<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Very useful book for all levels
Review: ...The name of this book is deceptive, this is really for d4 only as white... Maybe if you play 1 Nf3 you can transpose into some of these lines. They do least a few games that start out like that and its one reason I got the book. Mostly I bought the book just for 3 of the chapters... For the Barry attack in chapter 1, 150 attack in chapter 2 and The Anti-Dutch in chapter 7... Ill give a basic review of the entire book though... The introduction explains the basic goals of the book and is worth reading... Basically is for people 2000 and below in STR... Chapter 1 deals with what is called the Barry Attack... The chapter runs from page 7 to page 35 so its decent sized... He gives a basic intro as to why to use the Barry attack and some other things about it... Then gives games and the coverage seems pretty complete to be honest... He does not just data dump so if you actually spend the time and read... You should have a pretty good understanding of the Barry Attack... He gives the basic move order as 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4 Bg7 5. e3 0-0 6. Be2... So you can try that out and see what you think for yourself... Many times the h pawn is sent down the board and is not that easy to stop... The name Barry attack sorta means it looks naive but can have some bite... This is also one of the few books I know that has any coverage of it at all... Chapter 2 deals with what is known as the 150 Attack... This is good to use vs. Pirc and Modern defense setups... It got its name cuz people in England about 150 rating were using it... That would be about 1800 under most rating systems if you were to convert it... It starts on page 36 and ends on page 51... He gives an introduction about it and some games and for the size of book coverage seems good... He does not data dumb and talks so you should be able to least understand it... This is another opening Ive not seen talked about really in any other book... So I was happy that this and Barry attack were in same book :)... Unlike the Barry Attack chapter he does not have any games that start with 1 Nf3 in this chapter... Chapter 3 he gets into the Colle-Zuckertort System... Im really not a huge fan of this system... Still I do not really think its totally bad or anything... Just the style I play it does not seem like it will work well with me... He gives it as an alternative to Queen's Gambit games... I prefer the Levitsky attack in these cases personally... Still he starts on page 52 and ends on page 69... I feel this system can be a bit on the drawing side and hard to get a real advantage... The basic setup he gives is 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. Bd3 c5 5. b3... He also has least 1 example using 1 Nf3 and going into it... So this can be good to know if you play 1 Nf3 at times... Figure more options of openings you have to transpose into the better... Chapter 4 deals with Beating the Anti-Colle systems... The basic setup is 1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 in this chapter... Black responds with moves mostly like ...Bg4, ...Bf5, ...c5, ...Nc6 and also has some 3rd moves by black... The coverage seems pretty decent and at worse you should have basic idea what your doing. It runs from page 70 and ends on page 89 so its got a fair amount of coverage for size of book... Chapter 5 is the Classic Queen's Indian, this chapter tells what can be bad about using Colle-Zuckertort setup all time... Seems mostly for those having trouble with Queen Indian experts... Starts on page 90 and ends on page 102 so maybe not the most coverage on it... Still if you play Colle-Zuckertort probably will need to check this chapter out as well... Chapter 6 is the Anti-Benoni which Im not sure how good a chapter it really is... He takes a shot at the Hawk and does not seem to worry much about Benoni... Still says it can get dangerous for either side in those openings... He does not cover any d4 c5 games of the Benoni... That is really what bothers me about this chapter... It starts on page 103 and ends on page 127... So with all those pages could of least touched on that a little bit... Since as white those are the Benoni style games I have the most trouble with... Chapter 7 deals with what he calls the Anti-Dutch... This guy must of really had a positive childhood using all this Anti stuff in names ;)... I use this sometimes so I was kinda glad that it was in this book to say least... Since really not sure any other books that cover it... Basically the moves are 1 d4 f5 2 Bg5 and the games can get tricky... This can be annoying to black also if they want a certain setup... The chapter starts on page 128 and ends on page 137... I just wish they gave more pages to this chapter and less to one of the others... White wins all 4 games they use as examples... So I guess this must really crush the Dutch :)... Chapter 8 is a great number but sorta weak Odds and Ends... This chapter is kinda cheesy and has only 1 d4 h6 as the only real game it talks about... He gives some other small examples of other second moves... The coverage he gives to them really is not worth a mention... Just to give an idea he thinks that 1 d4 c5 will end up 2. d5 f5 the Clarendon Court variation which he brags about being 100% with... Also is kind enough to mention beating Hebden with it :)... The chapter starts on page 138 and ends on page 141... So not really sure I consider that much if at all a chapter ;)... The Index in the back is actually done rather well for the 3 pages it gets :)... If you play 1 d4 or 1 Nf3 I would think about getting this book... I would say its a solid 4 star book and would of been 5 if not for a few things... The final chapter is kinda weak and maybe some of the systems he talks about are not the best... I would of rather Levitsky attack over Colle-Zuckertort... Still to each their own on that part... Really he left some gaps that I run into and that annoyed me... Many games I play I do 1 d4 and they reply ...c5 or ...e5 and wish he covered that... I really got this book for 3 chapters so I can't complain... I know someone that used this book to get over 1700 on ICC... He swears by the Colle-Zuckertort and other systems in book... This is not for those who like to play early c4 as white... Or who are against blocking their c pawn before pushing it... This is good for those that play 1 d4 and hate pushing c pawn and don't mind blocking it... Also for those that play 1 Nf3 and want more systems to transpose into... Not to mention the Anti-Dutch is worth a try... I have won a few games with it and it can really annoy black... I would say of the newer books this one is better written than most I see... Also he does not just data dump he talks about stuff and gives general ideas...
