GM10 – The Tarrasch Defence (and what else we are up to)

A few weeks ago we finally sent Grandmaster Repertoire 10 – The Tarrasch Defence to the printer. They will finish printing it on Friday and we will have it on the way to everybody about a week thereafter, with the 12th being the day they are posted from Glasgow. You can find the excerpt here.

At the moment we are finishing Chess Evolution 5/2011 – the November issue. Printing will start on Thursday and will take about 10 working days. With close to 50 topical games, 24 puzzles and a nice article by Etienne Bacrot, this will be a terrific issue.

After this we will spread from all five working on the same project to doing a bit each. Colin will continue the work on Mihai Suba’s Positional Chess Sacrifices. Andrew will work on The Alterman Gambit Guide – Black Gambits 2, as well as help Jacob and Lubomir Ftacnik with Grandmaster Repertoire 6 – The Sicilian Defence 2nd edition. But before Jacob will be ready for this, he needs to finish Martin Weteschnik’s book Chess Tactics from Scratch, which is a totally reworked 2nd edition of the modern classic Understanding Chess Tactics, which is now hard to get hold of. But don’t worry, the second edition will be worth the wait. John will help Jacob, and in turn Jacob will help with John’s nemesis, The King’s Gambit, which would have been out a long time ago, had we not been so busy publishing other people’s books.

In the horizon we also have the last two volumes of Artur Yusupov’s monumental series (forever placing him among the great chess instructors of all time, we think), Jacob’s suicide mission with five volumes of Grandmaster Repertoire with 1.e4 for White, Grandmaster Repertoire – Beating the 1.d4 deviations (basically where White does not play c2-c4) by Boris Avrukh, Soviet Middlegame Technique by Romanovsky and at least a few complete surprises…

Here is the updated (but as always COMPLETELY UNRELIABLE) publishing schedule:

Boris Alterman Das Alterman Gambit-Handbuch: Gambits mit Weiss Early December
Boris Alterman Das Alterman Gambit-Handbuch: Gambits mit Schwarz 1 Early December
Nikos/Aagaard Grandmaster Repertoire 10 – The Tarrasch Defence 9th December
Arkadij Naiditsch Chess Evolution November Early December
Martin Weteschnik Chess Tactics from Scratch – UCT 2nd edition January
Lubomir Ftacnik GM 6 – 2nd edition January
Boris Avrukh Grandmaster Reperotire X – Beating 1.d4 Sidelines January
Mihai Suba Positional Chess Sacrifices January
Boris Alterman Alterman Gambit Guide – Black Gambits 2 February
Boris Alterman Das Alterman Gambit-Handbuch: Gambits mit Schwarz 2 February
John Shaw The King’s Gambit February
Artur Yusupov Chess Evolution 2 March
Jacob Aagaard Grandmaster Repertoire x1 – 1.e4 French, Caro-Kann & Philidor March
Jacob Aagaard Attacking Manual 1 – German April
Jacob Aagaard Attacking Manual 2 – German April
Lubomir Ftacnik GM6 2nd – German May
Romanovsky Soviet Middlegame Technique Later
Jacob Aagaard Grandmaster Repertoire x2 – 1.e4 – Minor Openings Later
Artur Yusupov Chess Evolution 3 Later

119 thoughts on “GM10 – The Tarrasch Defence (and what else we are up to)”

  1. Gilchrist is a Legend

    I will be definitely awaiting GM10 when the websales are posted on Monday 12th December. Why is Avrukh’s upcoming GM Repertoire book without a number?

  2. We have had some previous poor experiences with numbering books before we have to. The book is far progressed, but we still want to be cautious.

  3. @GM Aagaard:

    I am sorry, dumb question, but is Grandmaster Reperotire X – Beating 1.d4 Sidelines by Avrukh for White or for Black? I am assuming this is how Black should play against the Colle, London, Torre, etc.

    Thanks

  4. @csaba
    Early in the spring. Almost all the chess work has been done and we are currently checking for missing lines, which you could imagine is a real possibility! I think we are 3-4 months away from publication.

  5. The small detail I should mention is that Boris has written the book so that if works for QG, Nimzo and GID/KID players alike. Multiple options all over the place. You will not need everything, but there will be something for everyone, no matter what opening you like.

  6. Hi, i have a question about the grandmaster rep. hardcover. i have all the books on hardcover exept GM rep 3 the english opening. but now i see that he is sold out. is there be going a reprint?
    i hope soo or else i have a big hole in my collection.

  7. Jacob, thanks for your reply. Why is that book not on the list, at least in the “later” section? I think there are some people who don’t bother to read the comments section, maybe they would still like to know that there are two Avrukh books in progress, not one?

  8. @csaba
    I don’t want to put a book on the list that the author has not initiated. Unless that author is me! There will be two books as you point out, but I don’t have full control over Boris’ life, so I cannot sign him up to it just because he agreed. I also need to see action before I can keep him accountable.

