THE PHILIDOR FILES
Author: Christian Bauer
304 pages
$22.95
Everyman chess (2006, www.everymanchess.com)

BEATING THE KING'S INDIAN AND GRUNFELD
Author: Tim Taylor
222 pages
$21.95
Everyman chess (2006, www.everymanchess.com)

PLAY THE RUY LOPEZ
Author: Andrew Greet
376 pages
$22.95
Everyman chess (2006, www.everymanchess.com)

BEATING UNUSUAL CHESS OPENINGS
Author: Richard Palliser
223 pages
$22.95
Everyman chess (2006, www.everymanchess.com)

Reviewed by John Donaldson

Everyman Chess released four new paperbacks at the end of 2006 whose coverage ranges from Double King Pawn to Flank openings and all are good. Pride of place goes to Frenchmen Christian Bauer whose work, THE PHILIDOR FILES, is likely to be regarded as a modern classic. It's not often that a FIDE GM over 2600 writes an opening book and even more seldom where he tells you like it really is with a detailed examination of present day theory and lots of original analysis. The book covers all lines in the Larsen and Antoshin (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 g6 and 4...Nf6 5.Nc3 Be7), both of which are considered to be in the dog house by theory but Bauer offers plenty of suggestions on how to bring their bark back.
 
The bulk of the book is devoted to 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nbd7. If this seems like going through the back door to get to the Philidor you need only read the first chapter of THE PHILIDOR FILES to discover why. Black is doing fine (albeit with some key improvements by Bauer) in the main lines after 4.Nf3 e5 5.Bc4 Be7 but the old move-order 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nf6 has been permanently thrown on the rubbish heap because of the sequence 4.dxe5 Nxe4 5.Qd5 when Black has no route to equality. Those that don't like sharper lines like 3...Nbd7 4.f4 are also offered detailed coverage of 3...e5. Bauer think that the ending is fine for Black as long as he doesn't need to generate winning chances and that White should objectively play 4.Nf3 if he wants to fight for an advantage.
 
GM Bauer's book on 1...b6 was excellent but THE PHILIDOR FILES is even better.

Highly recommended.
 
The trend towards more and more specialization in opening books continues. Witness Los Angeles IM Tim Taylor's latest offering: BEATING THE KING'S INDIAN AND GRUNFELD. Not too long ago one could find complete opening repertoire based on 1.e4 or 1.d4 in a single volume. Now things have become more specialized and only a couple defenses are put under the microscope. In BEATING THE FIANCHETTO DEFENCES (Gambit 2006) by GM Grivas, the answers to the KID and Grunfeld were 5.Nf3/6.h3 and 4.Nf3/5.Bg5 respectively. Taylor has different ideas and offers the reader two choices against each defense. To fight the King's Indian he advocates the Four Pawns Attack but with a twist. After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0-0 6.f4 c5 he advocates the favorite of the late Wisconsin IM William Martz 7.Nf3 which often leads to Maroczy Bind type structures. As an alternative he offers 7.d5 e6 8.0-0 exd5 and now instead of the mainline 9.cxd5 he likes the less fashionable 9.exd5.
 
The desire to stay away from fashionable lines also guides Taylor's thinking behind his two anti-Grunfeld recommendations: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.e3 Bg7 5.Qb3  (the Knezevic Variation) and 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e3 0-0 7.Bc4 (the Keres Variation). Taylor uses 53 well-annotated games to make his case.
 
Recommended
 
English IM Andrew Greet's first book, PLAY THE RUY LOPEZ, is a whopper coming in at 376 pages but costing a most reasonable $23.95. This opening repertoire for the Ruy uses the Worrall Attack (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.Qe2) as its cornerstone, sidestepping the Open Variation, Marshall Attack and hugely analyzed main lines. The early Queen move again comes in handy in sidestepping the Berlin (4.Qe2). The emphasis on solid, practical lines extends to the Schliemann (3...f5) where 4.d3 gets the nod. If you're looking for a rock-ribbed repertoire that is learnable and whose aims are reasonable (not trying to refute the Marshall for example) then you will find PLAY THE RUY LOPEZ quite useful.
 
Recommended
 
Last but not least on the list of Everyman's latest offerings is IM Richard Palliser's BEATING UNUSUAL CHESS OPENINGS. Titles of books can mean different things, and in this case unusual can be defined as all first moves except 1.e4 and 1.d4. Everything else from the English to the Grob (1.g4) is to be found in this volume. A particular concern of Palliser's is that a player's opening choices mesh, particularly against 1.c4 and 1.Nf3 (angling for 2.c4). Clearly, if one met 1.Nf3 with 1...c5 but didn't play the Sicilian that would be unfortunate (since White could reply 2.e4). Likewise, if one defended the English with 1...e5 but replied to 1.Nf3 with 1...Nf6 and after 2.c4 looked around blankly, that would also not be good. Palliser suggest several repertoires based on ...c5, or ...Nf6/g6 or ...Nf6/e6. Some of his suggestions are novel and certain to attract attention like 1.f4 d6 2.Nf3 Bg4 which I couldn't find anywhere in IM Tim Taylor's excellent book on the Bird.
 
Recommended

Click if you would like to buy (or get more information about) THE PHILIDOR FILES

Click if you would like to buy (or get more information about) BEATING THE KING'S INDIAN AND GRUNFELD

Click if you would like to buy (or get more information about) PLAY THE RUY LOPEZ

Click if you would like to buy (or get more information about) BEATING UNUSUAL CHESS OPENINGS

Click if you would like to buy (or get more information about) PLAY 1...b6 -- By Christian Bauer, 192 pages, $22.95

Click if you would like to buy (or get more information about) BIRD'S OPENING -- By Timothy Taylor, $22.95  

Click if you would like to buy (or get more information about) BEATING THE FIANCHETTO DEFENCES -- By Grivas, $25.95