Ender wrote on 01/22/12 at 21:56:28:

All corr. players are amateurs.

Gilchrist is a legend wrote on 01/22/12 at 22:38:32:

There are even nuts like me, far beneath 2200 level, who love extensive research on their favourite openings. When I can finish an opening book within a couple of hours, I feel a bit disappointed. That's almost always the case with repertoire books.

Stigma wrote on 01/23/12 at 01:59:09:

What's wrong with that? Studying is actually enjoyable, you know.
And who says that studying all the stuff actually means slavishly following all recommendations?

Stigma wrote on 01/23/12 at 02:13:59:

And why should working your way through all the GM Repertoire stuff prevent you from doing that as well?

Ametanoitos wrote on 01/21/12 at 20:05:20:

Will the English KID be included in these 3 books? If so I'll buy all of them.

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This is what i do for me, but it depends on each person's character! For example, during 2010 i combined the reperoire choices of Bologan and Schandorff on the Caro Kann (and a bit of "Dangerous Weapons") because in some variation i liked the given solution by the one and in another variation from the other author. For example, against the 5.Nc5 line i consider the Bologan solution more simple and strong. And i have to add that in some lines i have some solutions that cannot be found in any source! I consider this to be a healthy aproach that has to do with the playing style and the overall enjoyment of research in new fields of opening/middlegame chess theory. 

But, on the other hand i cannot find a problem of working on the whole repertoire and playing it. That kind of repertoire should evolve through personal experience over the time and is not going to be static. It is a fine starting point.

Stigma wrote on 01/23/12 at 01:59:09:


Well, what other type of repertoire would I choose? I certainly would not want to forgo using Grandmaster Repertoire books for my repertoire and try to become an IM by playing the Wing Gambit and Owen's Defence, as well as anything that is not a main line. That leaves only main lines, and publishers such as Quality Chess and Chess Stars amongst others seem good for that. Instead of using one author's repertoire, one can mix several authors' repertoires and make a combination of them all. 

And I think Quality Chess being located in Glasgow is another good thing. It is only a few hours from Manchester by any type of transportation. Anyone in the UK or some parts of Europe who is eager to read Grandmaster Repertoire books can get them the next day...

Ametanoitos wrote on 01/22/12 at 23:31:41:


I will buy GM Repertoire 10 very soon, I promise. 

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I am sure this trend will continue f you study the 10nth volume of the series!

No one under 2200 probably needs three volumes, but then who will write for the titled players and those who aspire to become titled players? I am sure IMs read Grandmaster Repertoire books if I am reading them and I am around 2250 FIDE. I have read every Grandmaster Repertoire book (and in the process of reading the Tarrasch GM10), and the format is tree with variations. Of course it is as dense, detailed, and heavy as an engineering textbook, but if one wants to surpass 2400 or 2500 (or 2600?), then this is necessary. I would rather read 3000 pages of Grandmaster Repertoire volumes on one opening than one book that does not provide as much information. When I read Avrukh's two volume work on 1. d4, it took me over half a year to finish reading, but it was worth it as it allowed me to switch completely from being fairly unsuccessful with 1. e4 to 1. d4. Sometimes it would take me all day to finish four pages, but so do reading my university textbooks. To me that means the book is good, not bad.

There are already so many books for under 2000 or 2200 level, so those who need maximum amount of information and theory will also need required books as well. I formed about 90% of my entire repertoire on the Grandmaster Repertoire books, never memorising every single line but only the bolded moves, as with an engineering or mathematics textbook, you only need to memorise the main equations in a section and understand the extra text. The footnotes and text are to help understand the position in greater detail. A 2500 player cannot memorise a few lines and hope to succeed against quality opposition, just as how a PhD in physics cannot earn that qualification by just memorising the laws of motion.