Flank openings: A study of Reti's Opening, the Catalan, English and King's Indian attack complex

by Raymond D. Keene

Flank A study of Reti's Opening, the Catalan, English and King's Indian attack complex (B C M quarterly) Very good condition, some tanning on underside of covers

Genres: Chess

Paperback

First published December 1, 1979

Reviews

[Manny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book at age 14, shortly after I decided to get serious about chess, and it was far too advanced for me. I did at least get that Benkö had managed to crush Fischer using the move 1. g3, so presumably that was worth looking at. I started playing 1. g3 myself, and achieved some quite good results until I switched to the more mainstream 1. Nf3.

During my 1. g3 period, I remember looking at a game of Larsen's from this book, which started 1. g3 g6 2. Bg2 Bg7 3. Nc3!? I knew so little about chess that it never even occurred to me that the main point of the sequence was to get Black disoriented by creating a non-standard position. I thought it was a serious opening, and spent some time wondering what I was supposed to do if Black answered 3... Nc6. I still don't know.

On reflection, this is quite a common occurrence when reading all kinds of things. You think carefully about what the author was trying to achieve, and later understand that he just wanted to confuse you.