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Poll closed Question: In your opinion, what was the best openings book of 2018?
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The Modernized Reti by Demuth    
  10 (14.7%)
Bc4 Against the Open Games, Delchev    
  2 (2.9%)
The Sicilian Najdorf by J & J Dojknas    
  4 (5.9%)
First Steps: 1.e4 e5 by Emms    
  4 (5.9%)
How to Beat the Open Games by Johnsen    
  11 (16.2%)
Trompowsky Attack by Kryakvin    
  2 (2.9%)
Leningrad Dutch DVD, Pruijssers & Williams    
  2 (2.9%)
French defence  and Sicilian Sidelines Shaw    
  5 (7.4%)
Sicilian main lines by Shaw    
  3 (4.4%)
Keep it Simple: 1.e4 by Sielecki    
  14 (20.6%)
Chigorin bible by Sokolov and Salgado Lopez    
  8 (11.8%)
GM Repertoire: Queen's Indian Defence, Roiz    
  3 (4.4%)




Total votes: 68
« Last Modified by: GMTonyKosten on: 02/25/19 at 17:31:16 »
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Very Hot Topic (More than 25 Replies) ChessPub Book of the Year 2018 (Read 34564 times)
RivertonKnight
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Re: ChessPub Book of the Year 2018
Reply #21 - 03/13/19 at 14:46:19
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I voted for the Queens Indian, because it is the only one above I own! Currently purchased The Modernized Reti, but was considering a 1e4 repertoire.
  
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bragesjo
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Re: ChessPub Book of the Year 2018
Reply #20 - 03/13/19 at 14:39:31
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For once the book I voted for won Smiley

Kidding aside, my vote was based on that the repertour seems practical and manageable, but I have not read many of the books that was nominated and I was about to vote for Shaws Sicilian mainline book first before I changed my mind. I will however not follow the books repertouar competly since I am used to Open Sicilian positions but I already had several lines like Nc3 vs Petroff and Four Knights game in my repertouar and the book even had a new plan in a position in Nc3 Petroff that I was not aware of that I am currently trying in a rated correspondence chess game at ICCF.


  
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Stigma
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Re: ChessPub Book of the Year 2018
Reply #19 - 03/13/19 at 12:57:07
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GMTonyKosten wrote on 03/13/19 at 09:13:47:
It's funny that the winning book almost didn't get nominated! Roll Eyes

True! Not sure what to make of that.

I threw it in as a last-minute nominee because I felt it deserved to be on the list. But I really didn't expect it to win (and didn't vote for it myself).

I hope Johnsen and Demuth are not too mad at me now...
  

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Dink Heckler
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Re: ChessPub Book of the Year 2018
Reply #18 - 03/13/19 at 09:58:59
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JFugre wrote on 03/12/19 at 15:25:41:
PS. I think that Christophe would argue that the "simple" refers to the variations being playable if you forgot the theory, not that memorizing the entire thing is simple.

Would that it were so simple...  Smiley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGpsXuMvApo
  

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GMTonyKosten
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Re: ChessPub Book of the Year 2018
Reply #17 - 03/13/19 at 09:13:47
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It's funny that the winning book almost didn't get nominated! Roll Eyes
  
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JFugre
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Re: ChessPub Book of the Year 2018
Reply #16 - 03/12/19 at 15:25:41
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PS. I think that Christophe would argue that the "simple" refers to the variations being playable if you forgot the theory, not that memorizing the entire thing is simple.
  
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JFugre
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Re: ChessPub Book of the Year 2018
Reply #15 - 03/12/19 at 15:08:50
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I wonder if you might have misunderstood my post.

I'll quote what New In Chess, the publisher, says:
"The major objective is to dominate Black from the opening, by simple means."

I do think the book achieves that or gets close enough, even in the exchange French. I just don't find the complete repertoire to be so simple. And I don't think it is possible in this day and age, to provide a complete repertoire, get pressure in every possible line, and keep things simple. So when one sets out to do the impossible, one will fail. But it's a very good failure, and I bought and like the book. And it probably won deservedly.

  
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ReneDescartes
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Re: ChessPub Book of the Year 2018
Reply #14 - 03/12/19 at 14:27:37
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JFugre wrote on 03/12/19 at 13:50:48:
The problem of such a poll is always that you can only reasonably vote on books you've read, and most people won't read all books on the list, if for the simple reason that they don't play the opening covered.

