In the King’s Indian Defense, on the other hand, the locked center obliges Black to attack in the Kingside, while white must necessarily counter in the Queenside.

In the Sicilian Defense, for instance, white gains space advantage out of the opening, which he must convert to a Kingside attack before Black comes through with his Queenside play. Memorization should be coupled with thorough understanding of the opening objectives and standard plans that this book explains so very well. The most valuable lesson I learned from this book is that memorizing opening moves never works by itself. It does so not only clearly but comprehensively as well, covering the classical openings (double King’s Pawn and Queen’s Pawn openings), Indian Defenses, Flank, and even Irregular openings. It starts with a full chapter on general opening principles, then lays down the objectives and the typical plans each side must aim and prepare for in the various openings. What this book is terrifically good at is in laying the foundations of good opening play. I might add that it should be studied about two to three years after learning chess, when the beginner has been left long enough on his own to mishandle openings as to understand the correct play that this book teaches. In fact, it should be one of the very first chess books for everyone, and the only requisite to enjoying and making the most out of it is a good grasp of tactics, the nuts and bolts of chess. This should be everyone’s first opening book. With that said, let me share eight opening books that have helped me significantly with my opening play. Personally, I have devoted more study time to the opening than to any part or phase of chess, but I also believe that all-important skills such as calculation, positional judgement and technical proficiency mustn’t be neglected.

Elite players, too, nowadays, win by thorough opening preparation. After all, knowing our openings well allows us to play in our attacking or positional style, or to punish opponents for early mistakes. There is something about studying openings that gives us a sense of satisfaction and security, and we feel we train the right way when we do.

Most of us give utmost importance to opening training, and despite the advice of strong players never to give the opening more than the due attention it deserves, we persist. It bears very significant consequences to the game, determining the kind of middle game and even end game we head into. Many chess players consider the opening to be the most important phase of chess.

Beat chess books