Only Chess
17 Aug 07
17 Aug 07
The post that was quoted here has been removedI agree John Emms is a very good author I have The Scandinavian 2nd edition book, it's pretty good, he also wrote Starting out the Sicilian which is a fantastic overview for a beginner on The Sicilian Defence and my favourite Play The Najdorf Scheveningen Style!! Chris Ward is another author who generally writes good openng books!
17 Aug 07
The post that was quoted here has been removedVery good to hear that you're playing the Scandinavian in OTB. A couple of weeks ago I drew a player rated over 1900 who opened that way against me. I'd love to have more games like that one, so if there are any other players you can convince to use this opening please do. 🙂
I feel ashamed about the draw, actually--I had him against the wall and should have won.
17 Aug 07
The post that was quoted here has been removedI bought Emms' Scandinavian book a few days ago. It covers all major lines, including 2. ... Nf6, though 2. ... Qxd5 and 3. ... Qa5 gets more coverage than anything else. I haven't read it thoroughly yet but my first impression is that it wasn't exactly what I wanted, being too general for my purposes.
17 Aug 07
Originally posted by Fat LadyI bought the Scandinavian Book as an idea to play against weaker opponents OTB, and found it pretty good, I agree with The Fat Lady though I don't know if it would be specific enough for good OTB opponents as a main weapon.
I bought Emms' Scandinavian book a few days ago. It covers all major lines, including 2. ... Nf6, though 2. ... Qxd5 and 3. ... Qa5 gets more coverage than anything else. I haven't read it thoroughly yet but my first impression is that it wasn't exactly what I wanted, being too general for my purposes.
17 Aug 07
Originally posted by Flying DwarfNow don't laugh...
Hope it has got lots of pictures.
The Mammoth Book of Chess is what gave me ideas for which openings I wanted to try, along with doing some research on the net & asking in the forums here.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mammoth-Book-Chess/dp/1841191264/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/026-1089827-1117258?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187378940&sr=8-1
I then bought specific books on the 7 or 8 openings I decided on.
17 Aug 07
Seirawain's opening book is not very good as a general guide to openings, although it does have some nice sections on the Pirc, Kings Indian, and KIA. If I recall he does stuff like mentioning the Najdorf only with 6. Bg5 lines, and then just gives the ...Be7 lines and the beginning of the poisoned pawn. What good is that? anyone who tries playing the poisoned pawn or against it just knowing the opening moves to get there is going to get annihalated.
17 Aug 07
Originally posted by Flying DwarfI suggest Ideas Behind the Chess Openings by Reuben Fine.
I have not studied openings at all (which is pretty obvious if you have ever played me) and I don’t know where to start.
Can anyone recommend some good simple books or anything online?
Although the latest edition of the book is in algebraic notation, if you purchase a used copy, be aware that earlier editions are in descriptive notation.