Bird's Opening is currently in that 'Goldilocks' zone of the great arbitrages in life. The majority of chess players have dismissed it overlooking its inherent value and this allows for adopters of the Bird to take advantage of this asymmetry. As of this writing, it is played 0.9% of the time in online databases and this drops to 0.2% (!) in the master's database of OTB games. For reference in the OTB database 1.e4 is played 45% of the time. So for every 225 OTB games your opponent plays against 1.e4, he plays against the Bird once. While a case could be made that 1.e4 or 1.d4 are stronger, the objective difference between them and the Bird is infinitesimal. The way I see it, people will continue to ignore the Bird for the foreseeable future. Unless this book sells a million copies, the Bird will never be played remotely close to the frequency it deserves. Because of this it will never be worth your opponent's while to study it, so it will always carry great surprise value.
The book is structured around the Lichess database for players rated between 1200 and 2000 - so if you are in this category the repertoire will synchronize perfectly with the lines your opponents are choosing in your own games. Whenever possible I have sought out lines to surprise your opponent and give them the toughest time figuring things out.
This book gives Black a full repertoire grounded in answering 1...e6 against everything. The answer against 1.d4 is the Stonewall, while the answer against 1.e4 is the French. The repertoire is geared towards all levels due to its flexibility. While I am known for my extreme attention to detail, I have streamlined the text so that it is not as terse as, say, a 1500-page textbook on neurology.
I have returned to my book from a few years ago, to an opening that at the time was a rare guest among books as a topic – and not only among books, but also in tournament practice. In the intervening years it has become very popular to use this old and somewhat forgotten method of playing and I have found lots of interesting new games.
This time though I have focused mainly on Colle-Zukertort type positions, plus some transpositions to Queen’s Indian-type play, so this is not a repertoire book like the previous one, but rather you can look at it as an opening book. Of course, Slav reactions with ...c6 are covered as well, and also early and quick ...c5 and ...g6 reactions.
Due to increased popularity, I have dived into specifics which we can consider now as a renaissance of this old line.
Another important thing, and it is indeed an especially important detail, is the organization of material into logical sections, because this system is often transpositional. Therefore, it is important to do this because reading this book should be an easy and joyful experience.
There are positions in this book that have stood the test of time, but I have also focused on the most recent ideas as I didn’t want to simply repeat the same ideas as before – I wanted to include as much as possible new plans. I also tested these ideas numerous times in my own practice.
So, what you have here is a completely redesigned and modernized system compared to only a few years ago, when this system was virtually forgotten.
Beating Unusual Chess Openings is a godsend to those chess players fed up with struggling against all opening moves other than White's main two: 1 e4 and 1 d4. From the respectable (English Opening, Réti and King's Indian Attack) through to theoffbeat (Nimzo-Larsen Attack, Bird's Opening) and the totally bizarre (Orang-utan, Grob); everything Black needs to know about facing unusual openings is covered within these pages. Richard Palliser gets to grips with all of White's possibilities, examining their strengths and weaknesses and in turn organizing a reliable and practical repertoire for Black.
Having the Nimzo-Indian Defence in his repertoire is a must for every 1.d4 player. However, it has been deeply explored, and lately White has been struggling to make something out of the opening. Indicatively, recent years have seen only books from Black’s perspective. This repertoire presents an innovative approach for White. While he starts with Kasparov’s move order 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3, he is often ready to transpose to the Rubinstein System with e3, having sidestepped the main Black’s equalizers against it. That allows White to get rich dynamic positions with fair chances for success.
Semko Semkov is a chess journalist and theoretician, with two GM norms. His most famous books are The Modern English, The Most Flexible Sicilian, The Taimanov-Sheveningen Hybrid, Understanding the QGA, Building a Reti Repertoire.
Many players approach the opening with a desire to learn sharp lines and out-prepare their opponents. This is an exhausting task, which gets more difficult by the day. However, there is a different strategy which is more practical and designed for longevity. This is to develop an advanced understanding of typical positions. Such a policy is the best approach against different move orders and new ideas.
Milos Pavlovic’s 1 e4 repertoire is based on lines where an understanding of plans and strategic ideas is more important than rote memorisation. The focus is on important positional considerations such as:
* How to make the pieces work most effectively with a given pawn structure
* How to spot weak points and exploit them
* How to limit the opponent’s counterplay
Opening Repertoire: Strategic Play with 1 e4 guides the reader through a complete repertoire for White. Pavlovic examines the key aspects of each line and provides the reader with well-researched and fresh analysis. Every annotated game is a lesson on typical middlegame plans, based on the instructive question-and-answer method.
The major variations are:
* 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 Bb5+
* 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 c3
* 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 e6 3 b3
* 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 g3
* 1 e4 c6 2 Nf3 d5 3 exd5 cxd5 4 Ne5
* 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 e5
* 1 e4 d5 2 exd5 Qxd5 3 Nf3 (delaying/omitting d4)
* 1 e4 Nf6 2 Nc3
GM Milos Pavlovic has written several opening books where he shares the approach that led him to a world ranking just outside the top 100 at the end of 2003.
IM Richard Palliser outlines a combative Trompowsky (1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5) repertoire for White. The lines analysed deal with all of Black’s common responses.
A perennial favourite of creative players, the ‘Tromp’ sets Black complex problems from the very beginning. It has been played by Anand in a World Championship match and used as a surprise weapon by Carlsen, Nakamura, Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa and many other top players. While offbeat, the Trompowsky is difficult to face.
