A Cunning Chess Opening Repertoire for White

A good core for a an opening repertoire. This isn't the be all and end all of opening repertoire books but I don't think the author believes it is. What it does is provides a coherent set of opening variations which cut out a lot of side lines like the Chigorin and Albin's counter gambit while not succumbing to the "system" syndrome. The author is an expert in the Torre but doesn't recommend it for every situation. Too many books will pick something like the Colle, London or Torre and make it a one size fits all solution. Here the author uses it as a very good way to sidestep the Nimz/Bogo/Queen's Indian complex. That happens to be a place where the Torre is a strong opening and fits hand and glove. But the book also goes for the QGD and Slav/Semi-Slav. In other words, it permits play to enter classical lines while short circuiting the more theory laden hypermodern openings.I like this book so much that I'm buying the paper version as well as the Kindle version.One thing I'd have recommended the author do differently is avoid the Slav/Semi-Slav recommendations and go for an Exchange Slav. That's for a few reasons. First, it is easy to find good moves for White in the Exchange Slav. They suggest themselves naturally. Second, Black is usually going to be demoralized by seeing the Exchange Slav. It isn't what a Slav player usually wants to play. Third, it greatly reduces the cognitive load.

Generally chess books on opening repertoires for white tend to fall into (at least) one of the three categories: either they suggest trendy mainstream lines from opening theory that are simply too complex and overwhelming for non professional players, or they advocate general schemes (like the Colle system, stonewall attack, Torre attack, etc...) against anything black can throw at you, or yet they pick up a bunch of offbeat and dubious gambit lines to surprise your (hopefully) unprepared opponent. Fortunately this is not the case here. As stated in the editor`s review above, the cornerstones of the repertoire here are Bf4 against the QGD (not the exchange variation again!), (king`s) fianchetto systems (for white) against (king`s) fianchetto defences (for black) and `Torre structures` (1.d4 2.Nf3 3.Bg5) (relax, not the drawish, harmless and sterile ones you might guess at fist sight) against `Nimzoindian structures` (1....Nf6 2....e6), but other important black tries (such as the Slav, Dutch and Benoni) are also covered in detail as well. Personally I am not a fan of playing an early 4.e3 (after 3.Nf3) against the slav and I was not very convinced that the gambit lines recommended against the semi-slav (with a king`s fianchetto for white) may offer a hope for an opening advantage for the first player¹, but overall the lines suggested tend to lead to rich, interesting play. Judging by what happened in the last Fide world title dispute encounter, when white wasn`t able to get the tiniest opening advantage (in at least nine out of the ten games) and the outcome was only decided by Magnus Carlsen`s ability to outplay Anand in the middle game and (especially) in rook endings, this book seems to be (cunningly) in the right direction.¹ See an alternative suggestion that seems to fit well with the the rest of the repertoire in my commentary to this review.

With the explosion of chess opening knowledge aided by computer analysis and internet chat rooms, there are no opening secrets anymore. There are many players who specialize in what used to be fairly obscure lines as Black, and it is difficult to maintain a decent level of preparation against them all, The challenge is to have a fairly comprehensive repertoire that doesn't have multiple gaps due to move order variations and overlooked lines. Having used many different repertoire books over the years, I think I can say that it is not an easy thing to do. This book is a very good attempt for the intermediate and advanced player who wants a steady but interesting comprehensive repertoire starting with 1.d4. The kindle edition makes it possible to easily reference and learn these lines, which attempt to beat Black at his own game by changing the approach for each defense, but in a manageable way. Enjoying the book so far, and I think the recommended lines will help conquer the opening jungle.

I just wish this book came out a couple of years ago when I was (re)building my repertoire around The Torre and QGD with Nf3. I can therefore appreciate the efforts of the author having come (almost) to the same conclusions myself. An aspiring chess player can use this repertoire to good effect or. like me, pick and choose the most suitable for one's playing style. Personally I don't like the g3 systems against the Indians but that is just my style - it could suit anybody else. But this is the strong point of the book - the rest of the repertoire is not diminished by my choice of not using part of it.

I am not even close to master strength, but I find this repertoire to be well thought out. Since I play the Catalan, I especially like the fact that it can easily include the Catalan. I do wish that the author had published with Everyman. I had hoped that the kindle edition would let me play through games on my computer screen and that I could download the repertoire into chessbase, but unfortunately this is not the case.

Some good ideas here, on how to meet basic lines in the QG declined when playing 1. d4 / 2. Nf3. I'm going to adapt some of these lines to my play. Condition and price of book was fine.

This is the way opening books should be written. It is a training repertoire book which you can use to build a solid white repertoire for your career. It is not a hope they make a mistake and fall for the trap book. Best value if you want to learn to play the opening like a grandmaster.

I don't know why I bought this. Books that have a mass of variations and no complete game illustrations don't work for me. I do better when an understanding of typical middlegames and endings is provided so i can judge whether I like playing the types of games being recomended.Perhaps this rating is unfair, but it seems necessary to offset all the praise.

A very impressive piece of work: Well referenced, well researched, and from my initial trial run on off around 200 blitz games (I'm a 2200 level player) a repertoire that stands up to scrutiny. Only quibble is that I would have liked more explanation about the ideas for each system, but in the space available, I accept that was never going to be possible. Overall: strongly recommended.

