The Four Knights has a reputation as a boring opening, and while the author does his level best to dispel that notion, if you're looking for this book to be your "white to play and win" approach after 1.e4 e5, you may be disappointed. At the same time, there are strong grandmasters willing to give the Four Knights a go, and this book unearths plenty of still-interesting main lines and sidelines for both sides. 

Opening theory has changed a lot in the hundred years or so since the Four Knights was considered something of a "main line." Arising after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6, it is the ultimate in classical chess, with all four knights developed to their natural squares before any other piece leaves home. Perhaps to give hints of its previous prominence, among this book's 99 complete games are Alekhine-Lasker (Moscow 1914), Tarrasch-Lasker (World Championship Match, Berlin 1916), and Spielmann-Rubinstein (Baden-Baden 1925). 

The strongest regular proponent of the Four Knights these days may be Glek, but he eschews the classical tries (4.d4 or 4.Bb5) and prefers 4.g3. This more "modern" method of development probably doesn't offer white any greater advantage, but black has worked out comfortable methods to combat the other tries. Rubinstein's 4.Nd4 (see the game with Spielmann mentioned above) effectively neutralized 4.Bb5. While the Scotch Four Knights with 4.d4 enjoyed a brief run of popularity in the early 1990s after Lautier won a widely published game against I. Sokolov, adequate defenses were found here as well. 

Author Jan Pinski, a Polish international master, has previously written a couple of opening books and this is his most polished effort. I found his collaboration with Aagaard on the Sicilian Kalashnikov to be somewhat hard to follow and not fully researched, but this is a lucid discussion of the opening in question that builds upon the theoretical discussion from other books.

Unfortunately, there is little opportunity for white to claim a normal pull in this particular variation. In fact, after working through the lines, the reader will likely conclude that black has as many (if not more) promising recent ideas as white. That realization can help define the readership for this book, and I doubt it will expand it.

If you're a black player after 1.e4 e5, you can probably get by without this book if you already own the excellent repertoire choice PLAY THE OPEN GAMES AS BLACK by Emms. From my look at Emms' lines, there isn't all that much new here that creates a compelling case for a black player to purchase this book.

For white players, this is the most extensive recent discussion of this old opening. The author analyzes lots of newer developments, and there are some interesting less tested lines. Still, in most cases, black has as many chances as white to benefit from the complications.  

There are circumstances where white players may deem this acceptable. Some players just like to get to a playable middlegame without worrying about theoretical novelties, and the positions after 4.d4 or 4.Bb5 qualify. Others wish to avoid other openings, and this can be used to stay out of, for example, the Petroff after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 with 3.Nc3. Seven of the book's 99 complete games feature this move order. 

The Four Knights does feature one enterprising/murky gambit, the Belgrade, which arises after 4.d4 exd4 5.Nd5. While there are some tricky ideas (for both sides) black has at least a couple of decent replies where, if he knows the theory and white isn't careful, the first player may find himself struggling for equality. Pinski's conclusion, "for white I can only recommend that you play something else," sounds about right. Again, the black player can find sufficient material in Emms' book on this line - nothing much has changed in recent years. 

To the author's credit, he does not try to sugar coat the Four Knights for white by claiming a white edge in the main lines (or even most of the sidelines, for that matter). A look at the summaries at the end of each chapter confirms this. In chapter one, the Spanish Four Knights with 4.Bb5, Bb4 5.0-0 0-0 6.d3 d6 7.Bg5 Ne7! works out fine, as does the Metger unpin with 7.Bxc3, 8.Qe7, 9.Nd8, and .Ne6. In chapter two, Pinski concludes that Rubinstein's famous defense with 4.Nd4 5.Ba4 Bc5 leads to a gambit that has given Black good results over the years, and the more modern 5.c6 also gives full compensation for the pawn. 

Given the lack of opportunity for much of an edge in the older main lines, it is not surprising that the book devotes a lot of attention to the newer Glek variation with 4.g3. This is covered in three chapters and is 50 of the book's 192 pages. While this avoids the long, played out lines in the main variation, it isn't exactly forceful, and black can get a comfortable game. Pinski (who has played this line as white) admits in the introduction to the chapter on 4.g3 Bc5 that "the overall prospects for an advantage for White after 4.Bc5 are slim; the positions are close to equality or simply equal." Black's other primary choice, 4.d5, also gets the stamp of approval, with the author commenting that "it seems that after 4.d5 Black can equalize with almost any idea." Not exactly a stirring recommendation for 4.g3, but it least it's somewhat fresh.

The author has done a good job of presenting the important material, and there are some of his own suggestions from time to time. The themes and ideas for both sides are generally explored in reasonable detail, and the grammar and syntax are good. Of the book's 99 complete games, 14 are from the year 2002, another 13 from either 2000 or 2001. The majority of the games (59) are from the 1990s. The white practitioners with the most complete games are Glek (11 complete games as white, all with 4.g3) and Hector (5 complete games as white, all with 4.g3 as well). As mentioned above, you will find some players not generally associated with boring chess handling the white pieces in the complete games, including Alekhine, Christiansen, Gallagher, Ivanchuck, Nunn, Speelman, and Svidler. Of course, in some of these games, the opponent or tournament position may have had something to do with the opening choice.

My guess is that while well researched and written, this book may prove to have limited appeal. There are some theory hounds who absolutely have to have everything on everything that they might encounter, but with so many of the lines leading to relative equality, it shouldn't be that hard for black players (or white players seeking just a normal middlegame) to get along without the latest hot theory. Since even the latest hot variation here (the Glek with 4.g3) doesn't have a lot of sharp, forcing variations or positions where black is challenged to find the "only" moves, it stands to reason that both white and black players may just get by without investing $19.95. Serious proponents of the Four Knights (a fairly rare beast from my experience) will want this book, but that is a pretty limited audience.

As with other books in this series, Everyman Chess relies on complete games with a summary of the variation (both the key moves and the status of the theory) at the end of the chapters. I enjoyed Pinski's conclusions, which were more blunt and to the point than most. At the same time, the lack of an overall index of moves makes it harder to find variations in these books than in many others. It also is made difficult when chapter names do not identify with move orders (such as here, where the chapters on 4.g3 are labeled the Glek System without including the fact that this system is based on 4.g3).  Otherwise, the publishing values are strong - good paper, print and diagrams, the book opens flat, there are a minimum of typos, and no odor to the ink (which was noticeable with some earlier books in this series).

In conclusion, this is a well-researched and balanced presentation on an opening that has not received much coverage of late. While it may fill a niche, the theory in most of the lines presented is not changing in any remarkable fashion, and many players can probably get by without the "latest word" in the Four Knights - it's still remarkably similar to the previous latest word.

Click to see Donaldson's review of this book.