The O’Kelly is the 5th most popular response to 2.Nf3 in the Sicilian. It is a sound weapon and still contains a lot of surprise value. You will notice this in the time White generally takes for his third move when you play on one of the internet platforms. With some general knowledge about the Sicilian Defence and good theoretical preparation, built on the basis of the lines presented in this book, you will have an excellent starting point to obtain good results in this intriguing chess opening.
The history of the Queen's Gambit is connected with the very beginnings of modern chess, the opening being cited in the earliest published books on the science game, such as the Göttingen manuscript (1490) and the books of Ruy Lopez (1561) and Salvio (1604). The so-called Queen's Gambit Declined - or refused - is, together with the Slav, the main defense in the universe of Queenside openings, and shares with the aforementioned defense a well earned reputation for being a reliable and very solid scheme.
To make a book considering each and every possibility arising from the opening position of the Queen's Gambit Declined is a cyclopean task that would demand many volumes like the present one. Instead, my aim was to present a simpler repertoire, with no more than one or two variation options for each important position (in the latter case I generally present a more positional and a more aggressive line, although in many cases these boundaries are blurred).
The last section of the book is devoted to the other possible schemes starting from different white moves on their third or fourth move. Here the chapters on the Catalan order 3.g3, which is among the fashionable lines at the master level, and the move 4.e3 (preceded by a knight move to the third rank) are highlighted.
Each section presented here is composed of several chapters in which theory is developed with an emphasis on the most modern choices in practice. At the end of each chapter the author presented analyzed games that expose the most common ideas in middlegames. We hope that by the end of reading this material the reader will not only have incorporated some new ideas into his repertoire - and perhaps changed the idea that the Queen's Gambit Declined is a passive defense - but also have contributed to his general knowledge of chess.
(FREE RE-DOWNLOADABLE FOR THOSE WHO PURCHASED THE FIRST EDITION) Contrary to what the critical pessimists might say, the Reti opening is an ambitious weapon for White. By avoiding the main theoretical debates, White tries to reach an unbalanced position from an early stage of the game, with many different plans being available.
“The Ruy Lopez is such a classic opening that never gets old. Regardless of what you already knew about this opening, there are always new ideas to be found and tested over the board. That is why this book is beneficial to chess players and enthusiasts at all levels, including top Grand Masters like myself. Reading the first volume of this book has been inspiring, as I feel that I have broadened my chess knowledge in certain variations. I am eagerly waiting to try Dariusz’s solid recommendations in my future games, and I look forward to the second volume of his series. Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Ruy Lopez.” ~ Le Quang Liem
I have always been interested by less theoretical Sicilians. I have been playing the Classical Sicilian for a long time and right before the covid period, I decided to find a new one. The Sicilian Kan came to me as a very serious option, and I decided to work on it. In the meantime, my friend and editor Daniël Vanheirzeele offered me the chance to author a book about it. This came to me as a complete surprise, as I had no experience with it. In comparison with my work on the Reti and the Dutch (my two previous books), I am a newbie on the subject. But I decided to accept the challenge. I found it extremely interesting, as this gave me a fresh look at the positions. I think I managed to ask myself the questions everyone would have asked. I also work as a second for others and am accustomed to working on openings I do not necessarily play as well as finding the key ideas very quickly. So, after a deep initial work to understand the variations, I was ready to start writing!