CREATIVE CHESS OPENING PREPARATION
Author: Viacheslav Eingorn
$25.95
160 pages
Gambit (2006, www.gambitbooks.com)

Reviewed by John Donaldson

CREATIVE CHESS OPENING PREPARATION is that rare opening book that isn't on a specific variation. Eingorn, who today is lost in the crowd of strong players coming out of the Ukraine, was among the world's elite in the 1980s and had the distinction of playing a series of Soviet Championships during that decade in which he always made at least 50 percent. His greatest result was probably finishing fifth in the ultra strong 1988 Soviet Championship won by Kasparov and Karpov. Throughout his career Eingorn was known as a player who went his own way in the openings and some of his original ideas like 5.Qc2 in the Queen's Gambit Declined (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.Qc2) and 7.Bd3 in the Queen's Gambit Accepted, developed a small but devoted following. In CREATIVE CHESS OPENING PREPARATION the Ukrainian GM explains the methods by which he prepares his openings and works out new systems from scratch, and how readers can do the same.

The broad topics Eingorn discusses include Experiments in the Opening, Disturbing the Equilibrium, Strategic Planning, and Opening Formations. He follows this up with a section of examples from modern practice, and theoretical articles on several of the opening lines that he has pioneered, taking us through the creative process, and the highs and lows of the practical testing and refinement of the ideas.

Eingorn has his own way of looking at things and he takes nothing for granted. Remember the famous Alekhine-Nimzovich game from Bled 1931? The World Champion won a nineteen-move slaughter so I had always assumed that Black was on the road to disaster right from the opening, but Eingorn shows it was only later that the final slip occurred. Ditto for Najdorf-Geller from the 1953 Candidates tournament in Zurich. Here Eingorn once again plays the contrarian by criticizing the play of his fellow Odessan, whose 14...Ne5 is praised by Bronstein but found wanting by GM Eingorn -- he points out the resolute plan of 15.Rb1 preparing b3 and f4 as needed, would have made Black's life difficult.

Eingorn does a good job of explaining the motivations behind modern systems like 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd4 Nxd5 5.Na4 or his favorite 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 h6 -- comparing the latter with 3...Be7. He does an especially good job with the shape shifting line 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 a6 which is met by the equally prophylactic 5.h3 (no ...Bg4) when 5...e6 6.e3 c5 produces a Tarrasch variation where White has the small gift of h3 but a challenge in trying to make this into something meaningful. It's interesting to see how Eingorn plays around with the position trying to find the best way to realize some small advantage out of the opening.

Students of the classics will appreciate the examination of the White pawn structure d4, f2, f4 which can arise from various variations in the Queen's Gambit Declined. He traces its lineage from Alekhine-Rubinstein, Karlsbad 1923 to Rubinstein-Canal, Rogaska Slatina 1929 and then to Gelfand-Graf, Plovdiv 1983 where the Israeli GM and Rubinstein admirer, shows his mastery of the ideas of the great players of the past.

One of Eingorn's pet systems, 1.d4 e6 2.c4 Bb4+ 3.Bd2 a5, receives ten pages as the former Interzonalist uses eight of his own games spanning almost two decades to explain how he developed the line.

CREATIVE CHESS OPENING PREPARATION will best be enjoyed by players from 2000 on up who want to increase their understanding of opening strategy and their ability to think outside the box. One of the many things I learned was the line in the game Eingorn-Vaganian, Sochi 1986 (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Qc2 0-0 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.g3 Nxc3 8.bxc3 c5 9.Bg2 Nc6 10.dxc5 Bxc5 11.0-0) could arise from the English/Tarrasch line 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 e6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.d4 0-0 9.dxc5 Nxc3 10.bxc3 Bxc5 11.Qc2! Of course Black might be better off by avoiding the exchange on c3 and playing 9...Bxc5, but it is still an interesting idea.

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