  9. @Steven Smesman
    This is indeed unfortunate, but there is no sensible way for us to achieve this. We printed just a few copies and have sold even our personal copies, to people who really wanted them. I cannot get a hardcover GM3 either! We have no reason to reprint the paperback book at the moment, and without doing so, it is very expensive to print hardcover editions of a book. It would simply lose money with our current arrangements.

  10. Couple of Qs for GM Aagaard:

    1. Since the publication is so close and it is a second edition rather than a new book can you tell us what will be different the new GM-6? Have there been lines that you have dropped? Do we still have two options vs 6. Be3 & 6. Bg?) Which chapters have been expanded? (from what we had in the newsletters I assume that there will be more on 6. Be2 and a vast expansion on 6. Bg5 Nbd7).

    2. So there will be new GM-3 hardcovers once you guys order another repring for paperbacks?

  11. To Jacob and anyone else that has some advice on this line, I need some help…
    I am having a problem with a certain opp. who always plays this variation of the Botvinnik Semi slav, I am playing white, following the rep. of Playing the Queens Gambit

    1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. e4 b5 7. e5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Nxg5 hxg5 10. Bxg5 Nbd7 11. g3 Rg8 12. h4 Rxg5 13. hxg5 Nd5 14. g6 fxg6 15. Qg4 Qe7 16. Bg2 Qf7 17. Be4 Ne7 18. Nxb5 cxb5 19. Bxa8 Nb6 20. Be4 Bd7 21. Rh8

    22…Bc6 is the move I find it boks and in Data bases, but my opp. always plays 22. …Qg7 I play 23. Qh3 then he play 24. …Nf5 I usaully take with the light sqaured bishop, and then try for a Queen trade as to keep my rook on his 7th Rank, I am not having any success with this stategy in this line against him, and am starting to get frustrated, he usualy start his queen side pawns rolling and I lose…

    Any suggestions, does anyone else encounter this line?

  12. I always found this variation with 12…Rxg5 way too risky and probably just bad. I don’t know any more on this variation though. My only advice is this: look at the experts games! Smeets for example, and analyse what he plays. Especially his very last games, because the evaluation of a position changes game after game! All of these are of no value of course at club level but i understand that it is fascinating to analyse such an opening!

  13. @Hesam
    2. Yes, but this is not happening for quite a while. Sorry. We might look into other options with this one.
    1. Some missing items are added, more things are exchanged with different lines (mainly because it is fun to do so, but also because things have moved) and all things are updated. The second edition will have all the qualities of the first and more.

    I should warn that some of Colin’s articles (based on my newsletter drafts) from Experts on the Anti-Sicilian will be used as starting points for filling some of the holes. After all this is what they were for in the first place.

  14. @Michael
    I would never want to give up the fantastic bishop on e4 for a knight with little real purpose. After 22.Qh3 Nf5 – which is what I think you mean (not 23) – White seems to be close to winning with 23.0-0-0 b4 24.Rdh1 with the simple idea of 25.Qg5 and 26.R1h7. And if 24…Nxd4 to escape with the queen, White also has 25.Qh6! and Black will lose the f8-bishop quite quickly.

  15. @Nikos Ntirlis
    Thanks for the advice, I still think white has very good chances here, I think my mistake as Jacob has pointed out below is what has been causing me problems. Your right though I find the resulting position very facinating!

  16. @Jacob Aagaard
    Thanks Jacob,

    Yes I meant 22. …Nf5

    So my mistake as you pointed out is exchanging the light squared bishop followed by a Queen exchange there by letting my opp. off the hook, 23. 0-0-0 is much better and kepping my light squared bishop and Queen on the board make a lot more sense, not sure why I was trying to grind down to an endgame…

    Thanks for the advice, I feel much more confident about the resulting position.

  17. @Nikos Ntirlis
    I misunderstood, you are saying you don’t think this line is good for black. Am I right?
    Which I agree with if that is what your saying, I took a look at some of Smeets games I could not find any recent games where smeets played 11. …Rg8 in response to whites
    11. g3.

    I noticed he plays 11. …Bb7 and in his last 2 games on Chess.com this year he played 12. Bg2 Qb6 against Nakamura 1-0, and 11. …Bb7 12. g3 c5 against Giri 1/2-1/2 2011

  18. Gilchrist is a Legend

    Does Avrukh’s GM Repertoire on 1. d4 without 2. c4 focus specifically on defences like Tarrasch and others besides the main ones such as King’s Indian, Grünfeld, Benoni, etc.? I mean does it specifically cater to and differentiate amongst the Triangle, Semi-Slav, Slav, 1…d6, Benkö, QGD, etc., or is it basically divided into if Black plays 1…Nf6 then there are universal replies, or if 1…d5 there are universal replies?

