Every now and then you run across a book that readily demonstrates the care that the author took in its assembly. When it's written on a subject that should interest the average tournament player, it deserves a high rating. This is that sort of book.

The Torre Attack is one of those openings that deserves more attention than it gets. Over the years, it has featured in the repertoires of the likes of Petrosian, Spassky, Kamsky, and Yusupov. It suffers somewhat from a reputation as a stodgy variation, but white can play many of its lines in a sharp fashion, and black must have a solid understanding to reach equality. 

For the practical player, this can be an ideal opening. Many black players lump it with other "no think" systems where white trots out his moves with little regard for what black is doing. If the black player approaches the Torre in this lackadaisical fashion, he could get burned.

Of course, the value of the opening does not necessarily translate into the value of the book in question, but Burgess has done a fine job of providing useful coverage. He starts out with a solid 28-page introduction that explains the merit of the opening, discusses move order issues, and provides 12 illustrative games. It is notable that four of these games are winning efforts by the author against experienced international players - Burgess does practice what he preaches in this book.

The layout of the balance of the material suggests one of its strengths - Burgess has approached this topic in the manner that a teacher would. He has grouped material for ease of assimilation, and he has provided general overviews when these will prove useful. 

Burgess begins his discussion with a critical variation that any white Torre player must be ready and willing to meet - the lines where black, with ...c5 and ...Qb6, aims directly at the weakened pawn on b2. This is a critical try, because the move Bg5 removes the bishop from the defense of this pawn, and the Torre's rejection of an early c2-c4 means that white also does not have defenses of the pawn with the queen other than the somewhat passive Qc1. I can understand why some black players have viewed this as an acid test: often the white Torre player is perceived to be a solid (if not passive) player, and white must act forcefully to show his compensation for the gambited pawn in these lines. Still, as Burgess (and many practitioners) has shown, the line is dangerous for black.

After a couple of chapters covering early deviations, Burgess launches into one of the meaty areas of the book in fine fashion by dealing with the "Torre Jungle" after 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bg5 c5 4.e3. Burgess prefaces his theoretical discussion with four pages that show the typical piece placements and the ideas for both sides. As the author notes, there are a variety of move orders and transpositions, so it helps to understand what each side is attempting to achieve.

Burgess fully discusses these "Torre Jungle" positions, depending on whether or not black plays ...d5 or keeps his pawns more flexible (usually with ...d6) over 57 pages.  This is clearly one of the key battlegrounds in the Torre, and the author doesn't skimp on its coverage. I think this is particularly important for the typical tournament player, because these are the types of set-ups that a black player who is not keenly aware of Torre theory may gravitate toward.

The other primary option for black, systems where he plays ...g6 rather than ...e6, do not feature as prominently in terms of coverage. Burgess gets by here with just 24 pages (including an introduction), and I must admit that it feels a little skimpy to me. Perhaps we should not be too critical - Burgess makes it pretty clear that he feels that black has easier roads to equality here than in the Torre proper where black plays ...e6. If, however, you are looking for the "all lines leads to a white advantage" you'll be disappointed. Of course, you'll probably be disappointed by any rational discussion of the opening.

Burgess does not use the common method of illustrative games in this book's layout.  That usually tends to make it easier to present the material in a balanced way. While this book is written from the white perspective, I don't think the author goes out of his way to mislead in evaluations. I compared the theory in this book with Watson's THE UNCONVENTIONAL KING'S INDIAN, Gallagher's BEATING THE ANTI-KING'S INDIANS, and THE BIG BOOK OF BUSTS (click to see Silman's review of that book) and didn't find any glaring holes in Burgess' coverage or representations of the state of theory.

There are a lot of little things that I like about this book. First, while Burgess covers all the necessary theory, he takes the time to also explain a lot of move order nuance and transpositional ideas that otherwise lose the average player. He also provides enough explanation so that the moves don't just run into each other. There is also a useful index of variations, clear print and diagrams, and a hefty overall feel to the book.

In conclusion, there has not been a solid work that analyzes the whole of this useful opening variation for many years. Given that the theory of this variation is less volatile than some other openings, this should prove useful for white and black players for a long time.

Click to see Silman's review of this book.

YOU CAN FIND THIS BOOK AT