Fllg wrote on 09/24/09 at 15:42:57:
Isn´t Andrew Greet known to begin his introductions with "Greetings, dear reader"...
My guess ist "Play the Queen´s Indian".
Yep, you seem to be right. 256 pages and 5/5 and this:
IM Andrew Greet wrote on 01/20/09 at 13:54:45:
Here is the book's Preface, just to whet the appetite! (Hopefully Everyman won't mind me posting it here...)
Preface
Greetings, dear reader, and thank you for taking the time to read this book. The aim of this brief introduction is to set the scene for the remainder of the work by providing some relevant background information to our subject, as well explaining the ethos behind the proposed repertoire.
Whilst I hope and, indeed, expect this book to prove useful for players of a wide range of abilities, I would expect most readers to possess some basic knowledge of the fundamental principles underlying this opening. Therefore I have no intention to waste time by expounding such concepts as ‘controlling the central squares with pieces rather than pawns’, and so on. Countless other authors have elucidated the principles and historical development of hypermodern chess theory and I will say no more about the subject here.
As is customary for the ‘Play the ...’ series, the primary aim of the present book is to provide a complete repertoire that will enable the reader to employ the Queen’s Indian Defence with confidence. It is common knowledge that, along with its close relative the Nimzo-Indian, the Queen’s Indian enjoys a reputation as one of Black’s most dependable answers to 1 d4. His pieces can quickly emerge on to active squares, and his pawn structure is both unblemished and extremely flexible in the early stages of the game.
Despite its ongoing popularity amongst players of varying abilities, there are many who regard one of this opening’s foremost strengths – its extreme solidity – as something as a drawback. Simply put, there are several major lines in which it can prove difficult for Black to generate realistic winning chances. This may not represent a problem at the lofty heights of Wijk aan Zee or Linares, but there is no doubting the fact that most of us would prefer to combine solidity with genuine prospects to play for a full point with the black pieces. Therefore one of my primary goals in writing this book was to present a repertoire which would enable Black to unbalance the game in order to play for a win, without compromising on soundness.
Overall, I believe that I have succeeded in finding a suitable balance, although ultimately this is something that the reader will have to judge for himself. On that note, let me once again thank you for reading. I sincerely hope that you will enjoy this book, and that the ideas contained herewith will play a role in improving your understanding, enjoyment and – most importantly of all – your results when playing the Queen’s Indian.
Andrew Greet
Edinburgh,
February 2009