I'd just like to say I think this is a really good book. Congratulations to TonyRo.

I qualify that by saying that don't know enough about the material to say whether there are things omitted, or whether the analysis is correct.

What is obvious though is that the explanations are very good, in my opinion striking exactly the right balance between words and moves, that the lines chosen are interesting, the level of detail just right, and that the book is well-written and organised. That's a hell of a good start, placing it immediately in the top 10% at least of opening books.

It also introduced me to the expression 'go to the mattresses', whose derivation I defy anyone who doesn't know it to guess. Worth the purchase price for that alone.

So then you will have three (quite) different variations of the Sicilian in addition to the Pirc, French and Caro-Kann?

Yes, if you play the French that's certainly a promising way to play. Not all of us are so talented! 

Bibs wrote on 01/13/15 at 12:21:16:


It's funny how many times I actually asked myself that during the writing of the book. It would not be a stretch for me to have written in the intro that this is a repertoire inspired by the games of V. Ikonnikov. Not only is he probably one of the greatest 7...Be7!? experts on the planet, but he's also used the Anti-Kalashnikov, Alapin, Grand Prix Attack, and Closed Sicilian recommendations. And if you're thinking that's basically the whole book - it pretty much is!

tipau wrote on 01/12/15 at 21:57:45:


Great, thanks for the support! I hope that as you delve deeper you enjoy it even more.

tipau wrote on 01/12/15 at 21:57:45:


It's interesting to hear how people approach checking it out - one more in the "immediately jumped into the Anti-Sicilian sections" category.

tipau wrote on 01/12/15 at 21:57:45:


Yes, I agree with you here. This is actually the chapter that bugged me most when working on the book, and for this exact reason.

A small, somewhat relevant aside - see, originally I simply wanted to write a kick-ass book about the Kalashnikov, but Everyman was rightfully hesitant. Their first book by Pinski and Aagaard did just okay, at a time when the Kalashnikov was arguably more popular, probably because it's not an opening that's particularly fashionable with the rating group that Everyman targets. And so when we were negotiating the scope of the book, they proposed that I cover the Anti-Sicilians, just at slightly less depth, using lines that were easy to pick up and learn. This was totally okay with me, and I was excited about the prospect of doing a repertoire book. I had interesting ideas in some places, and I too thought that in this day and age it made more sense to publish it as a repertoire.

So with their rating range in mind, I started to cook up recommendations that I thought were going to be relatively simple to play and learn (where I could - if you play the Sicilian complicated and dangerous positions are difficult to avoid in most lines). This early ...d6 line of the 2...Nf6 Alapin was one of those simple, reliable lines - and it was one that Sveshnikov himself thought highly of in his giant yellow tome as well. But as I started working on the book, it became clear to everyone involved that I was going to cover the Anti-Sicilians with as much detail as the main lines, and some of the recommendations changed, in my opinion for the better. But this Alapin recommendation stayed the same. It's a solid, reliable line, but exactly as you say, there's the practical problem that in some cases, the positions are too equal, or Black has to grab some material and turtle up for a while. The thing that snuck up on me was that the main lines of this system are easy to learn and pick up, but there are some snazzy sidelines that are a bit sharper - I tried to point those out and make sure there was enough depth and care there to ensure the reader knew what they were doing.

But again, just as you said - having a very clear cut way to achieve equality as Black shouldn't scoffed at either. I have been testing out the line 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bf5!? in a ton of coffee shop battles, and while it's definitely easier to drum up winning chances there, I also get rolled up every now and again when my sparring partner comes in with some fresh ideas. I think I briefly mentioned the issue with writing about the Anti-Sicilians in the Introduction. It's a challenge to not cover lines already covered before, achieve equality, achieve winning chances, and appeal to the varying temperaments of the masses, all at the same time. But in this case I think you're right, and definitely appreciate the feedback - I've heard the same complaint from another 2300-ish player from your neck of the woods. I think to remedy this, I may cover my preferred 2...d5 line in an update to the book to offer a second, sharper option. It's less reliable and maybe slightly more dangerous for Black, but if you know what you're doing, the positions are also sharper and higher variance.



tipau wrote on 01/12/15 at 21:57:45:


This line is very fun, yes! I have played quite a few longer time control games here, but I wasn't sure I could do it justice in a chapter that I thought was already slightly bloated (White has so many options in the Alapin!). Any short amount of coverage would be too little, and lines like these are very flip-floppy - one correspondence game could blow up the whole variation for Black and render two-three pages of analysis and text completely useless. I did that a couple times in the book - simply mention another option like this, and leave it up to the reader as to whether or not they wanted to put in the time to add it to their repertoire.

I'm not sure that approach serves me that well though - to most it probably looks like laziness. To me, I thought it was worth the 75 characters to point out something that the reader might find more to their taste, or interesting as a backup variation.

tipau wrote on 01/12/15 at 21:57:45:


I look forward to hearing what you have to say - I definitely appreciate the detailed feedback and the back and forth. Appreciate the kind words!

tipau wrote on 01/12/15 at 21:57:45:


Let's hope so! 

Cheers!

Bibs wrote on 01/11/15 at 13:25:45:


This was hilarious. Yes, very disappointing - you work for 4 years on a project, and they screw up the cover art, but what can you do? I'm sure it was an honest mistake, albeit a very tough one to swallow when it's your name.

Thanks for chiming in, looking forward to hear what you think - I know I'll get an honest review outta ya! 

TonyRo wrote on 01/06/15 at 22:19:31:


Yes, a strange error from the publisher!