THE CHESS ADVANTAGE IN BLACK AND WHITE by IM Larry Kaufman is something familiar yet new. Opening repertoire books have appeared before but have generally been of two types. Either they aim merely to get the student out of the opening (Kings Indian Attack, London System, Stonewall Attack, etc.) or demand huge chunks of time to master because of the immense amount of theoretical knowledge required to fight for an opening advantage at the professional level. A good example of this sort of repertoire book is the five volume series by Khalifman on 1.Nf3 which, by the way, is aimed only at White.

IM Kaufman has opted to travel the middle road. His proposed repertoire, 1.e4 as White with the Exchange Ruy and Bb5 versus the Sicilian as mainstays and the Semi-Slav and Berlin Ruy Lopez as Black, won't electrify fans of razor sharp theory, but has sufficient venom to fight for an opening advantage, albeit often a small one. The advantage of this repertoire, as Kaufman points out, is that theoretical study becomes much more manageable when you veer slightly off the highway of trendy theory.

Kaufman not only takes a slightly different approach in his selection of variations but also in his analytical assistants. GM Alex Sherzer contributed to the chapter on the Berlin defense but most of the book is IM Kaufman and some of his silicon friends. Computer analysis can often be useful but definitely benefits from tweaking by a knowledgeable user. Kaufman is certainly that having been at the cutting edge of computer chess for many years.

The repertoire itself is quite reasonable. It seems like the Rossolimo Sicilian (3.Bb5) appears almost as often as 3.d4 these days. Certainly the Semi-Slav (Meran and Moscow variation) is no stranger to top-level chess. I like the idea of advocating the subtle Berlin defense, a line almost never seen outside Grandmaster tournaments. Inevitably when you write a repertoire books you have at least one difficult moment when your systems overlap. Here the question is how to answer the Berlin Defense? Kaufman likes 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5, which he believes leads to a very small advantage for White.

The Chess Advantage in Black and White is a solid book but begs the question exactly who is it aimed for. Players below 2000 will see 500 pages of analysis and throw their hands up. Strong Grandmasters will want more than the small pluses for White (and small disadvantages for Black) that the repertoire leads to. My guess is that this book best serves players in the USCF 2000-2500 range who are ambitious about their chess but also have to acknowledge that they don't have as much time for study as they might like.

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