Everyman has two series of opening books. Their traditional line is devoted to specific topical opening variations and is aimed at a market of players from 2000 on up. More recently they have come out with their “starting out series,” which features fewer games and more explanatory prose. These books are not aimed at beginners, but rather players from 1600-2000, with those 2000 -2400 also finding things of interest. The latest in the series is the first book by the Scottish IM John Shaw.

An example of more specialized chess literature is UNUSUAL QUEEN’S GAMBIT DECLINED by Chris Ward. This book is devoted solely to the Albin Counter Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5), the Baltic Defense (1.d4 d5 2.c4 Bf5) and the Chigorin Defense (1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nc6).

Many players below the master level pass on these openings, preferring to play the King’s Indian and the Grunfeld, but to their detriment. All three systems covered by Ward feature plenty of sharp play with lots of tactics and attacks against the King. This especially goes for the under rated Albin, which is a perfect laboratory for mastering the fundamentals of a lead in development, attacking the King and King safety.

Ward does a good job of covering the Albin and the Baltic Defense, but just really doesn’t have enough space to do justice to the Chigorin, which has blossomed under it’s advocacy by FIDE 2700 Alexander Morozevich. One example of how he has had to deal with his lack of space is his coverage (one single game) of 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nc6 and now Kramnik’s choice, 3.Bf4 and the commonly seen 3.g3, which leads to a type of Veresov in reverse.

This book is all you need if you want to play the Albin or Baltic for either color, and should suffice for those wishing to play the White side of the Chigorin. Those looking to employ it as Black will want to use it along with other recent sources.

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