Concise, well organised. A good starting point for a white 1.d4 repertoire. I found out that I dislike the Torre Attack, so I'm already replacing some parts of the proposed repertoire.

Burgess schlägt ein Damenbauernrepertoire vor, das den Schwarzen in ungewohnte Stellungen bringen soll. Das Repertoire soll dabei solide und flexibel sein.Er teilt den Stoff in vier Komplexe:A. DamengambitB. Torre gegen Nimzowitsch-/DamenindischC. gegen das schwarze Königsläuferfianchetto antwortet er mit dem weißen Königsläuferfianchetto(1.d4 Sf6 2.Sf3 g6 3.g3)D. Holländisch, andere schwarze erste Züge und ZugumstellungenDamengambit spielt Burgess mit Lf4 und dann ruhige Hauptvarianten, keine weiße 0-0-0, sondern meist Le2, 0-0 und ein wenig Druck.Gegen Slawisch zieht Burgess 1.d4 d5 2.Sf3 Sf6 3.c4 c6 4.e3Leider gibt es hier Probleme mit Zugumstellungen, Burgess weicht dann auf Katalanisch aus, z.B. 1.d4 d5 2.Sf3 e6 3.c4 c6 4.Sc3 dxc4 5.g3Beim Torre-Angriff errichtet Burgess nicht immer das Bauerndreieck c3-d4-e3, sondern zieht oft später c2-c4. Das Bauernopfer 1.d4 Sf6 2.Sf3 e6 3.Lg5 c5 4.e3 Db6 5.Sbd2 Dxb2 (bzw. cxd4 6.exd4 Dxb2) ist ein wichtiger Teil des Repertoires.Gegen Königsindisch stellt er c4 zurück. Es entsteht meist eine Pirc-Stellung mit g3. Probleme hat Burgess mit frühem schwarzem c5, z.B. 1.d4 Sf6 2.Sf3 g6 3.g3 Lg7 4.Lg2 0-0 5.0-0 c5. 6.d5 bzw.c4 passen jetzt nicht ins Repertoire, weil sich dahinter viel Mainstreamtheorie verbirgt. Burgess geht mit 6.dxc5 oder 6. Sc3 an die Sache heran, man erhält dann einen sizilianischen Stellungstyp „Drachen“ mit weißem g3.Gegen Grünfeldindisch spielt er die ganz normale Fianchettovariante 1.d4 Sf6 2.Sf3 g6 3.g3 Lg7 4.Lg2 0-0 5.0-0 d5 6.c4.Gegen Holländisch empfiehlt Burgess 2.g3 und stellt sowohl c4 als auch die Entwicklung des Königsspringers zurück.Bei den Zugumstellungen wird es unübersichtlich. Einige Beispiele:1.d4 e6 2.Sf3 c5 3.Sc3 d5 4.e41.d4 e6 2.Sf3 f5 3.h3.Burgess schreibt verständlich und erläutert Pläne. Auch wenig gespielte Züge werden kurz und gut abgehandelt, z.B. 1.d4 d5 2.Sf3 a6 oder 2.... Lg4.Das Repertoire ist zu vielschichtig und passt nicht zusammen.Es setzt die Beherrschung folgender Stellungstypen voraus:normale Damengambit/SlawischstellungenKatalanisch mit dem positionellen Opfer des Bauern c4Damenbauernspiel mit dem Bauerndreieck c3-d4-e3Damenindisch mit Lg5 und c4Pirc/Sizilianisch Drachen mit g3Grünfeldindisches Fianchetto.Das ist zu viel! Insbesondere das echte katalanische Bauernopfer und die sizilianischen Stellungstypen passen da nicht rein. Man kann auch leicht mit Zugumstellungen wie 1.... e6 oder 1.... c6 an den Rand seines Repertoires gebracht werden und muss dann zu „krummen“ Lösungen greifen.Lobenswert ist, dass Burgess dies erkennt und ausführlich anspricht. Man kann viel über Zugumstellungen lernen, aber die Lösungen überzeugen nicht. Eine Zugfolge wie 1.d4 e6 2.Sf3 f5 3.h3 ist für mich ein Offenbarungseid und erinnert an die schlimmsten „Gewinnen mit...“-Bücher. Burgess übertreibt in seinem Bestreben, dem Schwarzen eine ungewohnte Stellung vorzusetzen. Das Buch ist da am stärksten, wo ruhige positionelle Hauptvarianten behandelt werden: Damengambit mit Lf4 und Grünfeldindisch. Burgess hätte den Mut haben sollen, weitere Hauptvarianten aufzunehmen, z.B. gegen Holländisch, dann hätte er sich viele seiner zweifelhaften Zugvorschläge sparen können.Wie dem auch sei, so wie das Repertoire ist, kann ich es niemandem empfehlen.

Hier wird ein durchdachtes Konzept für den Weiß-Spieler vorgestellt, wobei auch Zugumstellungen nicht außer Acht gelassen werden. Insgesamt werden Hauptvarianten und Modetrends eher vermieden, so dass man einige Spezialisten mit ihren Varianten für Schwarz sicher auf dem falschen Fuß erwischen kann, wenn man den Ratschlägen des Autors folgt.Ich persönlich habe mit diesem Buch gefunden, was ich schon lange gesucht und oft vermisst habe.