Every chess player needs to decide which openings he is going to play. But where do you start? The risk of drowning in the turbulent sea of opening theory is only too real for beginning amateurs. Often your goals and ambitions will be misguided. Trying to win in 20 moves, copying what's in fashion among top-GM's or memorizing variations are a waste of time. Most likely you will never play your ‘preparation' or end up by jumping from one opening to the other. Experienced French chess trainer Vincent Moret provides a complete, ready-to-go chess opening repertoire for White with a sound set of lines that do not outdate rapidly, do not require memorization and are easy to digest for beginning players and other amateurs. In this complete and user-friendly guide, Moret has selected relatively aggressive variations that will enhance your tactical vision. To show the typical plans and demonstrate underlying ideas and key motifs, Moret not only selected games of Grandmasters. For instructional purposes, he also uses games of young players to highlight the errors they tend to make.

Why is this repertoire called simple? For the simple reason that the variations are straightforward, easy to remember and require little or no maintenance. International Master Christof Sielecki has created a reliable set of lines for chess players of almost all levels. The major objective is to dominate Black in the opening, by simple means. You don’t need to sacrifice anything or memorize long tactical lines. Unless Black plays something stupid, when tactics are the simplest punishment. Sielecki developed this repertoire working with students who were looking for something that was easy to understand and to learn. Most of the lines he selected are occasionally played by grandmasters, but on the whole they lie outside the mainstream of opening theory. That means that there is hardly any need to monitor theoretical developments. Sielecki always clearly explains the plans and counterplans and keeps you focussed on what the position requires. Ambitious players rated 1500 or higher will get great value out of studying this extremely accessible book.

Learning how to start a game of chess is one of the most daunting tasks facing intermediate adult and young chess players. Award-winning chess teacher and championship scholastic coach Pete Tamburro offers practical guidance for avoiding common pitfalls at the chessboard, as well as effective strategies for meeting troublesome openings and a choice of openings reflecting his focus on ideas over memorization.

All the average club player needs is a small and manageable chess opening repertoire. They don’t have time and energy to study hundreds of pages of chess opening theory. And why would they? Amateur games are rarely decided in the opening. Understanding structures and finding tactics are much more important. Renowned German chess trainers Erik Zude and Jörg Hickl have created an ideal club player’s repertoire for Black. This compact manual presents a set of lines that is conveniently limited in scope, yet varied, solid and complete. The core repertoire is based on lines that the authors have successfully played at (grand)master level for decades: the Antoshin variation of the Philidor Defence against 1.e4 and the Old-Indian Defence against 1.d4. There is only a limited number of plans, ideas and structures that you need to learn, and very few forcing variations. After an initial phase in which Black may at first sight look slightly passive, you will develop your position with a sequence of strong standard moves and start your highly effective counterplay. Zude and Hickl provide common sense guidance, explain all typical characteristics and give practical examples. If you have an Elo rating between 1400 and 2200, you don’t need to look further because you can Play 1..d6 Against Everything!

What’s Old Is New – and Surprisingly Strong! The world’s oldest opening variation, 3...Qd8 in the Scandinavian Defense, has resurfaced in the last decade to give players at all levels a winning edge. Whether you prefer a sharp tactical game or slower positional maneuvering, the 3...Qd8 Scandinavian provides a genuine alternative for club players and grandmasters seeking to play for a win from the outset. Elite players such as Michael Adams, Josif Dorfman, Kiril Georgiev and Julian Hodgson, among others, have successfully raised the banner of the 3...Qd8 Scandinavian. As the author demonstrates, this variation’s doubtful reputation is undeserved. It is completely playable – and easy to learn! 3...Qd8 is not the ugly duckling sibling of 3...Qa5 and 3...Qd6 – it is a superb alternative. “Dan's a strong player, but he’s an even stronger teacher. The book sparkles with practical insight, lucidly explained.” International Grandmaster Zviad Izoria

After the success of his award-winning book ‘Keep it Simple 1.e4’ International Master Christof Sielecki is back. His new repertoire based on 1.d4 has a similar profile: variations that are straightforward and easy to remember, and require little or no maintenance. Sielecki has created a reliable set of opening lines for chess players of almost all levels. The major objective is to dominate Black from the opening, by simple means. You don’t need to sacrifice anything or memorize long tactical lines. His main concept is for White to play 1.d4, 2.Nf3, 3.g3, 4.Bg2, 5.0-0 and in most cases 6.c4. Sielecki developed this repertoire while working with students who were looking for something that was easy to understand and easy to learn. This new 1.d4 repertoire may be even easier to master than his 1.e4 recommendations, because it is such a coherent system. Sielecki always clearly explains the plans and counterplans and keeps you focussed on what the position requires. Ambitious players rated 1500 or higher will get great value out of studying this extremely accessible book.

This book analyses a new dynamic opening system for White.

"Speaking for myself and for players of my strength, Chess Openings: Theory and Practice is the greatest aid I have ever seen for preparing for a tournament. Speaking for all other players, the book is a "must." Current thinking on all important lines is meticulously presented, offering myriad, clear-cut ideas a completely new and effective arsenal of weapons. "-Samuel Reshevsky, United States Open Champion." Chess Openings Theory and Practice is a remarkable book, unequaled by any book of that era or since. It is not a mere openings book with long columns of moves followed at the end by punctuation marks such as + -- or =. It presents opening ideas and games, often including the first game where each opening was played, plus the history of the opening, the names of famous players who played this opening and the ideas and plans on which the opening is based. It provides "idea variations." These are variations that may not actually occur in actual practice, but are what you would play if given the chance. No other book does that, at least not in English and not to this extent.