fjd wrote on 08/05/19 at 18:19:42:

This is my impression too. I had the original edition and recently I bought this new one in app edition. Maybe I was just unlucky, but in both the parts I needed it for (to look at with a student), I got the feeling it really would have been better to switch lines entirely:

In the 4.Qxd4 Sicilian the main line ends up in calm positions where White's attack has dried up and to my eyes White seriously risks being worse. One obvious solution would have been to add coverage of the setups where White tries to get in c4 with a Maroczy Bind type position, but that's not mentioned. While in the French Two Knights' main line I had some hopes the main line with 0-0-0 would be added since the 0-0 and Ne5 lines don't seem to trouble Black very much. But no such luck... And in the 9...Qxf6 line he doesn't mention Black's plan of ...Qh6 and ...Nf6-h5 that I picked up from Neil McDonald's decade-old book How to Play Against 1 e4.

But there surely are good parts of the book too. I intend to take a closer look at the 1...e5, French, Caro-Kann and Rossolimo chapters and maybe use the lines occasionally.

In the 1...e5 part, the expansion of the note on 8.fxg7!? in the Max Lange Attack shows that some real work has gone into this new edition. The Anti-Max Lange being so drawish is a shame (from a White point of view), but Burgess gives it a good try and I don't think you'll find better attempts to keep some complexity anywhere else.

The book is now available from an Amazon affiliate, so I feel it will be just days before it is available from the main chess online shops, too...

Is the paperback edition already published? I'd love to buy this book in paper version. Gambit site says it's published. But nobody is offering it for sale.

Thanks for reply.

To my mind on my chess level 2100 Elo one can play Bakers repertoire in full. We are not facing Kramnik & co, so besides fun play we ecpect many fast points.

Sincerely, I have high expectations from this new edition. With bigger pages besides updated theory I expect lot more expkanations and summeries at the end of chapters.

Can somebody share his practice about Max Lange and Coxhrane Gambit?

Since you own new digital edition, can you please tell us whats new in comparison with old edition?

What about critisized lines as Cochrane gambit vs Petroff and problrms vs 1.... e5?

I will definitely buy the book 😉

Thanks for reply 🙋‍♀️

My go to in openings is moving the Queen's pawn to “d4” which leads to openings such as the Queen's Gambit, King's Indian Defense, Nimzo-Indian, Bogo-Indian, Queen's Indian Defense, and Dutch Defense.

fjd wrote on 05/01/19 at 23:49:09:


Is this not the Scotch Gambit ¿ Black can take with bitchop instread of pawn, and after a Cxd4 Cxd4 I think that White plays Ag5 and f4 with eventual equality. Or maybe I am confusing lines...

My understanding of the various options for Black is as follows:

A) Max Lange Proper: Probably Black is okay, but it's tricky and sharp - the better prepared player will probably do well.

B) 5...Bxd4 Gambit Line: White has compensation, it's tricky, but objectively Black is doing well, especially with the ...Rg8 move in the principal variation.

C) "Anti- Max Lange" with 5...Nxe4: Black has to be a bit careful for the first few moves, but beyond that it's relatively dry =.

D) 3...Bc5 4 0-0 d6: Wasn't covered in the original edition, Black loses some options in the Giuoco Piano, but that might not be a big deal. White can go c3 and d4, but I don't think it's meant to be better for him.

One thing you could do, if you want to avoid B, but don't mind C and are presumably hoping for A is 3 d4 exd4 4 Bc4, and then 4...Bc5 5 c3 Nf6 and either 6 cxd4 or 6 e5, and then 4...Nf6 5 0-0. This probably also avoids variation D. 

Btw, I imagine the new edition will have a different line against the Alekhine, as in the original edition he went 2 Nc3, and just said that Black probably won't go 2...e5. Especially since Burgess is an Alekhine specialist iirc.