Rating: 
Summary: Solid instruction
Review: A book designed to feed upon the urge to "get through the opening." This is not an opening book; rather it gives an overview of the openings with emphasis on control of the center.The first few chapters deal with modern defenses: 1. e4 e5 and 1. d4 d5. Seirawan goes move by move, exploring natural alternatives for White and Black. The method used is useful for the beginner, and it serves as a useful grounding in "classical" chess openings. The next few chapters deal with openings that involve different move orders. A major drawback of the book is that it does not heavily discuss openings that start with moves other than 1. d4 or e4. 1. Nf3 is discussed (and recommended) but 1. c4 is not to be found. Recommendations as to what to play against 1. d4 and 1. e4 as well as a recommended opening for White (1. Nf3) round out the book. Not Seirawan's best work, but suitable if you do not understand the logic of the opening.
Rating:
Summary: Another Great One in the Series
Review: All 5 books in the series are extremely good. Although this book is not as detailed of an opening book as many others; however, it is probably the best beginner's book on the topic when used as a supplement with the other 4 books. Every beginning chess player should read these book before all others: Playing Winning Chess, Winning Chess Openings, Winning Chess Tactics, and Winning Chess Strategies.
Rating: 
Summary: You don't need to learn a lot of opening theroy
Review: Before i read this book i was speeding 1 to 2 hours a day on an opening repertoire. This was bad because i have only played chess 1 1/2 years and need to hit the old tactics gym. Its hard to get time when you work. Seirawan's opening solution took that problem away from me. As soon as i used it on my computer i won 3 games i a row. There is no need to talk about the rest of the book which explains the other openings that you can learn. The other reviews are probley from mutch stronger players then myself so there. anyway, all his books are great
Rating:
Summary: Good Book on Openings for Beginners.
Review: GM Seirawan entertains and educates on many common openings and the ideas behind the openings in this book. I enjoyed it because as a beginner, I want to know what openings he likes and what his experiences are with the openings. I think more experienced players may find the information basic, but it's perfect for beginners.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Chess Writer, but ...
Review: I believe that Yasser Seiran is one of the best chess writers, at least for players of my level.
Really his books are a sort of fun above educational. I have other titles for the same author with better ratings than the one in hand. This title has many pages that do not realy add to the value of the book. Also, the coverage of the subject is some how shallow. I know that writing for this subject is not an easy task but the book in hand did not provide enough info to the average player.
Rating:
Summary: Hillarious anecdotes and powerful insight into chess.
Review: I found myself laughing outloud at the anecdotes Yasser describes in the first few chapters. He has a great sense of humor but also delivers the goods when it comes to teaching chess. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is new to chess (may be too easy for advanced players). I don't know Yasser, or affiliated with MS Press, I genuinely think this is a great book.
Rating:
Summary: A Beginner learning Chess
Review: I have found that his method of teaching the opening to be the Best, it helps show his students why it takes time to understand what is happening early in the game. Seirawan has done a grandmaster's job with his Winning Chess Series of Books.
Rating:
Summary: Great for Chessmaster players
Review: I'm a chess enthusiast who mostly plays Chessmater 9000. According to the program, after 12 rated games, I'm somewhere around 1000, and that's only because one of the computer opponents, "Argyle", keeps beating my butt. Otherwise I think I'd be around 1200 becasue I have a fairly easy go with all the other opponents rated around the 1000 mark. What I wanted from Sierawan's book was a good synopsis of modern King Pawn (e4) Defenses since that is what Chessmaster usually plays. I usually play white and I always open with e4. Why make it more complex than it has to be, eh? The real fun doesn't start until the middlegame, anyway, so let's just get there. The sooner the better. Sierawan's book delivers just what the doctor ordered. There's a full chapter dedicated to modern King Pawn Defenses and their variations told in simple terms that you don't have to be a grandmaster to understand. So, if you're a Chessmaster player, I'd sugest you download the nifty Chesspad utility (http://www1.tip.nl/~t799997/chesspad.htm), and use it to study these openings. You'll be glad you did. Chessmaster offers a fine reference to opennings itself in it's "library" feature, but I found Sierawan's book to be much more effective in giving me a grasp on what the openings are about.
Rating:
Summary: If you want to learn the openings,
Review: If you want to learn the openings and the principles behind them, this is a great book. But if you ever want to study a certain opening it is not very good, because is it doesn't go in-depth enough into the various openings. A very good book though.
Rating:
Summary: great except for a glaring omission
Review: Seirawan's book has a great deal to recommend it. He not only covers most of the openings and defenses you're likely to see, but gives you the reasons behind all the important moves. This is important because in any number of openings it looks like the logical move would be something completely different than what the book recommends, but in all those circumstances (or all the ones I've encountered) Seirawan shows why and how this "logical" move is in fact not so logical at all. Another great plus is that in looking at Seirawan's commentary on the openings and defenses you'll learn something about positional play rather than just memorize rote openings. Probably the biggest plus this book has for intermediate players is that, by showing us his own blunders, Seirawan keeps one from getting discouraged. Finally, he mentions quite a few books on the openings he discusses, so the book points the reader in the right directions if she's interested in a certain opening.
So now to the glaring omission: As other reviewers have pointed out, he doesn't cover the English Opening (1.c4). What makes this more than a mere gripe, besides the fact the English is a rather common opening, is that at the beginning of the chapter 7 he groups the English with the Barcza Opening, KID, and Pirc Defense as an opening he recommends and implies that he will discuss it in detail. My theory is that at one time the manuscript did cover the English and editorial pressures forced Seirawan to shorten the book, which he did by cutting his long discussion of the English, and as he planned to discuss it at length there is naturally no short section on the opening and no one remembered to include one. It seems an odd coincidence that this book and the other title in the series I happen to own (Winning Chess Strategies) are exactly the same length. If this is the case they should definitely lengthen the book in future editions, and even if not coverage of the English would be nice. It is exactly the sort of quiet opening that deserves to be discussed with the Barcza. At any rate the recommendations I've gotten say to respond to the English with a Hedgehog Defense, which Seirawan does cover. All an all despite this wart it's still a good book to help one get a grip on openings.
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