Italian Chess Federation 2004 Golden Award!

Most chess opening books are either too detailed or too shallow.

Chess Opening Essentials has exactly the right balance and is an accessible primer and a reference book at the same time.

It gives a flavour of how every opening works and explains the similarities with other openings, as well as the differences. In addition, it also points at the various middlegame plans that apply after the opening has ended.

Beginning and improving chess players should get this powerful book before they buy ANY other chess opening book!

*Helps beginners to develop a solid understanding of fundamental opening ideas
*Gives casual players the ability to choose the opening that suits their style and taste
*A tool for club players to test and review their opening repertoire
*A reference book to which advanced players keep returning

The authors do not propagate forcing tactical variations to be memorized mechanically, but explain what you should actually be trying to achieve when playing the opening of your choice. They include the main alternative responses and give clear indications for further study.

* Comprehensive: covers all main variations likely to arise
* Easy-to-use: important moves and key positions are highlighted in colour
* Long-lasting: it doesn’t outdate because it is about basics – not the latest fashions
* Complete: explains the plans and counterplans for both Black and White
* Down-to-earth: simple, verbal introductions (not a database dump full of dead trees)
* Convenient: every opening is illustrated with a number of instructive games

Buy all 4 volumes combined with a nice discount here.

Schakers.Info:
"I don't think something like 'Chess Opening Essentials', in this size, yet exists. For players with a rating up to 1900 this book covers a large part of the road."

GM Paul Motwani, The Scotsman:
"Full of great ideas, clear explanations and instructive games ... I have frequently enjoyed browsing through the beautifully-presented volume."

Dr Erik Rausch, Rochade Europa Magazine:
"When you open this fat paperback for the first time, you will be surprised: colour! Compared with this, books from Everyman, Gambit or Olms look like black-and-white television. ... Not only is the main line explained and the reader made hungry for more, but he gets enough strategic knowledge and insider-tips to get, even if he plays the opening for the first time, into the middlegame safely."  

Nederlands Dagblad:
"It is about the basics of the opening, about ensuing middlegame positions, and about the plans one should pursue. Ideal for the club player who wishes to improve."

Thomas Berens, Chess-International:
"At the beginning of each major variation there is an extensive exposition of ideas, structures and plans ... The games do give a good impression of the style of a particular opening system and will help the student to decide if he feels 'at home' in the positions."

Pekka Pakarinen, Suomen Shakki Magazine (Finland):
"A patzer like me, let alone someone with an Elo under 1700, should not buy a complex monography on the Najdorf before getting this instructive opening book."