Many years ago the Informant people put out a series of opening manuals known as the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings. Each book covered some set of opening systems. For example, Volume A covered flank openings like the Reti and English, plus it also gave detailed coverage of the Dutch and Benoni.

Our present review centers around Volume B, which covers replies to 1.e4 like the Center Counter, Caro-Kann, Alekhine's Defense, Pirc, and, most importantly, the Sicilian. In the past, these books were very useful, so I was excited at the prospect of getting this latest edition (the third). Indeed, I dreamed of Sicilian mysteries being revealed to me for the first time, and Caro-Kann subtleties being offered up on every page.

I had every right to expect the best. In the second edition every section was written by a well-known grandmaster (or, in very rare cases, an international master). Big names like Botvinnik, Geller, Hort, Kasparov, Korchnoi, Larsen, Nunn, Polugaevsky, Sveshnikov, Taimanov and Uhlmann (and many others) were hired to put the material together and to offer up original suggestions (of course, it was made perfectly clear who wrote each individual section). I couldn't wait to see who they hired to write this third edition.

Sadly, I was doomed to bitter disappointment. First, the publishers don't bother telling the reader who wrote what. Second, the editorial board and the assistants feature names somewhat below the quality I had come to expect: instead of world-class players, I was treated to Kostic, Bjelajac, Velickovic, Mirkovic, Volinovic and Zakic (other obscure names are available upon request!). The publisher was clearly in "save lots of money" mode!

Swallowing my flowing bile, I decided to check out the actual analysis before making a final prognosis; who knows, maybe these guys would try to make up for name recognition by doing a spectacular job? More angst was created when the truth was driven home by absolutely horrible work! Basically, all analysis is derived from Informant games. Other sources and games are ignored and basic theoretical truths are swept under the carpet. For example, the position after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Be2 0-0 8.0-0 d5 is known to offer Black easy equality. It's completely innocuous for White. My trusty new ECO, however, claims a White advantage based on some poorly played game (from the Black side) of Nigel Short's. There is absolutely no excuse for such shoddy work and, I should add, this "see no evil" attitude is repeated throughout the book (for example, 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Qb6 has become rather popular during the last few years. In ECO B, third edition they give one line of analysis totaling about 12 games. In other words, what they give is useless for anyone of master strength).

So now I feel ripped off, but I've learned a few things:

1) Don't buy any new ECOs!

2) Keep your old editions of the ECO. They are far superior to the new ones and well worth owning.

3) Proper coverage of a line (with a qualified author) can still be found in the Informant monographs. The actual Informants are also worth every penny you pay for them. The ECO's glory days, however, are clearly a thing of the past.