Mastering the Chess Openings: Volume 2

By John Watson

Published by GAMBIT

International Master John Watson is one of the world's most respected writers on chess. His groundbreaking four-volume work on the English firmly established his reputation in the 1980s, and he has produced a string of top-quality works since. In 1999, Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy won the British Chess Federation Book of the Year Award and the United States Chess Federation Fred Cramer Award for Best Book. His former pupils include the 1997 World Junior Champion, Tal Shaked.

For many chess-players, opening study is sheer hard work. It is difficult to know what is important and what is not, and when specific knowledge is vital, or when a more general understanding is sufficient. Tragically often, once the opening is over, a player won't know what plan to follow, or even understand why his pieces are on the squares on which they sit.

John Watson seeks to help chess-players achieve a more holistic and insightful view of the openings. In his previous books on chess strategy, Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy and Chess Strategy in Action , he explained vital concepts that characterize modern chess. Moreover, he did so in ways that have enabled these ideas to be understood by club players. Here he does likewise for the openings, proceeding from the fundamental ideas that apply to all openings to more advanced ideas that are essential for substantial improvement.

In this major two-volume work, Watson presents a wide-ranging view of the way in which top-class players really handle the opening, rather than an idealized and simplified model. This second volume focuses on queen's pawn openings, exploring such positions as the Nimzo-Indian, King's Indian and the entire Queen's Gambit complex, and the characteristic structures to which they lead.

In this volume Watson goes directly to the openings. Throughout the book he occasionally makes references to some of the ideas and principals he outlines in the Introduction of Volume 1. Volume 2 itself will be sure to improve your understanding of the d4 openings, but it may be easier for the reader to have both volumes as the material and ideas in each compliment the other.

The material in this volume is split into two sections.

Section 1: Closed Games
1. Introduction to 1d4 and the Closed Games
2. Queen's Gambit Declined
3. Slav and Semi Slav

Section 2: Indian Systems
4. Introduction to the Indian Defences
5. Nimzo-Indian Defence
6. Queen's Indian Defence
7. King's Indian Defence
8. Grunfeld Defence
9. Modern Benoni

Although Watson leaves out a few openings (a6 slav for example), what he does cover, he does well. Explaining the first moves of the openings and then showing top level games and some other possible ideas from that position. Just like the first volume, he does a nice job of explaining the openings and giving the reader a good feel for the position. If you liked the first volume or are just wishing to learn more about the d4 games in general, this is an excellent choice.

NSG rating = 9.8 of 10