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Title: Starting Out: the Ruy Lopez by John Shaw ISBN: 1-85744-321-7 Publisher: Everyman Chess Pub. Date: 01 August, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3 (1 review)
Rating: 3
Summary: Good Introduction - with some limits
Comment: The Starting Out series by Everyman Books gives a quick one volume survey of major openings and is aimed at giving players who are interested in a particular opening a taste of the associated positions, concepts, and practical play. I've read through previous titles in the series by Joe Gallagher on the King's Indian Defense and the Caro-Kann, and John Emms on the Sicilian Defense and found them to be quite useful. Bear in mind that these books are just surveys and not in depth discussions. Strong points:
1. Nearly all of the example games are taken from recent GM play (2000-2001).
2. Currently popular lines of play are discussed. Not just 'data dumps' - but offers real opinions and does warn readers when a line is volatile and involves heavy study.
3. Why certain lines of play, especially seeming natural moves which are shunned are explained - this is particularly helpful to players starting out, who may not see immediately why an otherwise natural developing move is weak or bad in the long run.
4. The major current variations are discussed: Kramnik's Berlin defense, Exchange variation, Schliemann, Moeller and Archangel variation, Open defense, 3rd and 4th move variants, Breyer, Zaitsev, and classic Chigorin.
Weak points:
1. There is little historical information unless related directly to the variation discussed. So you won't find any reference to Capablanc Marshall 1918 in the discussion of the Marshall - in fact, the author wont' even tell you who Marshall was! Also missing are Lasker Capablanca 1914, the famous exchange variation game. So those of you who like a little historical perspective in their books won't find it here. If you are interested in this aspect, you may want to get books on Paul Keres, Anatoly Karpov (early years) and of course Bobby Fischer, who were all masters of the Ruy.
2. The emphasis on current lines of play is helpful for active tournament players but for average club or serious-casual players it is less helpful. Knowing the latest Super GM lines of play does little to help if you lack the Super GM endgame or middle game skills.
3. Some of the helpful explainations are buried within the notes. To get the most of the text, you should play along with a set and be prepared to read through the notes carefully. I realize that this is what most serious players do, but more casual fans are warned.
4. Does miss some of the other variations which are not currently in vogue - Worrall attack, de-emphasizes Bird defense, Siesta, etc. The Worrall and other conservative styles of play which strong GM avoid because they are not sufficiently aggressive are quite popular in clubs and lower levels of play.
Conclusion: if you play chess seriously in tournaments, on-line, or by mail, and was curious about the Ruy Lopez, this book can help you get an idea of where current theory exists as of 2001-2002. From there you can then study specific monographs or search for games on Chessbase. If you are a casual club player, it is helpful in general and there are some fine games for your study but maybe beyond your needs. It is a tough job to survey one of the great openings in chess in a single short volume, and I believe that the author has fulfilled his mission of giving the reader 'a start'.
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Title: Starting Out: the English by Neil McDonald ISBN: 1857443225 Publisher: Everyman Chess Pub. Date: 01 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Starting Out: The Pirc/Modern by Joe Gallagher ISBN: 1857443365 Publisher: Everyman Chess Pub. Date: 01 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Starting Out: King's Indian by Joe Gallagher ISBN: 1857442342 Publisher: Everyman Chess Pub. Date: 01 June, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Starting Out: The French by Byron Jacobs ISBN: 1857442296 Publisher: Everyman Chess Pub. Date: 01 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Starting Out: The Caro-Kann by Joe Gallagher ISBN: 1857443039 Publisher: Everyman Chess Pub. Date: 01 November, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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