For many chess-players, opening study is sheer hard work. It is difficult to know what is important and what is not, and when specific knowledge is vital, or when a more general understanding is sufficient. Tragically often, once the opening is over, a player won’t know what plan to follow, or even understand why his pieces are on the squares on which they sit.
In this highly-acclaimed and popular series, John Watson helps chess-players achieve a more holistic and insightful view of the openings. He explains not only the ideas and strategies behind specific openings, but also the interconnections of chess openings taken as a whole. By presenting the common threads that underlie opening play, Watson provides a permanent basis for playing openings of any type.
This third volume focuses on the English Opening while also drawing together many threads from the first two books in a wide-ranging discussion of general opening topics. Particularly in the context of reversed and analogous forms of standard structures, we understand why certain ideas work and others don’t, and experience the concept of ‘Cross-Pollination’ at work in even more varied forms than seen in the first two volumes.
International Master John Watson is one of the world’s most respected writers on chess. His groundbreaking four-volume work on the English firmly established his reputation in the 1980s, and he has produced a string of top-quality works since. In 1999, Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy, Watson’s first book for Gambit, won the British Chess Federation Book of the Year Award and the United States Chess Federation Fred Cramer Award for Best Book. He reviews chess books for The Week in Chess and hosts a weekly radio show on the Internet Chess Club.
Industry Reviews
"I can say without a doubt this book is going to be a huge aid to me when preparing, or trying to get to grips with certain English positions, with both White and Black! I can also see how the book is going to be of much benefit to someone who is just starting out on the English Opening, because there is a mass of explanation on the motives for both sides in each position. ... If you want to learn about, or gain more understanding of the English Opening (with both White and Black), then this book has to be your number one choice! Awesome stuff." - GM Stephen Gordon, 3Cs Chess
"Those interested in the English Opening should consult John Watson's new book Mastering the Chess Openings Volume 3. Watson expertly guides the reader through the tricky English roads, scattering some pretty gems along the way." - GM Lubosh Kavalek, Washington Post
"Watson is an icon in chess publishing ... There is nothing to be compared to the approach presented in this book." - IM Frank Zeller, Schachwelt