A repertoire book will have slightly wider appeal in that sense. It's also been out for a while in various forms, compared to say the Ruiz 11372532304002 book.

That's not to say it isn't a deserved winner.

Making a repertoire book sound (press for advantage as white, equalize as black) and simple is an obvious impossibility. Christoph has failed there. But he has failed less badly than many before him.

I bought it and use some of the lines as alternates, so I clearly think it's good Smiley

We might as well then give up on both counts, poll and book, except that we're acting as people of this world. By the way, many past winners were books on one opening.

A repertoire is not sound unless it not obtains, but "presses for" an advantage with White? No. That equivocation hides the fact that the ideal this falls short of doesn't exist.  Should I be ashamed to say I understood Mr Sielecki to be attempting to do exactly what he said (he just seems to be that kind of guy), and that for example the Exchange French does the job?
  
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JFugre
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Re: ChessPub Book of the Year 2018
Reply #13 - 03/12/19 at 13:50:48
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The problem of such a poll is always that you can only reasonably vote on books you've read, and most people won't read all books on the list, if for the simple reason that they don't play the opening covered.

A repertoire book will have slightly wider appeal in that sense. It's also been out for a while in various forms, compared to say the Ruiz QID book.

That's not to say it isn't a deserved winner.

Making a repertoire book sound (press for advantage as white, equalize as black) and simple is an obvious impossibility. Christoph has failed there. But he has failed less badly than many before him.

I bought it and use some of the lines as alternates, so I clearly think it's good Smiley
  
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Re: ChessPub Book of the Year 2018
Reply #12 - 03/12/19 at 05:36:00
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Excellent process this year, thank you Tony!
  
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Stigma
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Re: ChessPub Book of the Year 2018
Reply #11 - 03/12/19 at 00:20:48
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Congratulations to Cristoph Sielecki!

Keep It Simple: 1.e4 got the most votes, so many people thought it was the best. In the end I didn't vote for it, but it's a worthy winner and a good book that succeeds in its purpose of getting club players into playable positions where the risk of making fatal mistakes is relatively low.

Why criticize a book for not providing novelties when that simply wasn't the aim? I think this thread is best used for celebrating the winner (and the strong runners-up). Criticism could be taken in another thread. There is a dedicated thread on the book here for instance: https://www.chesspub.com/cgi-bin/chess/YaBB.pl?num=1531592877.
  

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Re: ChessPub Book of the Year 2018
Reply #10 - 03/11/19 at 23:32:01
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I agree--fair process, fair result, nice to see no monkey business.
Congratulations ChessExplained! P.S. I like your NimzoBogoBuch too!
  
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Re: ChessPub Book of the Year 2018
Reply #9 - 03/11/19 at 21:26:09
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GMTonyKosten wrote on 03/11/19 at 13:15:57:
Mortal Games wrote on 03/11/19 at 01:06:12:
How can the new members to register missed the show?

Well, we have had some problems in the past due to people registering just so they can vote for their friends. Anyway, new members will be able to vote in next year's poll! Roll Eyes


Yes indeed. I used some irony because now we have a fresh air of fairness since the last years.
Congrats to Mr. Sielecki for his efforts.
  

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Re: ChessPub Book of the Year 2018
Reply #8 - 03/11/19 at 17:40:33
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barnaby wrote on 03/11/19 at 14:50:32:
Wow. 

A book with a title claiming to keep things simple (while actually doing anything but offering "simple' lines) now winning here is a bell weather for how far down the ladder chess marketers have plunged in their efforts to sell books.

Congrats?  I guess. 

But .... seriously disappointing that on an opening forum such as this a book that provides zero new opening ideas and misleads its intended audiences wins.

Pathos exists in many forms.

The Modernized Reti is seminal.  This winning book, not so much.

ROCKY wins best picture over NETWORK (again).


The Modernized Reti is a great book, but I voted for the book that was, im my view, something that we rarely or never, had, up to that day: an actual attempt to provide a playable opening repertoire. I have seen hundreds and hundreds of opening books that give complex variations and advanced concepts to justify White or Black winning here and there, but that are of near zero practical value to me, simply because I cannot and will never remember all these lines, and furthermore I won't do anything good with GMs concepts. Just my $ 0.02 of course, but I guess that others voted the winning book for more or less the same reasons.
  
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Re: ChessPub Book of the Year 2018
Reply #7 - 03/11/19 at 16:52:40
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Doesn't provide new ideas? Maybe.

But misleading? How so?
  
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