Fco: Fundamental Chess Openings - by Paul Van Der Sterren (Paperback)

About the Book

"Based on De wereld van de schaakopeningen published in three volumes in Dutch language by Tirion Uitgevers BV"--Title page verso.

Book Synopsis

* The perfect survival guide to the chess openings
* All openings covered
* Detailed verbal explanations of plans for both sides
* Up-to-date and featuring many tips and recommendations
* Insights into the 'character' of each opening
* Written by one of the world's foremost opening experts

The first moves of a chess game define the nature of the whole struggle, as both players stake their claim to the critical squares and start to develop their plans. It is essential to play purposefully and to avoid falling into traps or reaching a position that you don't understand.

This is not a book that provides masses of variations to memorize. Paul van der Sterren instead offers a wealth of ideas and explanation, together with the basic variations of each and every opening. This knowledge will equip players to succeed in the opening up to good club level, and provide a superb grounding in opening play on which to build a more sophisticated repertoire. The strategies he explains will, unlike ever-changing chess opening theory, remain valid as long as chess is played, and so the time spent studying this book will be rewarded many times over.

Grandmaster Paul van der Sterren has won the Dutch Championship on two occasions, and in 1993 reached the Candidates stage of the World Chess Championship. He is an internationally renowned chess writer and editor: he was one of the founding editors of New in Chess, for whose Yearbooks he has contributed more than 150 opening surveys.

Review Quotes

"A modern day version of Reuben Fine's Ideas Behind the Chess Openings, Fundamental Chess Openings primarily uses words to describe the ideas and motivations behind different opening systems. The emphasis is on understanding rather than memorization with van der Sterren rarely going beyond move ten. The contents page shows that all major openings are covered." - John Donaldson, Gold-Medal Winning USA Team Captain

"I picked up some tips in openings which I had never fully understood" - GM Ian Rogers, The Byron Shire Echo

"The Dutchman, one of the best opening experts, has observed trends for the last three decades. His book reflects the current standing of each opening and explains it logically in a nice, readable style. Variations are kept to a minimum, but there are enough of them to underscore the main ideas. The book should be an eye-opener for any chess player who is interested in openings and curious about how far they have progressed and where they are going." - GM Lubosh Kavalek, Washington Post

About the Author

Grandmaster Paul van der Sterren has won the Dutch Championship on two occasions, and in 1993 reached the Candidates stage of the World Chess Championship. He is an internationally renowned chess writer and editor: he was one of the founding editors of New in Chess, for whose Yearbooks he has contributed more than 150 opening surveys.