eminently practical book. Schiller has been accused of churning out books, but this one comes across as a labor of love. It is an excellent blend of text and variations, and he really gives you a feel for the Reti opening. There are lots of good reasons to play the Reti; the flexible first move, Nf3; the avoidance of queen's gambit theory; the avoidance of traditional approaches to the king's indian and grunfeld. In that sense, the Reti allows you to largely call the shots as to the direction of the game. This book has a special magic for the club player who wants to play the opening--one can get started almost right away, as you do not get bogged down. In that sense, the book is simpler than many opening manuals. But there is as much depth as I need, and one feels that one has a coach along for the ride in Schiller. He has great enthusiasm for the opening, and includes some of his notable wins, but he does not sugarcoat it either. The book is also very well made and solid, and is a pleasure to work through. All in all, a great chess book.
Pressure with Hypermodern Systems as White.......2001-01-03
If you are of USCF playing strength 1600 to Master level, I believe you will find this book interesting (surprisingly interesting, I should say). The book gives solid examples of how hypermodern opening systems can ellicit poor play by black (primariliy due to apparent black non-familiarities with resulting non-classical and/or hypermodern opening structures). The non-familiarities inevitably lead black into inferior positions. The book also provides sound theory against solid black defensive systems adopted against white playing a hypermodern opening. In becoming intimately familiar with the Reti-System as outlined in this book by Schiller, you will find yourself going (1-0) against players who are rated several hundred points above your current USCF rating. I can attest to this because I have done so myself utilizing theory presented in this book! I must warn that if you are not a patient player, using the Reti system is probably not for you. Black will occupy the center until pawn breaks at e4,d4,c4 or even b4 will destroy the stronghold. The fact of the matter is simply this; Because there is still much to be learned about hypermodern play and inventions, the competitive player can prepare lines using these systems where black will be caught off-guard. I have also found much success in 5 min. blitz games with the Reti opening. I simply attribute this to too many players being comfortable with common/classical opening play.
Customer Reviews:
Can't judge the book by its tittle..........2005-01-26
Caro-Kann is a solid defense. Against a dangerous attacking player like Tal, Botvinnik used almost exclusively Caro-Kann as black to combat Tal's king pawn opening. Botvinnik almost resorted all to French defense before the two matches with Tal. On the very first game of the first match, Botvinnk lost with his French defense, for the rest of the match he used Caro-Kann against all king pawn opening. The result was not in his favor (1 win, 2 loses and 3 draws), but better than the French. For the second match, in the first half, with Caro-Kann, Botvinnik got the score: 1 win, 2 loses, and 2 draws. He switched to the French and lost at once. Caro-Kann it was for the rest of the match, 1 win and 3 drawns.
I played the Caro-Kann (before learning the statistics above) to avoid the troubled QB in the French, while the Sicilian requires lots of risks and fighting spirit. I got a good record against one player, he then researched and prepared some special line for me. Before I played him again, I played two other opponents whom the first player shared this special line with, they both beat me! The line was: 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 e5 Bf5 4 g4 Bg6 5 h4 h6 6 e6! To see the correct reply at moves 4 or 5, please use the chess database to look for games of Bronstein and Petrosian.
When I saw "Complete Defense To King Pawn Openings" and on the very first page of chapter 1, it has the diagram of black reply to white's e4 with c6; I bought the book instantly. It "was" about Caro-Kann and "complete" (???). What else could I ask for more? I was disappointed, it has no mention of 3 ... Bf5. It's not worth the price. The book is just a collection of Caro-Kann games, with some well-thought and some not so well-thought ideas of the author. And your job is to sort them out. 7 USD for the book is reasonable price.
Besides the Cardoza book's content is not high in quality, the format is not so good either. The two column format like Gambit book is much better. The font used in Cardoza book is hard too read, too large. I hope Cardoza will improve the book content and adjust some page format soon.
As a departing gift, my shortest (lost) game in Caro-Kann was 6 moves. I give the first 5 moves, you will find the 6th. ;-)
1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 Nxe4 Nd7 5 Qe2 Ngf6 (?).
