For many chess-players, opening study is sheer hard work. It is difficult to know what is important and what is not, and when specific knowledge is vital, or when a more general understanding is sufficient.

Tragically often, once the opening is over, a player won't know what plan to follow, or even understand why his pieces are on the squares on which they sit. John Watson seeks to help chess-players achieve a more holistic and insightful view of the openings.

Volume 1: 1. Open Games, Semi-Open Games

Volume 2: 1.Closed Games, Indian Systems

Volume 3: Flank Openings

Volume 4: Réti and Fianchetto Systems, Reversed Openings, Symmetry, Irregular Openings, Gambits, Universal Openings

International Master John Watson is one of the world's most respected writers on chess. His groundbreaking four-volume work on the English firmly established his reputation in the 1980s, and he has produced a string of top-quality works since.

In 1999, Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy, Watson's first book for Gambit, won the British Chess Federation Book of the Year Award and the United States Chess Federation Fred Cramer Award for Best Book.

His former pupils include the 1997 World Junior Champion, Tal Shaked.