The Fianchetto Solution

The Fianchetto Solution

When experienced teacher Emmanuel Neiman found that some of his pupils were avoiding tournaments for fear of being crushed in the opening, he set out to build the most practical repertoire he could: complete, solid, easy to learn, slow to date — and usable with both colours. Teaming up with grandmaster Samy Shoker, he settled on the King’s Fianchetto.

The appeal of the idea is its economy. Whether you are White or Black, you fianchetto the king’s bishop and play with the same handful of structures and plans — the bishop serving as both a defender of your own king and a long-range attacker. Learn the ideas once and you can apply them from either side of the board, which dramatically cuts the amount you must study.

For Black the book gives the Modern Defence against 1.e4 and fianchetto set-ups against 1.d4; for White it offers reversed King’s-Indian and Pirc structures and clear answers to the Dutch and to ...d5 systems. Throughout, the emphasis is on understanding typical fianchetto structures, activating the bishop, and attacking and defending these positions, with exercises to reinforce each idea.

Ideal for busy amateurs who want one coherent, low-maintenance system for their whole repertoire rather than separate theory for every opening.