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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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Best opening book for the amateur player
Watson has succeeded in producing a great book that introduces the opening and the correct approach to developing an understanding of the various openings. He first gives three chapters on the elements underlying the openings for the weaker player. Then follows the openings themselves; they are fully explained with words and not just analysis (as is contained in reference works such as Modern Chess Openings). The analysis follows the ideas and does not just substitute for it. There are many complete games to show how the ideas work out to their logical conclusion.
The book does not cover all the openings, but it does cover all the main openings used in current top level chess. Watson concentrates on sound openings that will give the player good competitive chances. He avoids the marginally sound and bizarre openings that some players use in an attempt to confuse an opponent. Such tactics usually end in the player of those openings getting a disadvantage.
By concentrating on ideas, analysis, and games Watson shows how to prepare for using an opening in competition and how to continue adding to and improving the opening for future use.
This book puts the old Ideas Behind the Chess Openings by Fine to shame. Before he died Fine had the chance to update his book; instead, he choose to leave it a half-century out of date and woefully incomplete.
Players should applaud Watson for finally providing the work needed to really understand and master the opening.
Rating: 
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for under 1800
I have examined 2/5ths of volume 1 and roughly another fifth in volume 2: my impression is, if you have a good grounding in general opening theory, you will find this material merely repetitive. It does not educate an advanced palate except coincidentally. Of course, it will here and there add an insight to your learning, but that's as any text will do that has been seriously written. The level of the material is, in general, elementary and, of course, in a work of this size, far from encyclopedic. A player above ~1800 will not be well served, unless he wishes to fill gaps in his overall knowledge of the openings. You will not be able to play any of the openings covered in a competitive setting: it simply covers too much ground to provide the player with anything approaching an adequate preparation. Moreover, since opening theory is largely concrete (this is the gist of Watson's Modern Chess Strategy as well), even in this respect Mastering the Openings is apt to be as dangerous as it is beneficial.
A student can obtain this material in less expensive, less verbose presentations; and studying the great masters will absolutely advance your understanding of opening play far more concretely and with greater sophistication than do these volumes. Someone once asked Bobby Fischer how best he could improve his chess play; Fischer directed him to study a comprehensive opening manual (like Nunn's). After completing his assignment some time later, the student returned to Fischer with the same query. Fischer directed him to go read it again. With openings, that's about the sorry best of it, I am afraid.
Still, for the uneducated, as an opening primer it IS adequate, albeit, since it is published in two volumes, time consuming and, again, unduly expensive. If you wish to pay over much for insufficient material, this is your baby. Otherwise, avoid it. I can unequivocally state, I am very disappointed in the purchase.
tlt
Rating: -
Very Informative
From fromt to back, this book improved my game drastically. Openings are simplified and explained thoroughly. Watson breaks it down move by move and tells the reader the why's and hows and backs it up with plentiful examples of real life games. Highly recommended!
Rating: -
Great Book, Great Addition to the Chess Library
This books is a great addition to anyone's chess library. To achieve best improvement you should be:
1) in the 1500 rating vicinity or higher.
2) You are reasonably good with simple tactics so that you don't spend lots of time questioning why certain moves hasn't been played
3) You don't get out of book quickly in most common openings even if you don't know the whole line
4) in other words, you can make reasonably sound opening moves more than not if you don't know the line.
5) You are familiar and have played a number of common openings like the Ruy Lopez, The Scicilian, QGD, etc
6) You need to increase your positional awareness
7) After a number of moves in the opening you feel you don't know how to proceed.
If you are most or all of the above then this book will greatly help you. It will help you explore themes that arise from openings and help you link middle game plans with openings, one of the ways that separates you from amateurdome.
Study the book carefully. Read it more than once (not necessarily cover to cover). Select openings you'd like to concentrate on and know more about and read and reread.
The book is very thorough and detailed and also give game examples to stress the point. It deals the most common variations and leaves other less important out (this is however subjective as some readers will complain. Check the review on Jeremy Silman's site). A good start for later deeper diving.
As with most chess books, some of the stuff he says won't make sense either because they really don't make sense or because you still don't have enough understanding of the concepts, so always have a critical mind. Always have a critical mind and ask yourself questions before jumping to the author's analysis. That will help you absorp the concepts. Computer analysis is a great tool for you to understand moves that the author left.
Now that didn't sound like a book review, rather a how-to, but I'm saying that cuz I've been through this. I was first reading the book as any other books and it turned out to me no more than variations with some description. Only when I followed the above, I discovered how helpful this book is. I learned to pay attention when the author talks about typical plans arising from the opening. This is very important.
I didn't like much Chapter 3 that everyone raves about. I think it confused me more than helped. Skim through it quickly and refer to it later every once in a while.
My other criticism is that some other important openings have been left out, so check the table of contents and see if your favourite opening is there.
Needless to say, GET BOTH VOLUMES!
Rating: -
Not really mastering the openings
John Watson seems to have quite a cult following, and to a point I agree he is unique and insightful. One must appreciate an author who gives their opinion and deep research - that is why you pay for the book. However, I believe the title misses the point, and a couple of openings.
A book that covers the Giuoco Piano, Ruy Lopez, Two Knights Defense, Philidor bypasses the Scotch and Petrov. My database gives the Petrov as the second most common response after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3, and Scotch as the third most common after 2. ...Nc6. Heck, even the King's Gambit gets seven pages.
This is a good book, with tons of insights into the openings and positions covered, as well as a long overview of the goals of the opening and positional considerations. However, it has several large gaps, and can't be used as an openings reference by itself.