Rating:
Summary: A great White opening repertoire book for club players.
Review: As a low to mid level club player I think Summerscale's book is terrific. I've played Queen pawn openings (Colle System, Torre Attack, London System) for a while, but Summerscale does some really special things with Queen pawn openings in this book. First, instead of offering a single "all purpose" pawn structure (like the standard d4, e3, c3 triangle) he presents various patterns of pawn and piece placement. The various patterns of development all have a similar "flavor", but each is tailored to attack against a specific defensive pattern that Black might play. These patterns combine to form a complete opening reperoire to use with the White pieces. Second, Summerscale presents some interesting and flexible attacking variations. I especially like his choice of the Colle-Zukertort against 1...d5 and his choice of the Barry attack against King's Indian formations. Third, this book presents complete games that show how these systems can win games for White in modern grandmaster chess, and also historical games that show how ideas have evolved. Fourth, this book is well layed out, with good introductions to each section and a clear index of variations at the end. I really like this book!
Rating:
Summary: Very Useful
Review: I a was kind of a "trying-hard" chess player studying e4 to include in my repetoire as white, influenced largely by the books I read suggesting that e4 is best. But I found out myself that e4 is just not for me. For one, I have to study and memorize bulks of theory, else my opponent will always be the better prepared. I am not a full-time chess player so I cannot accomplish that. I was almost tempted to study the most off-beat openings if I had not read 'Secrets of Practical Chess' where Nunn advises against such openings because the reason why GM's do not use those openings is they are defective. Why not d4? So I decided to consider d4. I came to know GM Summerscale when I bought his video about the Colle-Zukertort system. The system is so easy to understand that I started to use it in no time after I watched some parts of the video. I won some, lose some. In most of my lost games, black uses a setup where the Colle-Zukertort is not effective such as the Kings Indian, Queen's Indian and pirc. I did not know this. I thought that the Colle-Zukertort can be applied against any black setup. The Killer Opening Repertoire now equips me against any possible black setup. It does not have bulks of variations because you don't have to know detailed variations. Once you know the patterns, you'll know what to move against any black reply (!) I like the chapter about the Anti-Colle systems. The Colle-Zukertort is now very popular that many black players attempt to sidestep the main lines (just like white sidesteping the main line sicilian making alapin so popular). I encountered a lot of games in ICC along these lines. But other chapters are similarly important and clearly written. I think the most amazing is the Barry Attack (against the King's Indian Setup). My winning percentage against the King's Indian using this setup significantly increased. The book can be read in any order you want. For me, I directly go to the part where the lines are similar to the last few game/s I played so that I can review where my opponent and I deviated from the book lines. I am thinking of encoding this into ChessBase format to make it more convenient to review. I wish there is a similar book for black. A similar approach was by Purdy (24 hour opening repetoire for black) but this is a bad buy because for one it is very outdated. Also, much of the given lines are not taken from grand master games which is GM Nunn's strict requirement for an opening repertoire book. If you are struggling with e4 like me, it is most likely that this book of Summerscale is the right one for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for the beginner
Review: This is an above average chess book, but it would be a great book with an extra 20-30 pages of more detailed analysis of key lines, especially on the anti-colle section as early bishop pins from black can be very annoying (I had to use Chessmaster 2500 to figure such lines out). Overall, this book does what it promises.
Rating:
Summary: Not for the beginner
Review: This is certainly a book for a player rated over 1200. The book tends to be a bit biased using a somewhat fixed system. The problem with following the system in the book is that it doesn't teach lower rated players to use some of the openings that cover important tactical ideas. Therefore, after reading this book I decided that this system isn't for me!
However, this doesn't mean that if you are fairly advanced that this system isn't for you! The book could use some more variations. Overall it is an ok book.
Rating:
Summary: Just Right!
Review: This repertoire, based on 1 d4 utilizes the Colle-Zukertort, 150 Attack and the Barry Attack and covers every Black response. The book has just the right amount of information, enough but not an overwhelming amount of variations. Best of all, the lines chosen eliminate so many Black mainstays such as the King's Indian, Grunfeld, Queens Gambit, etc. etc. It's one of those few repertoire books which is manageable in a short time. z Z
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book!!
Review: Tired of the same old Queen's Gambit declined? Facing the King's Indian defence with the same old tired ideas White is supposed to employ? Need something unfamiliar to Pirc defence, Benoni defence and Dutch defence players? Here's your answer!! An all purpose book for the Queen's pawn player, ideas and games are given to show you that 2.c4 can be avoided while still maintaining nice attacking chances. Even though 2.e4 is still given when facing the Pirc, the move order shortly after will leave Pirc players on their own since they can have quite a few 'normal' variations memorized to some extent. I have had particular success with the Berry Attack facing King's Indian defence players. It's great because instead of White castling Kingside and often coming under fire with Black's Kingside pawn advances, White holds off, perhaps castling Queenside instead, and ramming the King's Rook pawn (H Pawn) down Black's throat, eventually opening the Black Kingisde up, which is exactly the opposite of what Black is expecting. I love this book and will continue to employ the ideas put forth when the mood strikes me.
<< 1 >>
| 
