A Startling Chess Opening Repertoire

Rating:
Summary: A word of warning...
Review: I have been worshipping at the Chess altar of Chris Baker for some time (close to six months) and I have to admit that he has written a book designed, indeed, to be startling but here's the kicker: to both you and your opponent! There are many lines given (all supposedly pro-White, by the way, and based on Black's replies to 1.e4) that haven't been analysed in-depth or played much at major tournaments and the reason for this is quite simple, really: these lines are quite horrid in the hands of lower-level players and will quickly get you into trouble if you don't understand what's happening 'behind the barn' as it were.

Baker, an International Master, has made little effort to explain why moves are made or the general trend/idea of the game, leaving things up to the reader to do so. I would not recommend this book to players with USCF ratings of 1500 or below and even then, not without a lot of personal and computer-aided analysis of the lines. However, in the right hands, it's great to trot out these lines as White from time-to-time, if only to get Black thinking for long enough for White to get a cup of coffee!

Rating:
Summary: My Best Chess Book
Review: I have bought many chess books (about 100) especially on openings, and I have found this book is my best one - well analyzed, easy to understand, concised, etc.

Rating:
Summary: Useful, Well-Designed, And Above-Average
Review: The author's repertoire is designed for the white player who desires to play 1.e4 and wants "startling" opening responses to all black replies. "Startling" basically defined by the author as unusual but sound, non-main line responses. The book has 13 chapters covering the Max Lange attack, Petroff Defense (where he recommends the Cochrane gambit 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 Nxe5 d6 4 Nxf7), Philidor Defense, Latvian Gambit, French, Sicilian (30% of the book, where he advocates 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5), Caro-Kann, Modern, Pirc, Alekhine, Scandinavian, Nimzovitsch Defense, and an "odds-and-ends" chapter covering relatively uncommon moves. The author does not just give theoretically sound book moves but also club player moves that all of those white players not facing Kasparov are likely to see. Non-masters appear to be the target market for this book (USCF 1400-2100) since this book cannot cover every opening in depth. I think players who want a sound repertoire from which to develop from would do very well with this book. I'm 2001 USCF and I enjoyed, use, and will build upon this foundation.

Rating:
Summary: A Mixed Review
Review: There's a lot of good AND bad stuff in this book. The Latvian Gambit is thoroughly demolished, but the dubious Cochrane Gambit is recommended against the Petroff. Some of the analysis is pretty terrible and some of it is pretty good. I recommend that the reader have a strong program running on a fast computer to help separate the good stuff from the junk. Although I can't quite recommend the book, I can't call it a complete waste of money.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Repetoire Book for the Agressive Club Player
Review: This book has a few weak spots, but is still a fine opening repetoire as white for an attacking player. Mr Baker makes many fine suggestions for generating attacking play and dynamic positions that are in most cases reasonably sound, and that often take your opponent "out of book" and throw them onto their own resources. This is especially helpful when playing a complex opening like the sicilian defense against a "booked up" opponent (someone who has memorized reams of opening theory). The book shows the majority of reasonable responses from your opponent, as well as responses likely to be seen by non masters / grandmasters (that would be the rest of us).

Where the book falls a little short is in it's ability to give a player the "bigger picture". To play an opening well you need to understand the ideas behind it, and not just memorize lines of play. Mr. Baker provides little to none of this, nor does he consistently elaborate on a position once it has been reached. He may say "and white stands better" but it is up to the reader to discern the how and why they stand better... which is necessary to derive an advantage from the position. With this in mind, having a reasonable knowledge of positional play and tactics will allow the reader to get more enjoyment from this book.

As a last thought, while I am not thrilled with every line the author presents, and explanations and ideas could be fleshed out a little more, I still recomend this book as a good read for the 1400-2100 crowd. A book must be judged on it's own terms. Mr. Baker has provided a reasonably complete repetoire for white that often generates attacking chances and gets black out of his prepared opening variations quickly. To have produced this book with all that, along with comprehensive positional analysis of all possible lines, and comprehensive strategic goal analysis of all the various opening systems at black's disposal would create a book that was both unweildy in size and price. There are a ton of books available that read like encyclopedias, or that talk forever about the goals of an opening without actually providing reasonable coverage of potential lines of play. So when all is said and done, even good books rarely have the chance to be all things to all readers. But if you have some positional knowledge, and want to have some fun dynamic chances as white then this is a fine book for your repetoire.

Rating:
Summary: Startling Indeed
Review: This is not a very good repertoire book. For example, the Cochrane Gambit against the Petroff is a joke. The lines recommended after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 are mostly favorable to Black (the book is a repertoire book for White). The analysis is full of holes. The author could have tested some of his material against computer programs; obviously he did not. The player who tries out some of these dubious lines against strong opposition will be startled at how fast he winds up in hot water.

Rating:
Summary: Generally good and usually startling opening repertoire book
Review: To play 1.e4 requires either a lot of knowledge about a lot of different opening systems, or a good, brief set of tools to prepare you to deal with most of the stuff that you may only run across occasionally. Or if you just want to "startle" your opponent (Cochrane Gambit, Koltanowski Var. vs. Italian Game), this book should pretty much set you on your way. The quality of some analysis is a little weak, leaving you in a fog after the line's summary, and some opening systems will never be tried by anyone but the brave, but on the whole, it's a good general work.

Rating:
Summary: Somewhat Vague For The Novice Player
Review: While attempting to aim this book at the novice player, Baker ends up leaving a lot of loose ends that only tournament players and up would understand. Granted, the 1.e4 player can face numerous responses which need to be addressed. The majority of those responses are represented here, but often times after a few moves the analysis ends with "and White is better". Do tell? You'd have to be at least a strong intermediate to even know why that would be so. My advice for those seeking help with 1.e4 (or with any opening move) would be to purchase Modern Chess Openings (MCO 13 or 14), go over the openings that interest you, and write down the moves in your games against your opponents. That way you will know the types of responses you will face in general to your opening move. Then you can find a more specialized book to combat your opponents defenses and still have MCO to study. I would also suggest Aaron Summerscale's *A Killer Chess Opening Repertoire*. It uses 1.d4 systems and is much easier to digest and actually lives up to it's name. This book ***Startlingly*** does not.