Yearbook 120: Chess Opening News

This Yearbook 120: Chess Opening News is a specialist chess opening yearbook for players who want current theory, practical analysis and training material in one place. It is aimed at ambitious players building a repertoire, as well as tournament players who want to stay up to date with opening developments.

What’s in this issue

The Forum section brings together new theoretical contributions from Ian Nepomniachtchi, Evgeny Najer, Karsten Müller, Frank Erwich and A.C. van der Tak. It is a particularly useful part of the issue if you are looking for fresh ideas and practical improvements for your own opening work.

Regular columns continue with Repertoire Building with Benjamin, where the American grandmaster examines an important type of position with an isolated queen’s pawn. In Kuzmin’s Harvest, Alexey Kuzmin looks at Vladimir Kramnik’s opening philosophy and the thinking of one of the leading players of the modern era.

The review section, written by Glenn Flear, covers four books: Bologan's Ruy Lopez for Black from New In Chess, The Taimanov Bible and Unknown Weapons in the Grünfeld from Thinkers Publishing, and Bf4 in the Queen's Gambit and the Exchange Slav from Chess Stars.

Opening coverage

Yearbook 120 covers a wide range of opening work, so it can support players of 1.e4, 1.d4 and 1.c4 alike. The issue includes analysis of:

• Sicilian Defence – Najdorf: 6.Bg5 and 6.Bc4
• Sicilian Defence – Nimzowitsch Variation: 2...Nf6
• French Defence – Steinitz Variation: 7.Be3
• French Defence – Winawer Variation: 6...Ne7
• Caro-Kann Defence – Advance Variation: 4.h4
• Ruy Lopez – Berlin Defence: 4.d3 and 4.0-0
• Ruy Lopez – Open Variation: 9.Qe2
• Italian Game – Giuoco Piano: 6.Bg5
• Scotch Game – Classical Variation: 4...Bc5
• Philidor Defence: 5.Bc4
• Queen’s Gambit Declined – Exchange Variation: 5.Bg5
• Slav Defence – Botvinnik Variation: 10...Be7
• Slav Defence – Slow Slav: 4.e3
• Nimzo-Indian Defence – Classical Variation: 4.Qc2
• Nimzo-Indian Defence / Ragozin: 6.Bg5
• Queen’s Indian Defence – Nimzowitsch Variation: 4...Ba6
• Grünfeld Defence – Exchange Variation: 7.Nf3
• King’s Indian Defence – Main Line: 6.Be2
• Colle System: 2...b6 3.Bg5
• Trompowsky Opening: 3.h4
• English Opening – Symmetrical Variation: 5.d4
• English Opening – Double Fianchetto: 6.b3
• Réti Opening: 1...d5 2.c4 c6

The combination of surveys and exercises makes this issue especially practical. Alongside the articles, it includes more than 75 practical opening exercises that help you test your understanding of typical plans, ideas and moves in specific positions. If you want a volume of Chess Opening News that organises current theory, highlights new ideas from leading authors and gives you material for independent study, Yearbook 120 is a strong addition to any chess library.

Key details

• Product type: specialist chess opening book
• Publication type: specialist chess opening yearbook
• Focus: current trends in chess openings
• Opening coverage: Sicilian Defence, French Defence, Caro-Kann Defence, Ruy Lopez, Italian Game, Scotch Game, Philidor Defence, Queen's Gambit Declined, Slav Defence, Nimzo-Indian Defence, Queen's Indian Defence, Grünfeld Defence, King's Indian Defence, Colle System, Trompowsky Opening, English Opening and Réti Opening
• Training content: more than 75 practical opening exercises
• Forum contributors: Ian Nepomniachtchi, Evgeny Najer, Karsten Müller, Frank Erwich and A.C. van der Tak
• Included content: chess opening surveys, theoretical forum contributions, practical opening exercises and book reviews