One colourful variation outlined within is the audacious 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 Ne4 3. h4!? – a favourite of ‘Mr Trompowsky’, the four-time British Champion, Julian Hodgson. Leading to unusual and rich middlegame play, this variation maintains its venom in 2024.
IM Richard Palliser is a highly experienced chess writer and opening expert, having worked closely with Gawain Jones and Simon Williams. He is also the editor of CHESS Magazine and the author of numerous books, including Starting Out: The Trompowsky Attack in 2009.
🏆 Winner of CJA's 'Best Instructional Book of the Year 2025'!
The final volume in Pete Tamburro’s trilogy is finally here! Chock-full of practical advice aimed at the average-to-advancing club player, Openings for Amateurs – Theory vs Practice rounds off this acclaimed series with discussions of sharp and sneaky openings you will often face in tournaments and cautionary tales of the opening traps that people still fall into. And since you’ve advanced this far, there are 38 carefully annotated games on key themes in positional chess, including a close look at isolated queen pawn openings; what to know about the Minority Attack; learning why “equal” doesn’t always mean “drawn”; and a deeper dive into the Ruy López, where you will learn some grand strategies – one of them going back all the way to Alexander the Great.
The final section is a special feature, rarely seen in the chess literature: a collection of nearly two dozen games from the biggest amateur team tournament in the world, where Pete illustrates what he’s been talking about in all three volumes. It’s a chess feast of 85 games explained to amateurs the way they should be!
Award-winning chess writer Pete Tamburro has been a regular columnist for American Chess Magazine, Chess Life, Chess Life for Kids, The Atlantic Chess News, and British Chess Magazine. The author of Learn Chess from the Greats and of the first two volumes in the Openings for Amateurs series, he is also a highly successful chess teacher.
Every chess player faces an opening dilemma: big main lines are complicated and time-consuming to learn, while easy-to-learn sidelines usually suffer from other defects. Finding the best of both worlds has been an impossible dream – until now!
Reimagining 1.e4 offers the Holy Grail of a simple, easy-to-learn White repertoire, which packs a punch against all of Black’s main defences. In some lines, White unleashes a surprise as early as move 3. In others, White follows the known paths for a little longer, but only when there are big rewards to justify a modest effort.
The Center Game is a wonderful opening for club players. White starts with a center push, develops quickly, looks for opposite castling, and launches an attack. The setup will feel very familiar to you in no time. And the chess engines show that this opening is both sound and correct, and at least as good as the over-analyzed Ruy Lopez and Italian Opening.
With this opening, you'll get a middlegame position that you know very well, but quite often will be new to Black. This will probably guarantee you an advantage on the clock, which will further increase your winning chances.
The author, Arne Moll, is an experienced club player, chess writer and chess book reviewer, so he knows exactly what the reader needs: the historical context, the basic strategic ideas of each line, the tactical patterns that will emerge, and some inspiring model games by great players such as Ian Nepomniatchi and Arjun Erigaisi —who uses the Center Game as a surprise weapon
Arne Moll is an experienced club and tournament player with a peak rating well above 2200. He was a chess writer for the legendary blog Chess Vibes and Chess.com and has reviewed dozens of chess books. He lives in Amsterdam and works as an IT and Data specialist in the Finance industry.
This theoretically solid opening repertoire for White, based on playing 5.d4 in the main line of the Ruy Lopez (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6), gives you a great way to bamboozle your opponent, who is probably unprepared for this variation and its many pitfalls. Black can easily go wrong within the next few moves and quickly lose material or succumb to a crushing attack. White is poised to castle and engage in battle; Black’s king is vulnerable in the center and may find no relief on the kingside as White develops pieces to powerful outposts and forces pawn moves that allow attackers to pour in.
This variation is named after Scottish-American master George Mackenzie, who popularized it in the nineteenth century. He was undefeated with it, overwhelming some top masters of that day.
Elite competitors from many eras have played the Mackenzie Variation, including Morphy, Lasker, Alekhine, Tal, Short, and Cramling. In recent years, grandmasters such as Jones, Kosteniuk, and Yoo have used it to great effect, especially in rapid and blitz games, when opponents have little time to find a sound defense.
A final chapter shows you how to meet the popular Berlin Defense (3...Nf6) with a Mackenzie-style thrust, 4.d4. Again, many difficult decisions and tricky positions await the unwary Black player.
As well as variations and advice, this book contains 57 model games with key annotations, from Morphy in 1858 through to a dozen examples from the 2020s.
“In this lucid and well-researched book, David Gertler shows you how to make the Mackenzie Variation a formidable weapon.” – Stuart Rachels, former US champion and author of The Best I Saw in Chess.
This book advocates the 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 move order for Black – with 3.Nc3 Bb4 having been covered in the sister volume Playing the Nimzo-Indian. By waiting for the knight to appear on f3 before transposing to a Queen’s Gambit, Black reduces White’s options.
Spanish GM Renier Castellanos completes his cutting-edge repertoire for Black against 1.d4, with the Vienna Variation (4.Nc3 dxc4) and Catalan (4.g3 dxc4) the biggest topics. This book also provides thorough guidance against all of White’s significant alternatives on moves 2-4.
With thoughtful explanations backed up by precise analysis, Beating the Queen’s Gambit – Indian Style! provides everything you need to handle 1.d4 Nf6 variations where White avoids the Nimzo-Indian Defence.
Cookie settings
We use cookies to deliver and improve our services, analyze site usage, and if you agree, to customize or personalize your experience and market our services to you. You can read our Cookie Policy hier.