  19. @Michael: I feel like an idiot because i didnt read your original question well and i thought that you were asking a question about how to play the BLACK side. You were asking about the WHITE side, so my answer didn’t have much meaning. Sorry for that…

    @Gilchrist: I think that you can aproach the Black side of the London, Colle etc in 3 basic ways. (1) Play with g6 (and then …d5 or …d6), (2) Play with e6 (and no d5), (3) Play with d5. There are other ways also like playing a la Old Indian with d6 and Be7 and playing with …f5 a la Dutch. The …c6 aproach if White plays c3 is very passive for my taste. But considering the first basic three ways you cover all the major defences you mentioned. So, i think that this book will be usefull for everyone. At least i am eager to take it in my hands!

  20. Random – Slightly off topic – But I’m going to ask it here. Maybe someone can explain what I’m doing wrong here. I remember questions about hard vs easy problems in the Quality Chess puzzle books. I don’t think it can get much harder than this one!

    Bianchetti’s Study. It claims that 1.Ka2 wins in the position:

    7k/1p6/1P2p3/1P2P3/4P1p1/6P1/8/K7

    However, with corresponding squares, c5=1=e7, d4=2=f7, e3=3=g6, f4=4=h5. d3 connects to 2 and 3, only g7 does that, so d3=5=g7. c4 connects 1, 2, and 5, only f8 does that, so c4=6=f8. c3 connects 2, 5, and 6 and are 2 away from 1 and 3, only g8 does that, so c3=7=g8. b4 is another 2, b3 is another 5, b2 is another 2, c2 is another 6, d2 is another 2. So anything on the a-file, Black can toggle between 6 and 7, and on the first rank, Black can toggle between 5 and 7.

    So how does 1.Ka2 win? Isn’t this a draw? Where’s the flaw in my logic?

  21. Patrick,

    White wins, because black has to defend both the d6 entry square (by King on e7 or d7) and also the pawn on g4 (from h5) when the white King moves to f4. The Black King becomes overloaded trying to stop both access points as the White King is able to traverse between the c5 and f4 squares in just 3 moves.

  22. @Patrick M

    Unfortunately I don’t have a board in front of me so apalogies in advance if I write something plain stupid. In such positions a piece of paper and a pencil proves to be more helpful according to my experience. I think the ‘flaw’ in your logic is the square e2.

    Quote:

    c5=1=e7, d4=2=f7, e3=3=g6, f4=4=h5. d3 connects to 2 and 3, only g7 does that, so d3=5=g7. c4 connects 1, 2, and 5, only f8 does that, so c4=6=f8. c3 connects 2, 5, and 6 and are 2 away from 1 and 3, only g8 does that, so c3=7=g8

    Now before analysing further lets concentrate on the e2 and try to find its corresponding square on Black’s camp. White threatens to enter 3 and 5 so our candidates are f7, h7 and h6. f7 and h7 are out of the question because then white plays Kd2 and there is no defence according to the corresponding squares you mentioned, so e2=8=h6 ergo d2=9=h7 and c2=10=h8 then b4 is a 2, b3 is a 5 and b2 is a 9. Now we can see why Ka2 wins as suggested:

    1.Ka2 (White threatens to enter 5 or 9 so Black’s response is forced) Kg8 2.Ka3 (Now white threatens to enter into 2,5 or 9 so Black has to choose between f8 and h8. If he chooses Kh8 he won’t be able to avoid penetration via d6 so there is only one move left) Kf8 3. Kb2 (Now Black cannot go into the g file so there are 3 candidates. if he chooses a square on the e file then white plays Kc3 (a square adjacent to 2 and 6) and will continue with Kd3+- if Black king remains in the e file, so once again blacks reply is forced.) Kf7 4.Kc2 (Now g7 and g8 is taboo, so Blacks candidates are e7, e8, f7 and g6. Going to e file will lose to Kd3 and going to g6 will lose to Kc3) Kf8 5.Kd2 ( a square whih is adjacent to 7, 5 and 3, so Blacks reply is forced one more time) Kf7 and then 6.Ke2 is +-

  23. @atticus – I don’t have a board at the moment either, I drew it all on paper, but I will definitely look at that analysis you gave. Right or wrong, thanks for the help. 🙂

  24. Hello
    In a previous Publishing schedule, we have :
    Vigorito – Semi-Slav 2 – December 2011
    Is this publication canceled or delayed?
    Thanks in advance for any answer
    Best regards
    Enzo from France

  25. kenneth calitri

    Looking forward to the Romanovsky book. It would be wonderful to see you reprint Euwe’s Judgement and Planning in Chess.

  26. @Gilchrist is a Legend
    There is no difference between Triangle, Slav, QGD, QDA if there is no c2-c4! It takes the perspective from the three positions of 1.d4 d5, 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 and then e6/g6. There are some overlap between Nimzo and 1…d5, but all systems are catered for.

  27. Jacob Aagaard :@Gilchrist is a Legend There is no difference between Triangle, Slav, QGD, QDA if there is no c2-c4! It takes the perspective from the three positions of 1.d4 d5, 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 and then e6/g6. There are some overlap between Nimzo and 1…d5, but all systems are catered for.

    Jacob, I think I actually know where Gilchrist is coming from in this case. 95% of the time, I disagree with his arguments on here, but this one I can see the issue that he sees rising.