I recalled I saw this trap before, and after the game I checked again and there it was in a beginner textbook! ;-)
Solid first.......1999-09-27
I'm a +2000 USCF rated player who fought to keep his head above water with the Dragon. An expereinced chess coach recommended that I try the Caro-Kann. I never respected the opening because I did not understand it. This book is not comprehensive but it is about understanding. BTW by building a solid position first, I've added 50 points to my rating.
Schiller is a great teacher of this semi-open game........1999-05-28
I am just a club hack that has been playing the Caro-Kann for years. I bought the book because of Schiller's excellent coverage of the Lobron system in the classical Caro-Kann (4...Bf5). Previously I had been playing the Petrosian Smyslov System (4...Nd7). I have not found as thourough a coverage any where else particularly on some of whites more obscure gambit variations. Schiller's reccomendation to avoid alot of theory in the advance variation was tempting (3...Na6). But I am a Caro player because I like a defense that can stand the test of time. I am not sure the "Kavelek?" defense will sustain itself with a forwarned and prepared player. Schiller's line against the Panov-Botvinick attack is not the most secure Karpov-NimzoIndian transposing defense. But then I am no Karpov and it is a bit more exciting of a line. But if I wanted excitment I would be a Sicilian player. In conclusion Eric Schiller is an excellent and entertaining author. He is a gifted teacher. I am glad he wrote the book and glad I purchased it.
A great book........1999-01-14
I have never played the Caro-Kann before, but after reading this book I began playing it and winning more than I had been. I was able to understand the ideas in the book and began to build a solid position every time I played the Caro-Kann. I was also able to beat an IM rated 2350 due to the understanding of the Caro-Kann that this book gave me. However, Mr. Schiller doesn't cover much in regard to the Advance Variation, but then again you can't have everything just one book. In my amateur opinion, this is an excellent book if one would like to learn the Caro-Kann.
Book Description
Winner of the Italian Chess Federation's Golden Award! An accessible primer and opening reference book, providing es sential knowledge on all chess openings. It explains the basic plans and ideas for both black and white. It gives beginners the ability to choose the openings that suit their style and taste, and gives club players the opportunity to test and review their opening repertoire. Chess Opening Essentials gives a flavour of how a particular opening works, with pointers in the right direction if you wish to explore further.
Customer Reviews:
Réti or not.......2007-08-15
I like this guy. I initially discovered him from his backgammon books. This is a pretty good book for learning the standard chess openings. I also like his other books in the chess series on middle game tactics and endgame strategy. They're written at the right level for people who know how to play but are essentially beginners as far as serious strategy and tactics go.
Unless you can sort a lot of information in your head, you'll need to read this book with a chess board in front of you, so you can see how things look as these standard opening and defense sequences play out. There are some illustrations provided, but some of these openings unfold over the first ten turnsor so, and then Mr. Robertie throws in variations on the main themes, so it is helpful to be able to see it and follow it on a chess board. That's only a problem if, like me, you do most of your reading while commuting.
One of the other reviewers, with all the tact of your average chess wunderkind, wrote that he couldn't take advice from someone like Mr. Robertie, who would choose such an unflattering picture of himself to put on the back of his books. I think that's a little uncalled for. I personally am not distressed by his appearance. For one thing, I think he might be British, and some of them just look like that. No big deal. In fact, he reminds me a little of the adorable professor character in "Something About Mary" who turns out to be a pizza deliveryman. If anything about Mr. Robertie rubs me the wrong way, it's the way he frequently talks up what we can learn from him, "you'll be amazed" at your improvement, former superior players will now "be throwing up their hands in surrender." That kind of chatter. It gets old. It gives the feel of a late-night ab workout infomercial.
What bothers me the most about this book is something that says more about me than Mr. Robertie. It's the same thing that bothers me when reading up on Doyle Brunson's "Super System" for hold `em, or the backgammon books. It takes the fun out of the games for me to do calculations for every hand or every turn. I have no doubt that knowing the exact number of cards you need to make your hand, or calculating pot odds for every raise and re-raise, or keeping track of exact pip counts in backgammon will improve your game. I'm sure that is the difference between the above average players and the experts. But to me, these improvements come at too high an expense, essentially converting a game into work. I'd much rather have fast action, relying on some combination of instincts and impulses. Particularly in chess, the feeling that one should memorize, know how to play, and know how to defend every opening combination in the repertoire really changes chess from a diversion to a chore. But that's my problem. That's why, in everything I do, I'll always be just good enough to get myself hustled.
