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SECRETS OF OPENING SURPRISES 2
Editor: Jeroen Bosch
New in Chess (2005)
141 pages
$21.95
SECRETS OF OPENING SURPRISES 3
Editor: Jeroen Bosch
New in Chess (2005)
144pages
$21.95
Reviewed by John Watson
Jeroen Bosch’s SECRETS OF OPENING SURPRISES 2 and 3 are quite different that the first volume that I praised highly when it came out in 2003. In the case of the original SECRETS OF OPENING SURPRISES (“SOS”), Bosch’s own New In Chess Magazine columns were collected into a 204-page book. In these last two volumes he is both author and editor. Volume 2 has five articles by Bosch and twelve by other strong players, including grandmasters Beliavsky, Notkin, Krasenkow, Rogozenko, Movsesian. Glek and Rowson. Volume 3 contains five more articles by Bosch and the contributions of, for example, Romanishin, Rogers, Mikhail Gurevich (two articles), Chernikov, Flear, and more (Rogozenko and Beliavsky appear again). One thing remains constant, however: the openings discussed in the articles are all eccentric, ranging from the nearly-nonsensical to those which are more established but still part of the underground chess movement. For all except the professional player and the “irregular openings” fanatic, some if not the majority of these opening ideas will indeed be surprises.
Bosch’s first chapter in both volumes is an update on the theory presented in earlier editions, eight pages in Volume 2 and nine pages in Volume 3. This update can be as interesting as anything else as it covers such diverse ground. In #2 we return to openings with a3 such as 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.a3 and 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.a3!?. Magnus Carlsen’s miniature victory versus Dolmatov with 1.Nf3 f5 2.d3 was an inspiration not only Bosch but also Stefan Kindermann in his 2005 LENINGRAD SYSTEM translation and rewrite. The Volume 3 update includes four pages of developments in the Albin Countergambit, new information about 1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Ne5!?, the fairly well-known but eccentric idea 1.e4 c5 2.c3 Qa5!?, and the strange 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.g3 Nxe4!? This is all in the first chapter. I hope that you’re beginning to get the idea.
Turning to the actual articles, Volume 2 includes (by way of example) Notkin’s discussion of 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 h5!?, Bosch on 3...h6 in the French (3.Nd2 h6 and 3.Nc3 h6), Movsesian on 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.h3!?, and Rowson on the remarkable Gruenfeld with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Na4!?, a replacement for Nalbandian’s original 5.Na4!?. Volume 3 has Gurevich discussing 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d3 Nc6 4.g3 Bd6!?, Bosch on 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Na3 e5!?, Mark Bluvshtein covering 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Bd3, Rogers 1.e4 c6 2.e4 d5 3.f3 e5!?, and so forth.
The thing that surprises me most about these articles is that however obscure an idea may be, it seems that there are always bundles of games to quote and a surprising number of IM and GM practitioners. It seems that everyone would like to escape from the exhausting task of keeping current with main-line theory.
Now for the important point: These ideas are fun! Anyone can sit back, absorb this material, daydream about playing some nutty idea, and then actually do so against that master who always beats you in the opening! As the articles demonstrate, the sheer surprise of the key moves has defeated many opponents – why not yours? Bottom line: you may have to be crazy to play these variations, but you’d definitely be crazy not to buy at least one of these titles.
Click to buy (or get more information about) SECRETS OF OPENING SURPRISES (SOS), Volume 1.
Click to buy (or get more information about) SECRETS OF OPENING SURPRISES (SOS), VOLUME 2.
Click to buy (or get more information about) SECRETS OF OPENING SURPRISES (SOS), Volume 3.
Click to buy (or get more information about) SECRETS OF OPENING SURPRISES (SOS), Volume 4.
Click and SAVE $7.80 BY GETTING ALL FOUR VOLUMES OF SOS!
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