    With a universal system for 1.d4 d5, it may not be possible to cater to all.

    1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 (or 2.Bf4). What happens if White plays c4 in the near future? I don’t get it often, but I do get some that do 1.d4, 2.Nf3, and 3.c4, to avoid garbage like the Albin Countergambit after 1…d5 or the Budapest after 1…Nf6.

    1. After 2…c5, 3.c4 and your Slav, Semi-Slav, and Orthodox QGD players are out of luck
    2. After 2…Nf6, 3.c4 and your Tarrasch players are out of luck. I don’t recall why, but there was something about the Tarrasch where you are supposed to develop your knights in Alphabetical order because of some issue with the 4…Nf6 line. I have played the Tarrasch a handful of times, but it’s not a regular defense of mine, so not an idea I’m thoroughly knowledged in.
    3. After 2…e6, 3.c4 and your Slav and QGA players are out of luck.
    4. After 2…c6, 3.c4 and everyone except Slav and Semi-Slav players are out of luck.

    Amongst the 1…d5 systems, being a former Semi-Slav player, and currently playing the Slav, and have played the Orthodox occasionally, I’d be inclined to play 2…Nf6, or else 2…c6 if I knew I was facing a London player to follow with …Qb6. But I can see this issue being a concern if it’s a universal system being recommended after 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3

  28. Gilchrist is a Legend

    Andy :
    @Gilchrist is a Legend
    it’s gone a bit too quiet for my liking….maybe the UPS guy has been hijacked, or is en route to that tournament down in London town to sell his wares….

    Do you live in Glasgow? Hopefully the M74 is open…snow is forecast for Manchester.

    Is today also when the publisher ships to LCC and ChessDirect?
    Jacob Aagaard :
    @Gilchrist is a Legend
    We hope the UPS guy will come here soon!

  29. I’m in the US. Is it quicker to order it directly from you in Glasgow or is it quicker to get it from a US distributor? I would be willing to pay extra shipping for expedited delivery.

  30. Gilchrist is a Legend

    @Jacob Aagaard

    It appears as if more winds are forecast not only for Scotland but other parts of Britain as well. Again hopefully shipping websales will not encounter delays. In the mean time I am studying the excerpt of Chapter 1 of GM10.

  31. @John Hartmann
    It will usually be quicker from the main US chess specialists, Chess4Less, USCF Chess Sales and ChessCafe. Check if they have ordered the books before you buy (phone them), as all shops do not always get the books immediately. But the ones that do will get them within 48 hours with FedEx and have them out the door closer to you much faster than we can do.

    You can also find this in our FAQ I think.

  32. Need to renumber Chess Evolution issues to even-numbered months.

    Speaking of winter, it’s been a cold December so far in Southern California also with freezing nights and lots of snow in the mountains.

  33. November was a bit delayed because of the European (which Arkadij and Germany won), but the January issue should be on track. I am not sure what our involvement will be yet.

  34. Ã…smund Hammerstad

    After joining Quality Chess Chess Evolution got some great marketing. And the involvement may change? The good has already been done and they can now stand on their own again or?

  35. Franck Steenbekkers

    @Gilchrist is a legend: In the Netherlands i got my copy at tuesday from chessshop De Beste Zet (the best move) a great shop runned by wonderful people!

  36. hi jacob i have a kopie of the tarrasch book great work !!! keep up the good work and what are the new books of the GM rep many grretings

  37. Hi Jacob,

    I have a question about GM6 I was looking for a line and could not find it, so I apologize in advance if this is a easy question that I should know. I played a game yesterday where my opp. played 10.g4 I tried to find this line in GM6 after the game and could not, If it is there maybe you could give me the page number, again sorry if I’m wasting your time. My game went as follows
    1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. f3 b5 8. Qd2 b4 9. Na4 Nbd7 10. g4 h6 11. O-O-O Qa5 12. b3 Bb7 13. a3 After which instead of 13. Qc7 I blundered.

    My opp. played 10.g4, which for some reason was the first time I saw this move order,
    I believe the books thee main white reply’s are 10. Bc4, 10. c4 and 10. 0-0-0, I tried to find it in a trasposition but could not, maybe I am just missing it.

    The two data bases I looked at had two main moves,

    1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. f3 b5 8. Qd2 b4 9. Na4 Nbd7 10. g4 h6 11. O-O-O Ne5

    and

    1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. f3 b5 8. Qd2 b4 9. Na4 Nbd7 10. g4 h6 11. O-O-O Qa5

    with 11. Ne5 the more popular move

    So did I play the opening incorrectly, is this line in the book and if not what move in this sequence would you recommend 11. …Qa5 or 12. …Ne5 for the GM6 rep.
    Thanks for your help Im sure you guys are busy.

    Sorry to hear about the damage in your office, but congrats on GM10!

    thanks again!