Decent Chess Openings Book.......2006-08-26
I had purchased this book before compiling a list based on more reputable sources and while searching for "Winning Chess Openings" by Yasser Sierwan. I don't regret that, however this book would not have been one of the books I had chosen. I found some of the commentary on the openings a little questionable. The book itself is a basic introduction to some of the more commonly used chess openings. What I found really amusing was the inclusion of some that, by the authors own admittance, are relatively obscure and unused today due to easy counters. Why would a book called "Winning Chess Openings" include openings that can be countered so easily? However, as a beginner, the book did provide a good introduction to some basic openings that I will further study up on. For further study, however, I will use "Modern Chess Openings 14th Edition" by Nick de Firmian as recommended by "Complete Idiots Guide to Chess". If your looking for a book that introduces you to basic openings and is fairly easy to read, I would recommend this book. If your a more experienced player looking for more detailed analysis, I would look elsewhere.
OK basic coverage of some major openings for the beginner.......2006-08-08
For a beginner wanting to see what the different openings are about without much detail this book is ok. It has some mistakes and some of the analysis is "suspect". I felt that for a general opening book that covers both ideas and gives enough lines that "Understanding The Chess Openings" does a much better job. A beginner shouldn't be memorizing opening lines anyway, but should be learning the "ideas" behind the moves. So I like the idea of getting a book on chess traps to learn the tactics in the openings that you will find. You have a choice of a number of chess traps books to choose from.
If you are beyond being a beginner then this book would be useless for you.
Worthless.......2006-07-25
Inside the book the author is described as both a master and former US Speed Chess Champion. Two problems: 1) I looked him up on the USCF's own site. He HAS NO rating, meaning he hasn't played enough games to get a rating or hasn't played any. 2) There is no such thing as the US Speed Chess Championship. I'm sure that, if there were, someone other than a bogus master would win it. So that's two lies before the actual book begins.
So, what about the book itself? I don't even think it's any good as a beginner's book. The basics of opening theory can be learned in much better books; indeed, I am at a loss to think of a worse book on the subject. An average tournament player could write a book this good. Who needs a phony-baloney master to tell him this extremely elementary stuff?
A Good Book for the Occasional Player.......2004-08-14
This book will not transform you into the next Bobby Fischer, but it is a great guide for the novice or the occasional chess player. For me, I keep a chess set in my office and play some co-workers on occasion. This simple little book greatly improved my play in a short time.
Robertie begins with "Winning Ideas." With illustations of chess boards and pieces, he lays out the principles of development (getting your pieces out of their starting positions). He also provides some helpful notes on Pawn Structure. Being only an occasional player of chess, I found that these simple principles -- even apart from the later discussion of detailed Openings -- improved my play.
Then the book moves on to chapters about Double King-Pawn openings and the Ruy Lopez, demonstrating such classics as Evans Bambit, The King's Gambit, and the Bishop's Opening. A nice feature is that Robertie uses actual games from the greats to illustrate how particular openings may play out.
But what if you play black? Not to fear. There are three chapters on defenses: Black Half-Open Defenses, The Queen's Gambit, and The Indian Defenses. All very helfpul.
I'm sure the book will help novices seeking to move on the great and glorious chess play, but it seems ideal for the occasional chess player who wants to improve his game and memorize some solid ways to begin the game.
Average customer rating:
- Really Great Effort !
- Review of Essential Chess Openings
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Essential Chess Openings (Batsford Chess Library)
Jon Speelman , and
Raymond Keene
Manufacturer: Henry Holt & Co (P)
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0805024301 |
Customer Reviews:
Really Great Effort !.......2002-12-04
This is an extremely nice opening book. I only wish someone would take on the job of updating it - this one was published in 1992.
The book is still excellent for a number of reasons. I recommend that you buy it if you can find a copy - it is currently out of print.
As the title suggests, the focus is on the critical or main lines of each major opening system. The physical size of the book makes it very convenient to carry along to a tournament.
