Yearbook 117: Chess Opening News (PB)

This Yearbook 117: Chess Opening News is a paperback opening yearbook for players who want to stay up to date with current theory, compare fresh ideas and test them in practical play.

It is aimed at players, coaches and ambitious amateurs, and it brings together analysis of openings after 1.e4, 1.d4 and flank openings. The mix of concrete variation work and commentary on modern tournament practice makes it useful both for repertoire building and for independent study.

What’s inside

This issue includes a forum section with discussion around The Lazy Man’s Sicilian, featuring contributions from Ashot Nadanian, Mark Dvoretsky, Bogdan Lalic and Viacheslav Zakhartsov.

In the column section, Joel Benjamin continues Repertoire Building with a practical approach to Sicilian Defence lines after 2...Nc6. In Kuzmin’s Harvest, Alexey Kuzmin looks at the most important opening novelties from the World Cup in Baku.

The yearbook also includes a preview of a new version of A Chess Opening Repertoire for Blitz and Rapid by grandmaster Evgeny Sveshnikov and Vladimir Sveshnikov.

Book reviews are part of the package too. Glenn Flear discusses The Old Indian: move by move by Junior Tay, The Killer Dutch by Simon Williams, The Lazy Man’s Sicilian by Valeri Bronznik and Steve Giddins, and Grandmaster Repertoire 1A: 1.d4 – The Catalan by Boris Avrukh.

Opening coverage

Yearbook 117 covers a wide range of opening work. On the 1.e4 side, it includes analysis of Sicilian Defence lines such as the Najdorf, Alapin and Basman-Sale variations, as well as the French Defence Steinitz Variation, the Portuguese Variation of the Scandinavian Defence, the Russian Defence, the Spanish Opening, the Italian Game, the King’s Gambit and complex positions arising from the Italian Game and the Two Knights Defence.

The 1.d4 section looks at the Queen’s Gambit Declined, the Slav Defence, the Catalan, the Queen’s Indian Defence, the Grünfeld Defence and classical King’s Indian Defence lines. There is also a separate section on flank openings, including the English Opening, Réti and systems with 1.b3.

Practical training

One of the strongest features of this issue is its set of more than 75 practical opening exercises, designed to check how well you understand the ideas being discussed. It is a useful addition if you want to do more than read variations and also train your sense of plans, typical moves and critical moments in the opening.

If you are building a tournament repertoire, preparing for rapid or blitz games, or simply keeping up with opening theory, Yearbook 117: Chess Opening News is a valuable addition to a chess library.

Key details

• Product type: paperback chess opening yearbook
• Title: Yearbook 117: Chess Opening News
• Format: paperback
• Content focus: chess opening news and analysis
• Opening coverage: openings after 1.e4, 1.d4 and flank openings
• Exercises: more than 75 practical opening exercises
• Audience: players, coaches and ambitious amateurs
• Included item: paperback book