  38. Jacob Aagaard :
    @Hesam
    2. Yes, but this is not happening for quite a while. Sorry. We might look into other options with this one.
    1. Some missing items are added, more things are exchanged with different lines (mainly because it is fun to do so, but also because things have moved) and all things are updated. The second edition will have all the qualities of the first and more.
    I should warn that some of Colin’s articles (based on my newsletter drafts) from Experts on the Anti-Sicilian will be used as starting points for filling some of the holes. After all this is what they were for in the first place.

    Thanks for the response I am really looking forward to the new edition of GM-6, the first edition is one of the most used books in my library.

    But I forgot to ask, if I recall correctly long ago there were “Cutting Edge: Sicilian Najdorf: 6. Bg5” (or was it Najdorf without 6. Be3?) and “Cutting Edge: Semislav” in the works. Are they still happening?

  39. Hey Jacob,

    Nevermind about the move order, I found the line in The Cutting Edge 2.
    1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. f3 b5 8. Qd2 b4 9. Na4 Nbd7 10. g4 h6

    11. 0-0-0 Ne5

    12. Qxb4 and 12. b3 with 12. Qxb4 condsidered the critical try for white.

    and if then 11. h4 d5 12. Bh3

    10. g4 is considerd in The Cutting Edge 2 to be said by the author to be the most critical try and most logical set-up for white

    So am I correct that this line is missing from GM6 and if it is will it be covered in the 2nd edition?

    Thanks for your time Jacob, wishing you a dry next week!

  40. @Hesam
    There has never been a CE: Semi-Slav, but as Everyman is now copying the series (as they previously copied SOS) maybe they will publish on this subject. We do have a Play the Semi-Slav 2 in the long term schedule, and a dream of CE – Najdorf 6.Bg5. But what will happen is another story.

  41. Gilchrist is a Legend

    John Hartmann :
    I’m in the US. Is it quicker to order it directly from you in Glasgow or is it quicker to get it from a US distributor? I would be willing to pay extra shipping for expedited delivery.

    I remember seeing that FedEx was not possible, but is it possible for deliveries outside Europe to use the expedited Airsure service with Royal Mail if books are posted via airmail?

  42. So I can quit being angry with Amazon for not sending me GM #10? I pre-ordered it 2 months ago! Ah, well, these things happen. It will be worth the wait. I have books and DVDs by Jacob, and so far he’s been very good. In any case, it will be way over my head, but worth trying to glean something from.

    Merry-almost-Christmas from the Detroit area

  43. @Jacob Aagaard:
    What about the Be2-lines with queenside-castling?In Ftacnik’s Scheveningen DVD they are mentioned but in GM6 i’m quite sure that they are missing. This together with the 10.g4 line in the English Attack are quite big lines that were forgotten in the first edition that were not discussed in the updates .I hope you will consider adding them in the second edition.

  44. Fun idea for Jacob: now that Chessbase is copying the phrase “Grandmaster Repertoire” in their DVDs raise them to a “World Champion Repertoire” and write the whole 1. e4 series as “Opening for White according to Fischer”!

    splinter22prime :
    @Jacob Aagaard:
    What about the Be2-lines with queenside-castling?In Ftacnik’s Scheveningen DVD they are mentioned but in GM6 i’m quite sure that they are missing. This together with the 10.g4 line in the English Attack are quite big lines that were forgotten in the first edition that were not discussed in the updates .I hope you will consider adding them in the second edition.

    When I was planning to buy GM-6 I was very worried about that kind of stuff but after getting the book and studying it I have come to conclusion that: (a) expecting that kind of completeness from a repertoire book is unrealistic, and (b) if you study the book you will see significant improvements in your game (and I mean really study with notes and your own explanation as to why that position was dismissed as bad etc.). In practice those 3-4 lines don’t matter. I think it is a way of procrastinating, you say well that repertoire has holes in it and you stop working on your openings. Usually this is accompanied by a fantasy that if a really good repertoire book came out you could go from 2100 to 2400 in a year. I know people that pay way too much attention to the fashion on the top, they want the latest on poisoned pawn with 10. e5, the English attack and they memorize a ton of theory in Najdorf but their score against my modest old school Scheveningen (6. Be2 with Qe1-Qg3 and no a4) is just terrible. After the game they wonder “but theory says I am fine here”. Yes Black is fine, you played an opening you have memorized not one that you know.

  45. @Hesam
    Not really that funny. Had a chat to Rainer at ChessBase when the Bologan DVD came out and they will not use the name anymore or with reprints. Sueing or forcing them to make a recall just seems so hostile and damaging to our small industry, so we decided to take it calmly. Besides, they just did not think, they are really very nice people who just wanted to market their product well, not the least to benefit their author.

    I also agree with your approach to theory. Knowing all is not enough. It helps, but only so far.

    Regarding GM6 – 1st edition. Yes, some lines are missing. But the work in the book is of high quality and will leave you well prepared. If it is your only source and the opponents are good enough to trick you, probably your approach is wrong anyway. However, I was still unhappy that we made omissions and have thus taken an active part of the second edition.

