Mastering the Chess Openings: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Modern Chess Openings, Volume 2

Watson does a great job of covering the 1.d4 chess openings.

I have all four volumes and enjoy the learning process. Using them to build a repitoir.

This volume covers the QP openings.Like Volume 1 it explains the concepts concerning pawn structure and piece placement, rather than give variations to memorize.If you want to understand WHAT to do in an opening, rather than HOW to do it, these are the books for you.

I was looking for "one book" that would provide coverage of the Black defenses to Whites d4 opening and this is it!

ARRIVED IN TIME AND IS A VERY GOOD REFFERENCE TO KEEP IN YOUR LIBERARY

Excelente

Talk...talk ....talk and very little variants.

It took joining a local chess club and repeatedly getting clobbered right out of the opening to realize that in order to stand much of a chance I needed to invest more time in the study of opening theory. I already have a copy of MCO but it is heavy on spewing out moves, light on explanation and has more than a few typos that sometimes make following the variations difficult. I researched books on opening theory and finally settled on Watson's Mastering the Chess Openings series. This is a somewhat more costly resource than many of the others available (four volumes instead of a single book) but it's a worthwhile investment.This is actually the first book in the series that I bought, as I wanted a better understanding of queen pawn openings (it's hard to defend against them when you don't understand them).Volume 2 of the series deals with the majority of queen pawn openings, 1. d4. It is certainly not exhaustive in that it does not cover every single variation of every queen pawn opening, but it has the large majority of what most chess players will encounter over the board. The openings covered include:- Queen's Gambit Declined- Slav and Semi-Slav- Nimzo-Indian Defense- Queen's Indian Defense- King's Indian Defense- Grunfeld Defense- Modern BenoniWatson does a great job of explaining all of these opening systems (or opening defenses as appropriate). That is, rather than give a summary blurb about the opening and then just prattling on with move after move, he walks the reader through the opening, explaining the purpose behind each move. Then, once finished with the main sequence of moves, he includes one or more instructive games with relevant analysis and variations. This is so much more helpful than a cold and clinical presentation of silent moves.Watson's writing style is very clear and approachable. He neither talks down to his readership nor does he assume that everyone has a doctorate in chess.This is a superb series on chess openings which will leave the reader with a much clearer understanding of not just the moves involved in the openings but also an understanding of the purpose and goals of any given opening and variation covered. Although the cost of the series is more than that of a single volume it is well worth it.

A must have for every chess player along with its companion no1 in series. Thoroughly explains and analyses d4 openings.