A chess player's opening sets the tone for the entire game, creating the advantages or disadvantages that lead to victory or defeat. In this step-by-step guide, former U.S. speed chess champion Bill Robertie reveals more than 25 openings that will help beginning and intermediate players seize the early advantage.
The most confusing moves are explained very well, but there’s a fair number of notation errors in this edition that made it hard to follow. Also, it’s a chess book.
Inspired by an encounter with an old friend, I've been trying to rebuild my chess game. It's a challenge at this age, and one of the things I've lost is my opening theory, so I thought this little book might help me remember. But it's very much a survey and doesn't have enough depth to be really useful. It helped me recall a few things, but only because I once knew them. For a beginner, about all it would do is help you find the names of different openings. It's better on king pawn openings than queen pawn openings and mostly ignores everything else.
I feel like following the moves helped me see chess in a new way. I doubt I could remember the sequence if I were in a game with an actual opponent. But, I really enjoyed watching how chess masters set up their games. They made moves I'd never see. It was fascinating.
There were a few typos, and notation errors in the edition I got, but I found it a solid introduction to common chess opening strategies, as someone trying to learn how to play beyond the basic rules. Robertie's writing also flows well, and is easy to read.