  46. Mr. Aagaard: Any chance that we might see a Slav or other defense to 1 d4 book from Lars Schandorff? I think his GM 7 on the Caro-Kann is the best opening book I have seen.

  47. Just for the record, I think GM6 is a fantastic book!!! In fact it is uon my top 3 of all time opening books, and the qualitiy of the material given is amazing!!!
    I just wanted to ask about the 10. g4 line in the English, because it was given in the Cutting edge book, and the author thought this was a good try, so I wanted advice about the best defense to this supposed good try…and I am not complaining at all about the book, like I said top 3!!! But wanted advice on an opening I am trying to master if that is even possible, and want to understand, otherwise I would just use databases…
    So again no complaints Jacob or anyone else, just questions, becasue I do truly want to understand this opening, not just memorize. GM6 2nd edition is going to be truly amazing seeing as it already is a great book with great coverage and fresh analysis!!!
    Thank you Jacob and Mr. Ftacnik and QC for giving us what I consider the best book on this opening to date!

  48. Jacob Aagaard :
    @Hesam
    Not really that funny. Had a chat to Rainer at ChessBase when the Bologan DVD came out and they will not use the name anymore or with reprints. Sueing or forcing them to make a recall just seems so hostile and damaging to our small industry, so we decided to take it calmly. Besides, they just did not think, they are really very nice people who just wanted to market their product well, not the least to benefit their author.
    I also agree with your approach to theory. Knowing all is not enough. It helps, but only so far.
    Regarding GM6 – 1st edition. Yes, some lines are missing. But the work in the book is of high quality and will leave you well prepared. If it is your only source and the opponents are good enough to trick you, probably your approach is wrong anyway. However, I was still unhappy that we made omissions and have thus taken an active part of the second edition.

    I was making fun of Chessbase not you guys! Sorry you took it that way. But I am glad that you guys protected your brand.

  49. @mikeel

    mikeel :
    So is the Chess Evolution series dead? Any updates?

    Hi Mikeel,

    No, the Chess Evolution series (the Naiditsch version) is not dead. It is continuing without Quality Chess involvement in the next issues. I have no doubt the opening analysis will continue to be brilliant.

    The other Chess Evolution series (Yusupov version) has two more books to go before it ends, and completes Yusupov’s 9-volume training series.

  50. Hi,

    In this post you say Grandmaster Repertoire X – Beating 1.d4 Sidelines from Boris Avrukh should be released in January. So this is very soon. This is always true? Please, can you give us some date for its publication? Thanks a lot. 🙂

  51. Is the King’s Gambit book a repertoire book or a more general look at the opening (like the style of The Berlin Wall)? i.e. Does it cover 3.Bc4, 3.Nf3, or both? Or is that still a secret? :p

  52. @Kolya
    It is a bit of everything. It has some general tendencies, but also some repertoire style choices. As most people will probably anticipate, the King’s Gambit is not the most challenging way to meet 1…e5, but it is still dangerous and complicated and good enough to be played on the highest level as a surprise weapon (twice in the London Classic recently).

  53. @Nick
    I agree, have myself got GM10 and the Caro and Scandi books in hardback and they’re all really nice to own. Whilst I’ll always prefer the thicker paper of the earlier QC books I’ve got used to the new paper and really value these titles. 🙂

  54. I got it in paperback as was unsure of buying opening books in hardcover. Then when I finally received the book, I wish I had purchased the hardcover as the hardcover of Psakhis’s book was really nice.

  55. Yes the hardcover editions are nice. They are not double the price as in normal publishing, but just priced enough to cover the extra expenses and give a little bit extra for the effort :-). The paper is 80 gram paper, but another type than previously. Technically the current paper is of better quality. The issue with two titles losing paper was to do with a new binding machine incorrectly operated with the printers. But this is two years ago already.

  56. I enjoy all books published by quality chess. Please note the picture on the back of each of Artur Yusupov’s series on Build Your Chess, Boost Your Chess, and Chess Evolution. The board is set up wrong – with white pieces on black side of board and black on white side. I can understand this mistake in the non-chess playing world but please, please correct for volumes 8 and 9. Thank You

  57. Jacob,
    just in case you ever wondered whether all the time maintaining this blog and answering all our questions is well spent (I am sure you never did…:-), I can tell you yes, it is worth it, and you can take myself as the proof: I have just bought GM10, although I am very happy with my pet Grünfeld as black, and I have no intention to play 1.d4. The discussion about this 9…c4 raised my interest that I looked at some of the given theory well before the book was out, and after a while couldn’t wait any longer to see what you and Nikos would have to say.
    Having looked through only a few of the chapters, I realized how little I knew about the Tarrasch. Thanks for an outstanding book! I may well include this in my Black repertoire – something I would not have believed if someone would have told me a year ago…

  58. @Wayne Hatcher
    Hi Wayne, this is Artur’s humour. He was no. 3 in the world for 5 years and writes a book on chess improvement for the masses. He thought it was funny to put the pieces up incorrectly. I allowed it.

