SECRETS OF OPENING SURPRISES
Author: Jeroen Bosch
204 pages
Price: $24.95
New in Chess (2003)

Reviewed by Randy Bauer

Randy’s Rating: 7.5

SECRETS OF OPENING SURPRISES, VOLUME 2

Editor: Jeroen Bosch

141 pages

Price: $21.95

New in Chess (2004)

Reviewed by Randy Bauer

Randy’s Rating: 8.0

This promising new series provides hope and inspiration for the time-challenged tournament player – there are, indeed, methods to take the game out of the thicket of opening theory at a very early stage. While this is not a new concept in thought or book, this may be the best effort so far to provide new, untested ideas that can stand up to the test of serious theoretical scrutiny.

The author is an international master who writes an “SOS” column for New in Chess magazine. As a consequence, Bosch is a noted authority on opening surprises, and it shows in his steady handling of the material.

In the first volume, Bosch is the sole author, and he provides innovative ways to get out of the book everywhere from move 1 to 9. While these are not novelties, they provide a way to get out of all but generally rudimentary theory at an early stage. Some of these, since the book’s release, have gotten fairly popular, but that is the nature of the beast in opening theory.

Volume one contains six sections, and most are built around a theme that is found in more than one opening. In the first section, white uses the pawn move a2-a3 to effect, with chapters covering the Four Knights 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.a3, the Pirc 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.a3, and the Sicilian after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.a3. Each of these is a form of prophylaxis – the first is a “high class waiting move” that keeps a black bishop off b4 and sets up a number of transpositions to reversed 1.e4 e5 lines, the Pirc a3 is directed at early …c5 lines, and the Sicilian a3 prevents black’s Pin variation with …Bb4. In each case, black is left to his own devices at an early stage.

One of the things I enjoyed about the first volume is that the suggestions varied considerably in their theoretical depth. For example, the open Sicilian line with 6.a3 is a method for dealing with one of many lines after 4.Nxd4 and will likely appeal to a player with a fairly broad opening knowledge seeking an answer to a specific line. By contrast, the line in the Four Knights provides few alternatives for black and could be pretty much an all-encompassing method for dealing with 1.e4 e5.

The first volume offers plenty of both types of surprises. One section, on early queen moves, provides early ideas like 1.d4 f5 2.Qd3; 1.e4 c5 2.c3 Qa5; and 1.d4 d6 2.Nf3 Bg4 3.Qd3. At the same time, more theoretically involved ideas are included, such as 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.exd6 exd6 6.Nc3 Be7 7.Qf3 or 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Nd5 Nxd5 8.exd5 Nb8 9.Qf3. Again, this mix and match approach will appeal to a variety of players.

While many of volume one’s ideas could be considered appetizers, there are two chapters that are closer to being “main courses” – the French Wing Gambit (1.e4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e5 c5 4.b4) and the Sicilian Kupreichik variation (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bd7. These get over 30 pages each, meaning that these two lines comprise about 40% of the book’s analytical content. While both lines have merit, this may limit the book’s value for players who are not interested in either line.

It must also be understood that the wide variety of ideas considered in the first volume means that there is little in depth analysis on any but the two lines mentioned in the previous chapter. Here you’ll find lots of ideas, but they are often still in the embryonic stage – an approach that may work for some but not all players.

Volume two is an evolution of the previous work, and, in general, it is an improvement.  While Bosch was the single author of volume one, in the second volume, he pens just five of the 17 chapters. He is joined by a remarkably strong cast, including chapters by Grandmasters Beliavsky, Flear, Glek, Krasenkow. Rogers, and Rowson. These world class players provide their own unique perspective, often as players in the lines under discussion, and this gives the book a slightly more authoritative feel than the first volume.

The second volume also benefits from the first. One of the more interesting additions is a section that updates developments in the lines from volume one. In some cases, these lines dramatically alter assessments made in the first volume. The final game in this chapter is the winner of the contest for the best idea from volume one – and a good one it is, as Magnus Carlsen uses an idea from the previous book to blow away former World Championship Candidate Sergey Dolmatov in just 19 moves.

While I enjoyed the early contrary nature of the ideas in volume one, volume two strikes me as slightly more useful. Here, the focus shifts to unusual but somewhat known variations in fairly standard openings. While some may find the 1.Nf3 b5 of volume one to be their cup of tea, my guess is that many players are looking for novelties they can fit into their otherwise somewhat normal repertoire. Given the caliber of authors, who are mostly internationally titled tournament players, it’s no surprise that the second volume delivers a slightly more sophisticated take on opening surprises.

Some of these jumped out at me as “points machines” – the sorts of lines that a well-versed player can use over and over again. Back in my early chess years, I scored a phenomenal record with 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4, and lines from volume two like 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bg5 Nbd7 4.Qd3 strike me as having similar potential. 

It had to come to this, but SOS Volume 2 also might present something of a first – an SOS to a sort of SOS line that had become the theoretical rage. Several years ago, Grunfeld advocates were challenged by 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Na4!? 

This SOS sort of move prepares e2-e4 without allowing the exchange of knights on c3, which helps white’s pawn structure, keeps more pieces on the board since white has more space, and restrains the natural freeing move ...c7-c5. Here GM Rowson, the author of an authoritative work on the Grunfeld, discusses the state of theory when white tries to improve by first inserting 5.Nf3 Bg7 6.Na4.

Given Rowson’s knowledge of the subject, this is a very interesting discussion. It highlights how even the search for SOS opportunities has gotten more sophisticated. It also provides a greater depth to the discussion of this SOS than might have been found in volume one.

Of course, one of the differences is that there are no articles of the 30 plus page length found in volume two. I think most players will benefit from the broader array of topics with expert commentary found in volume two; there certainly will be a select few who would prefer the lines subjected to this greater focus in volume one. It is also notable that, given its smaller page content, the price has been reduced in volume two.

In conclusion, this is an excellent series worth purchasing for most players wishing to play the opening well without a huge investment in theoretical research. Many of these lines will stand the test of time and not test the average player’s limited openings research time. If nothing else, they will get the reader thinking about how they can play the opening in chess in a way that doesn’t require a slavish adherence to 10 or 20 moves of opening theory. SOS provides a liberating opportunity, and most players would benefit from accepting the chance.

Click to buy SECRETS OF OPENING SURPRISES.

Click to buy SECRETS OF OPENING SURPRISES (volume 2).