The depth of the book is less than say, Modern Chess Openings, or Nunn's Chess Openings, but as I said the lines covered are the really critical "must know" variations.
Frankly, with the advent of computer databases, this type of "readers digest" approach to the opening variations makes much more sense. This book could be used to really understand the meat of an opening system. Once the particular system of interest is learned by following the main lines, the reader could later do more intensive research using the computer database.
In this way the two approaches compliment each other and the reader beneftis from the best of both worlds.
I truly believe that this book is quite useful to own, even though it was copyrighted nearly 10 years ago. Many of the main line openings shown are still very playable.
An over-the-board tournament competitor could do quite nicely using this as a study guide. A correspondance chess player would be more likely to need the added depth and up-to-date lines of Nunn's Chess Openings.
Review of Essential Chess Openings.......2000-05-14
The lines chosen by the authors to review in this book were ideal, since they eliminated excessive and unneeded information. The lines were also original, but contemporary and critical in the openings chosen. The book is one that a serious chess player would benefit from owning and using to his or her advantage. The format of this book is very nice and easy to understand. I would highly recommend this book.
Customer Reviews:
Pure Garbage!.......2001-04-16
The back cover proudly states: DESTROY ANY BLACK DEFENSE. I'm sure the gambits recommended in this book would be sufficient to destroy any Black Defense played by a sufficiently weak player, but who needs this book--or any book for that matter--to beat such a player? Even assuming this book is intended for average players looking to steal a few points from their own kind, the question still remains: Are these gambits good enough for even that modest task? For the most part, they are not. Even author Schiller admits that he doesn't have anything that meets his "standards" to recommend against the Scandinavian. He says that if you really must play a gambit after 1.e4 d5 (why else would we buy such a book, if not to learn something about some sort of gambit against a move that is played very often at the sub-Master level?), go ahead and try your luck with the Tennison Gambit, which continues 2. Nf3?! fxe4 3. Ng5. What I find peculiar is that, rather than offer this dubious gambit, why not recommend transposing to the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit with 2. d4? It's not very good either, but at least it isn't the sort of thing your typical Class C player can refute over the board. The author managed to get his books published and widely distributed by Cardoza Publications, better known for their books on gambling. I don't know if all of Schiller books are as terrible as this one, as I am not masochistic enough to read all of them; however, I have taken the time to examine most of his Cardoza books, and none of them are any better than this one. The book's jacket proclaims its author THE WORLD'S LEADING AUTHORITY ON OPENINGS. I would wager that,if he is an authority on anything, it is self-promotion. With all the bad grammar, misspellings and typos in this dreadful book, one gets the impression that his books are written at a blitz pace and not proofread at all. I suppose the author figures that, as long as people are dumb enough to buy such trash, he has no reason to try to write something good. I suggest that, if you intend to purchase any books from this publisher, stick to the ones on gambling. This book is no gamble; if you buy it, you are a sure loser. And--since you ask--no, I didn't buy it. I read most of it while hanging out at the bookstore's coffee shop.
More A Danger To You Than To Your Opponents.......2000-07-13
I think that the "surprise" gambit value of most of these openings will be minimal; not because they're well-known but because they're generally not difficult to handle over-the-board. For example, the recommended White variation against the French Defence: 1 e4 e5 2 d4 d5 3 Be3 dxe4 4 Nd2 Nf6 5 f3 was easily handled by my 1450 opponent: 5... Nd5 6 Qe2 Nxe3 7 Qxe3 exf3 8 Ngxf3 Be7 which turned out to be the same response Watson gives in "Play the French" with the comment "White has no compensation." Often, you don't even get the fun of having the initiative or an attack to compensate you for your sacrificed material! If you buy this book, be aware that you'll often be more hard-pressed proving your gambit's worth than your opponent will be proving it faulty. This will happen often because you're given (with certain notable exceptions, like the anti-Pirc defence) only two or three pages of info. However, for non-aggressive players like myself, there is a training benefit to be gained from openings that force you to play aggressive sharp moves to avoid winding up a pawn (or two) down in an unwinnable endgame and to that extent, this book is worth it. Just don't expect to win because of these openings.