  59. @Gerry
    Hi Gerry, I am happy that we have inspired you to read our book. I can assure you that we do not want you to do so because of the euro Nikos and I earn in royalties, but because we were really passionate about reviving this opening. Getting paid is nice, because it means we can write another book, but the main thing is actually that you like the book! We did not write this for ourselves, but to impress.

  60. Yes! Got my book today! These positions look really exciting and dare I say Jacob that you did achieve what you aimed for, this is a much better book than the 2002 edition 🙂 Happy holidays, cheers

  61. I have ordered my hardcover copy of GM Tarrasch, but nevertheless I’m playing it like a machine, and even without a glance of opening theory 🙂 Just wait when I get trough the all book 🙂

    Javlonbek_Umarov (2186) – Soviet_Chess (2343)
    27.12.2011, Chess Planet Russia

    1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 c5 5.e3 Be7 6.Be2 0–0 7.0–0 dxc4 8.Bxc4 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Qc7 10.Bd3 Rd8 11.Qe2 Nc6 12.Nxc6 Qxc6 13.a3 a6 14.f4 b5 15.e4 Bb7 16.e5 Rxd3 17.exf6 Bxf6 18.Bd2 Rad8

    [Houidni 2.0 Pro 18…Bd4+ 19.Kh1 Qxg2+ 20.Qxg2 Bxg2+ 21.Kxg2 Rxd2+ 22.Kh1 Rxb2]

    19.Be1 Re3 20.Qf2 Bd4

    [Houidni 2.0 Pro 20…Rxe1 21.Raxe1 Bd4 22.Ne4 Bxf2+ 23.Rxf2 Rd4]

    21.Kh1 Rxc3 22.Qe2 Rc2 23.Qg4 Qxg2+ 0–1

  62. >but it is still dangerous and complicated and good enough to be played on the highest level as a surprise weapon (twice in the London Classic recently).

    …leading to two terrible positions for White. Perhaps they needed your book!

    I was pleased to see in the Tarrasch book that I won a bet I had with myself about the antidote to Avrukh’s line, which I think has been widely known among Tarraschists for some time. It seems to my sceptical taste that unfortunately Avrukh chose one of the few lines for White in the opening where he has no prospects of advantage at all, but this can easily happen, and no doubt your book will persuade me that actually the same is true everywhere.

  63. @John Cox
    When Carlsen played the opening against Wang Yue he was quickly much better, so the choice shows something about general valuation of the opening, but the positions something about the actual expertise of the players. In my view neither side played those positions terribly well, although the McShane game was very interesting.

    I think systems with 6.g3 are in general harmless for Black. There are some sidelines where we found the way to equalise a bit awkward and requiring of a lot of analysis, but I am sure we would have found it the same way in the main lines, had they not been played so much already. White is White, so inaccuracies does not lead to bad positions for him – but they do when you are Black.

    Our opinion is that 6.dxc5! is the best move and we guess this is probably what will be played in the future, making the opening a bit less fun.

  64. Yes, fair point, about Carlsen. An excellent choice of customer on his part, I thought.

    I have said elsewhere to Nikos that when I wrote ‘Starting Out 1 d4’ I found 9 Bg5 c4 so difficult to demonstrate an advantage against, and 6 dxc5 so difficult to equalise against, that I almost gave 6 dxc5 myself.

    In any respectable opening I imagine it will be true in the end that Black can equalise and that White can afford inaccuracies which Black cannot. I suppose the real question is which openings give White the least scope for inaccuracies and/or enable Black to survive them to the greatest extent possible. On this score my very vague and uninformed impression (call it a mere guess if you will) is that after 6 g3 Black has to play just as accurately as he does in, say, the Grunfeld, but that White has more scope than he does in the Grunfeld to play inaccurately. But no doubt it is mainly a question of taste.

    Anyway, what is for sure is that your book is interesting and a valuable contribution towards answering the question, although personally I find something a little sad about the present very computer-influenced generation of books which purport to solve a given opening from the point of view of the amateur player. A bit reminiscent of Tony M’s famous observation in Kingpin about one of the Doc’s computer endgame books.

  65. Dear Jacob,

    Will the folowing game be included in GM6 2nd edition?
    Haslinger’s 15. Bf4 was just coverd on ChessPub. Palliser feels it is critical.

    1. e4 c5
    2. Nf3 d6
    3. d4 cxd4
    4. Nxd4 Nf6
    5. Nc3 a6
    6. Be3 e6
    7. f3 b5
    8. Qd2 Nbd7
    9. g4 b4
    10. Nce2 h6
    11. O-O-O Qc7
    12. h4 d5
    13. Bh3 Nb6
    14. b3 dxe4
    15. Bf4 e5
    16. Nc6 Nbd5
    17. Bxe5 e3
    18. Qxd5 Nxd5
    19. Bxc7 Kd7
    20. Ne5+

  66. Jacob Aagaard :
    @Michael
    Critical it must be if it wins in 20 moves. We will definitely cover it. I hope he has not refuted our main line!

