Chess Openings (Crowood Chess Library)

Rating:
Summary: A great beginner book, but not for the novice.
Review: I think most poeple would now agree that Chess for Dummies by James Eade should be everyones first chess book, but this would be a good choice for your second.It might be a little overwhelming for someone who has never read a book on chess, but this book is excellent for getting you to think about basic strategy of openings.He then thouroughly goes over five classic openings;Queen's Gambit, Giuoco Piano, Nimzo Indian, Morra Gambit and the Sicilian Dragon. While Chess for Dummies should be your first book on chess, this would be a good choice for your first book on openings

Rating:
Summary: Good to Start off With
Review: Published in 1989, IM Michael Basman offers over 250 pages of 3 White openings and 2 Black openings which are considered very soild, plus chapters on Principles, Tactics, Gambits, King in the centre, Attacking the castled King and Entering the Middlegame. Even though Basman has been a leading proponent of 'irregular openings' such as Grob's Attack and the St. George, his aim here is quite simply to help the lesser player improve with the ideas expounded upon by using more conventional openings. For White: The Guioco Piano (1.e4 e5, 2.Nf3 Nc6, 3.Bc4) is one of the oldest opening known. The Queen's Gambit (1.d4 d5, 2.c4) is also a solid choice if the player as White prefers a Queen pawn opening. For Black: The Sicilian Dragon (1.e4 c5, 2.Nf3 d6, 3.d4 cxd4, 4.Nxd4 Nf6, 5.Nc3 g6, 6.Be2 Bg7) is the most basic variation. This is a very popular opening defence for Black. For White: The Morra Gambit, more recently called the Smith-Morra Gambit. This is a response by White to the Sicilian defence (1.e4 c5, 2.d4 cxd4, 3.c3) which is a true Gambit, unlike the Queen's Gambit, but offers open lines of play for White that can throw Black for a loop if they're not expecting it. Lastly, for Black, The Nimzo-Indian defence (1.d4 Nf6, 2.c4 e6, 3.Nc3 Bb4) which can be quite dynamic. Of all the 'Indian' defences, this one is my favorite unless i really want to shake things up with the Benoni defence. Overall, if you're a beginner or novice player who has very little knowledge of opening theory, i would suggest a copy of this book. It's flexible and done rather nicely by Mr. Basman.

Rating:
Summary: Great book! Flip-flopped diagrams
Review: This is a wonderful unique book. It is great for the intermediate player looking to find a gifted teacher talk about theopenings. And you know something else that makes it really special? When discussing black openings, the diagrams show black at the bottom! So you don't have to flip your board around to re-set the position. This is such a simple yet effective touch (those of you who study a lot will understand), and it shows the great care that went into this book. I have never seen another chess book do this in its diagrams. Great book, re-kindled my enthusiasm.

Rating:
Summary: Great book! Flip-flopped diagrams
Review: This is a wonderful unique book. It is great for the intermediate player looking to find a gifted teacher talk about theopenings. And you know something else that makes it really special? When discussing black openings, the diagrams show black at the bottom! So you don't have to flip your board around to re-set the position. This is such a simple yet effective touch (those of you who study a lot will understand), and it shows the great care that went into this book. I have never seen another chess book do this in its diagrams. Great book, re-kindled my enthusiasm.