“Starting Out: Open Games” by Glenn Flear
Glenn Flear is one of my favourite chess authors, ever since I purchased his 550-pages tome “Practical Endgame Play - Beyond the Basics”
From the publisher: “Open Games refer to a myriad of openings arising after the ever-popular 1 e4 e5: the Italian Game, the Scotch, The Two Knights Defence, the King’s Gambit, the Evans Gambit, the Bishop’s Opening, the Four Knights, the Petroff and much more besides. In this book, Glenn Flear goes back to basics, introducing the key moves and ideas, and taking care to explain the reasoning behind them - something that has often been neglected or taken for granted in other works. He places particular emphasis on the lines that players are most likely to face.”
From the author: “My idea has been to introduce people to the types of position that occur, and to offer them a few ideas that should enable them to venture the Open Games, for either colour, with a certain degree of confidence. In the illustrative games and notes I have also tried to give an indication of the better ways of handling a system, based on my own experience.”
Content:
Bibliography - 5
Introduction to 1 e4 e5 - 7
1 The Quiet Italian - 11
2 Two Knights Defence - 35
3 Evans Gambit and Giuoco Piano - 70
4 Four Knights Game - 99
5 Scotch Game - 123
6 Central Gambits - 148
7 King’s Gambit - 166
8 Vienna Game - 191
9 Other White Systems - 215
10 Black Avoids 2…Nc6 – Introduction - 235
11 Philidor’s Defence - 245
12 Petroff’s Defence - 267
Index of Variations - 307
Index of Complete Games - 316