    It seems to me that 15…e3 is perfectly fine for Black:

    (A) 16.Bxe3? e5 17.Rhe1 (17.Nf5? Bxf5 18.gxf5 and White’s minor pieces are worthless) 17…Be7 (17…exd4? loses to 18.Bf4) 18.Ng3 exd4 19.Bxd4 O-O 20.Rxe7 Qxe7 21.Bxb6 Qe5! (hitting g3 & a1) and it is White who should struggle for a draw I think.
    The following two lines should not scare Black either:

    (B) 16.Bxc7 exd2+ 17. Rxd2 Nfd5 18. Bg3 Bb7

    (C) 16.Qxe3 Nbd5 17. Bxc7 Nxe3 18. Rd3 Ned5 19. Bg3 Bb7

    That leaves:

    (D) 16.Qd3 e5 (this leads to the game continuation you gave but with the important difference that Black is now a tempo up. Since the White queen has moved) 17.Nc6 Nbd5 (why not 17…Nfd5 ?) 18.Nxe5 (if White plays as in the game with 18.Bxe5? after 18…Qxc6 he is lost) and here there are lots of crazy lines:

    (D1)18…g5 19.hxg5 hxg5 20.Ng6 gxf4 21.Nxh8 and here my machine insists on a repetition: 21…Bd7 22.g5 Bb5 23.Qf5 Bd7 24.Qd3 Bb5 but I have not checked whether there is anything better for either side.

    (D2) 18…Bc5 19.Bg3 (19.g5 Nxf4 20.Nxf4 O-O and the knights are in trouble) 19…O-O 20.Nc4 and again here the machine goes for a repetition: 20…Qc6 21.Ne5 Qc7 22.Nc4. This is connected to White’s g5 threat.

    But no 15.Bf4 does not seem to refute GM6’s main line.

  67. Jacob, Nikos,
    you may find the following interesting…

    Since I remember I had read somewhere in your book that Stelios Halkias is one of the advocates of the Tarrasch, I am now kind of alert for his games. Well, yesterday he had to play against the Avrukh line at the Zurich open against tournament top seed Boris Grachev.
    However it appears he had not read your book and played 13…Bxc5 14.Bxc5 Qa5 instead of 13…Qb6!
    Without analysing the game in more detail it appears Grachevs way to convert the game is a masterpiece of how to play against the Tarrasch, if Black allows an inaccuracy (as discussed with John Cox above).
    Well, GMs should read your book as well. I am sure he owns a copy, and if not a good pile of your books from a German reseller was lying outside the playing hall, just a few meters away from where the game was played… 🙂

    Fascinating stuff, really. Here is the game in case you do not have it yet:

    [Event “Weihnachtsopen (M)”]
    [Site “Zürich”]
    [Date “2011.12.29”]
    [Round “5”]
    [White “Grachev, Boris”]
    [Black “Halkias, Stelios”]
    [Result “1-0”]
    [ECO “D34”]
    [WhiteElo “2693”]
    [BlackElo “2670”]
    [PlyCount “107”]
    [EventDate “2011.12.29”]
    [SourceDate “2011.12.29”]

    1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. g3 Nf6 7. Bg2 Be7 8. O-O
    O-O 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. Na4 Be7 11. Be3 Re8 12. Rc1 Bg4 13. Nc5 Bxc5 14. Bxc5 Qa5
    15. Qb3 Qa6 16. Rfe1 Rad8 17. h3 Bh5 18. Qa3 Qxa3 19. Bxa3 Bxf3 20. Bxf3 Nd4
    21. Kg2 Nxf3 22. Kxf3 Rc8 23. Red1 Rc6 24. Bc5 Rec8 25. Be3 a6 26. g4 h6 27.
    Rxc6 bxc6 28. Rc1 Nd7 29. Bd4 f6 30. e4 dxe4+ 31. Kxe4 Kf7 32. Rc3 Ke6 33. Ra3
    Rb8 34. f4 g6 35. f5+ gxf5+ 36. gxf5+ Kd6 37. Be3 Re8+ 38. Kf4 Ne5 39. Bd4 Kd5
    40. Bxe5 fxe5+ 41. Ke3 e4 42. Ra5+ Kd6 43. Ra4 Rb8 44. b3 Ke5 45. Rxa6 Rd8 46.
    Ra5+ Rd5 47. Rxd5+ cxd5 48. a4 d4+ 49. Ke2 Kxf5 50. a5 Kf4 51. a6 d3+ 52. Kd2
    e3+ 53. Kxd3 Kf3 54. a7 1-0

  68. Stellios is really not very good when he gets into passive positions. I think 27…bxc6 looks awful, but maybe Black is just worse anyway. But yes, it is surprising that he did not have a good solution ready for this line – especially when it has been suggested independently several places – and when it has been played once as well…

  69. In the Tarrasch, is there any independent value for white to delay 8 0-0? I guess we just castle when he castles and otherwise follow theory.

  70. Hello,

    It seems that the GM rep book for KingsIndian has gone completely off the radar, or is it coming back at a later date?

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