Beating 1.d4 Sidelines

Players who meet 1.d4 with ...d5 or ...Nf6 spend most of their preparation on the main lines — and then, in practice, keep running into everything else: the London, the Torre, the Colle and Colle-Zukertort, the Tromp­owsky, the Veresov, the Barry Attack, the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit and a host of other sidelines designed to dodge theory. This book, part of Quality Chess’s Grandmaster Repertoire series, provides a complete, active answer to all of them.

The material is organised by Black’s move order so it slots neatly alongside an existing main-line repertoire. The four parts cover the sidelines arising after 1.d4 d5, after 1.d4 Nf6 (including a thorough treatment of the Trompowsky), after 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6, and after 2.Nf3 g6 — the latter handling the London, Torre, Barry, and fianchetto tries against a King’s-Indian/Grünfeld set-up.

The recommendations are ambitious rather than merely safe: the goal throughout is to give Black a sound position with real winning chances, not just equality, against opponents hoping to avoid a theoretical fight.

A genuinely useful book to own, because these systems appear constantly at club and tournament level. Aimed at intermediate and advanced players.