“The charm in this book is that it’s so much more than an opening manual. I liked turning the pages with a childlike feeling of ‘what wonders am I about to uncover’.

Inside you can find anecdotes, quotations, comparisons, discussions about the pawn structures that might occur, and plenty of Swedish humour.”

GM Glenn Flear, New In Chess Yearbook

“Swedish Grandmaster Axel Smith’s e3 Poison is one of the more original opening books to be published this century. Its author aims at no less than the creation of an entire opening repertoire based on the move e3. White aims at a setup (Nf3, e3, Be2, d4, c4 and Nc3) which can reach similar positions whether one opens 1.c4, 1.d4, 1.Nf3 or 1.e3…

e3 Poison will prove most useful for players 2200 on up who can handle the many transpositions and different middlegame pawn structures that arise.”

IM John Donaldson

“Overall, the book is a must for all experienced chess players who like the closed openings and want to expand their understanding of them. I found reading it a great pleasure and I read it almost in one go. GM Smith will hopefully write a lot more of such great chess books!”

IM Dirk Schuh, Rochade Europa