As TopNotch expressed it, I'm also disappointed by this book. It has been written by Obodchuk, an unknown (to me) russian IM in 2010, and translated by Steve Giddins to be published around summer 2011. It contains 64 full games, 40 of them being played between 2007 and 2010. I especially disliked 2 things about this book. The first is the lack of comment in most games, either in the opening phase or later. I sometimes wonder how a book can be filled with so much information (e.g., GM series from Quality Chess). With this book, I wonder how it is possible to produce a book with so few information. The second point is the lack of consistency for a repertoire book. You often have 2 or 3 choices for White against each variation, but the author never states which one he prefers, the advantage / drawback of each and so on. In fact, there is almost no prose in this book. After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 (it also covers 3...Bc5) 4.d4 cxd4, both 5.Nd5 Bg7 6.Bg5 and 5.Nxd4 Bg7 6.Be3 are covered. I couldn't find out the preference of the author, neither an explanation for what type of games we reach in each variation. Does one involve greater risks, does one suit strategic players, and so on. After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bb4 5.0-0 0-0 6.d3 d6 7.Bg5 Bxc3 8.bxc3 Qe7 9.Re1 Nd8 10.d4 Ne6, we reach a main variation of the spanish four knights. Three moves are covered. 11.Bh4 in one game, descibed as "Not considered as strongest (...) main moves are Bd2 and Bc1." 11.Bd2 in two games, descibed as "This move is no weaker than the main line Bc1." No additional comment! And 11.Bc1 is covered in only one game with the comment "This position has been reached in practice countless hundreds of times. It is considered that White has some strategic initiative, thanks to its preponderance in the centre and the two, albeit for the time being, passive bishops, but in general, the position is close to equality." It's then up to you to decide between 11.Bd2 and 11.Bc1. Personnaly, I expect more from a good chess opening book. It's a selection of games, but with very few (or even no) opinion given by the author. Maybe some people will like this book, but it is cleraly not my cup of tea.
|