Product Description

This is a brand new edition of this perennial chess favourite, with more than 25 per cent new material. This book has been the standard reference work on chess openings for more than half a century, and has been called 'the chess player's bible'. It is the most comprehensive single-volume work on the openings. Covering every standard line of play, it provides the distilled essence of contemporary opening theory. This latest updated edition is an indispensable reference work for club and tournament players.This is the most comprehensive single-volume work on the openings available to date. It is fully revised and updated edition covers every standard line of play. It is illustrated throughout with diagrams and chess grids for ease of use.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50671 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 720 pages

From the Publisher
The Chess Player's Bible
A standard reference work for the last 50 years, Batsford's Modern Chess Openings is one of the most important chess books around. The most comprehensive and up-to-date volume on openings, its 720 pages cover every single chess opening. It provides an indispensible reference work for club and tournament players, earning the epithet 'the chess player's Bible'.

Author Grandmaster Nick de Firmian is an expert on opening theory and a three-time US Champion. He helped develop chess computer Deeper Blue's opening repertoire in its match victory over Garry Kasparov.

About the Author
International Grandmaster Nick de Firmian is an expert on opening theory and a three-time US Champion. He helped to develop chess computer Deeper Blue's opening repertoire in its match victory over Garry Kasparov in 1997.

Customer Reviews

Well worth a look...
Batsford's MCO has now reached its fourteenth edition. Three times US champion, Nick de Firmian; along with a small band of chess experts, have managed to completely revise the text once again for a fresh publication, based on the previous editons. The result is quite fantastic. Although the book is some 708 pages long, which may seem quite daunting to many players, the book is very easy to read. Opening moves are spaced out adequately as part of a layout designed to avoid confusion.

Variations may be easily assessed at a glance, and moves are written down in the simple, modern algebraic notation. This book is an absolute must for any semi-serious enthusiast of the game of chess. It offers the chance to explore chess at one of the most misunderstood levels of play: the opening. But the book also provides history on each opening, along with a series of refutations for the player to avoid while indulging in a specific opening. As an overall analysis of the book, it is very good and easy to read for beginners to grandmasters. Any player from club level onward should appreciate this book for its fine blend of simplicity and complexity. A vertable 'Chess Player's Bible'. However, some may find the book's length daunting. But such a worry is not really a matter of concern, as it is a reference book. Any worries a reader may have shall dissipate upon browsing through the book... However, on retrospect, the book is then with you for life. And an awful lot of love and care has been incorporated into the pages of Batford's MCO. Buy it!