Disapointing............2000-01-10
As an intermediate club player, I love the attack! And I was very excited to find this book when it first came out. The book promises an 'In Depth Guide to Powerful Opening Repetoires'. Unfortunately, it is not in depth, nor reasonably complete, or particularily powerful. At one stage the author is so brazen as to actually give about 4 pages of treatment for a black defense, examining only 1 or 2 possible lines, and then says to the reader that if you want to learn the opening you should go read a book by another author!
I wish to be fair to Mr Schiller, and I realize that no 'repetoire as white/black book' can hope to adequately treat the majority of possible opening lines, but he grossly abuses this liberty beyond my wildest dreams.
The book's back cover makes promises of 'DESTROY ANY BLACK DEFENSE!'. And yet Mr Schiller freely admits that a number of the gambit lines he offers really are inferior! As gambit players we are willing to take chances, but we have to wonder what an author is really offering us when he admits that a # of his own lines are bad.
It seems yet again that Mr Schiller's efforts are more focused on inflated promises designed to gather your dollars then on making any reasonable effort to provide the goods.
The book's promises are misleading, many of the lines are particularily poor, and there is little that is 'in depth'. I could almost tolerate the substandard product if Mr Schiller was not so deceptive in his bold faced promises that he plasters across the front and back cover of this book.
On The Other Hand: Not For The Faint Of Heart.......1999-12-31
Aggressive nonconformists looking for unusual, little played or unpopular openings to ambush or irritate their opponents might find some interesting variations here. The openings that Schiller recommends are not, he admits, generally highly regarded but do lead to interesting play that may not be solvable over-the-board by a non-GM fighting the clock and an unusual line. Not a complete gambit repertoire to every possible Black line, the book gives ten gambits for 1.e4. About 70 pages of the approximately 183 text pages cover the Goring Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 ed 4. c3). The Sicilian Defense is met by the Halasz Gambit (1. e4 c5 2. d4 cd 3.f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 Qb6) and presented in 10 pages. The French Defense meets the Alapin Gambit (1.e4 e6 2. d4 d4 3.Be3 de 4. Nd2 Nf6 5.f3) with 4 pages of variations. Schiller discusses the Ulysses Gambit to the Caro-Kann (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nf3 de 4.Ng5 Nf6 5.Bc4) in about 4 pages. The second longest coverage is the Short Attack to the Pirc Defense at about 23 pages (1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Bc4 Bg7 5.Qe2 Nc6). Schiller also covers the Modern Defense, Czech, Alekhine, Scandinavian, and Owen. Personally, my own non-master view is ambivalent about this book. On the plus side, you'll get some interesting positions and force yourself and your opponent to think. On the negative side, you'll frequently be down a pawn with very nebulous compensation and some of the gambits just don't have that much "shock" value. For example, the Alapin Gambit to the French, seems impressive mostly if you follow Schiller's variation. If you have Watson's Play The French: Second Ed., Watson's footnote to the Alapin gives 5...Nd5! 6.Qe2 Ne3 7.Qe3 ef 8.Ngf3 Be7 "and White has no compensation," and this response isn't hard to see over the board. The only advantage then is that the Black player doesn't play a typical French like he'd hoped (but he doesn't have a pawn.) Look at this book at your bookstore first, then decide.
Another book worth using as a doorstop, but that's about it........1999-09-09
If you are curious about gambits, get "The Complete Book of Gambits", don't bother getting this. First of all, the reportoire isn't even complete. For example, 1.e4 e5 he gives only the Goring Gambit accepted and Declined. What says that Black will play 2...Nc6 (you have players that play the Petroff, the Philador, and even I have played the Latvian Gambit occasionally). Also, he'll take an unsound gambit, and try to make it sound. For some defenses, there just isn't a good gambit, why force the issue. Also, he has no sources to back himself up. No complete games. No Nothing. Next time you go book browsing, bypass this one!!
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Gambit Chess Openings
Encyclopedia of Chess Wisdom, 2nd Edition
Standard Chess Openings, 2nd Edition
Hypermodern Opening Repertoire For White (Cardoza Publishing's Essential Opening Repertoire Series)
Chess Openings for White, Explained: Winning with 1. E4 (Alburt's Opening Guide, Book 1)
