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Rating: 
Summary: A very solid choice of openings.
Review: Here is a new book by Kaufman, who is (was) known for excellent writing about computer chess ... approximately 10-15 years ago. (This is my short review; I may post a longer one on my web site.) The basic goal of this book is very singular and specific - to write a "repertoire" book for players who are interested in such things. (A book like this is to provide a student with a program to learn certain openings, in order to be prepared for any possible chess opening that a player might use against them.) The "R.H." chess meter on the back cover places this book for players who fall between the "intermediate" and "advanced" category. (HINT: Beginners would find this book of little or no use.) I spent a lot of time in this book the past week, I went over most of the lines, and I analyzed some in great detail. My initial impression was very favorable. I can tell you that this is NOT one of those books that were bashed out in a great hurry. The author is very frank and honest with you. He had some very specific goals when he wrote this book. (497 pages!) He did not want to always play the "best and most fashionable lines," as this can be a very difficult proposition. (After 1.e4, c5; 2.Nf3, d6; the move according to theory, is 3.d4. But this leads to the Open Sicilian, which could take up hundreds of books to really address properly. Instead Kaufman opts for the move, 3.Bb5+. It is simple, effective, and has a high surprise value. Additionally, there is no easy way to get to a draw, and White can still obtain a viable edge out of the opening.) The author avoided lines where castling on opposite sides occurred and everything hangs by one tempo, similarly he avoided other razor-sharp lines ... where the theory is likely to change on an almost daily basis. (He states in the introduction that he wanted to produce a book of lasting value, that might still be viable 10-20 years from now.) The author also used a "committee" of computer programs to help him find the best moves. The author, IM Larry Kaufman, proposes that you play 1.e4, as White. (The core of your repertoire will be the Spanish Exchange. 1.e4, e5; 2.Nf3, Nc6; 3.Bb5, a6; 4.Bxc6, etc.) He provides you with a sensible line for every possible opening that any opponent might try to use against you. There are dozens of very good suggestions in here. (And probably many "TN's" as well.) Kaufman also proposes that you meet 1.e4 with 1...e5; using primarily The Berlin Defense. (An excellent recommendation, a GM co-authored this chapter.) He also advises using the Semi-Slav against an opponent who opens with the Queen Pawn. (1.d4) His list of five criteria on page # 377 shows that much thought went into the choice of openings. There are MANY positives to this book.
# 1.) Virtually any opening that a prospective opponent could pick is provided for. Many times, the line that you will use is solid, and very good. Not only do you stand an excellent chance of gaining a very concrete advantage, there is the distinct possibility that your opponent might not have studied these lines.
# 2.) ALL the analysis has been meticulously checked with more than one computer program. (I found NO large or major mistakes.) Compare this ... to many other books that I have dealt with lately, where the author claims a computer was used, but the volume is still replete with many errors and mistakes.
# 3.) Since many of these continuations are not main line theory, there is little chance that theory will change before you get a chance to use them.
# 4.) The author explains the basic ideas and strategies of an opening at the beginning of each section or chapter. I did find a few drawbacks to this book:
# 1.) Many of the lines are VERY long, 15-25 moves, (or more). The emphasis here is on being able to memorize a lot of material for your next tournament. (If you forget a line, you might be a dead duck.)
# 2.) Many possible - and even likely moves - are not provided for by this author.
# 3.) Some of the continuations examined here are distinctly inferior. {For one side.} Many improvements will probably be found before the next edition. (Despite what the author says, I doubt that a book like this would be of much use to a really strong Master, say rated 2400 or better.)
# 4.) Some of the games are gross mis-matches. (Page 235 is one such example. White is rated nearly 2600, while Black holds an unimpressive 2215 rating.) I prefer to base my theoretical decisions on games between really strong players with less than a 150 point differential in their respective ratings. But all these questions are secondary to the overall aim and quality of the book. (On a scale of 1-10, I would give the author at least a 7.5 here.) This is an in-depth and high-quality book that deserves very serious consideration. Players rated 1000-2300 ... that have been searching for a REAL repertoire ... will find this book enormously helpful. Postal players will probably find that this book is a MUST!! In closing, I truly liked this book; and give it a high recommendation.
Rating: 
Summary: First-rate guide to second-best repertoire
Review: Kaufman's approach in this repertoire book is to recommend strategically sound variations for white and black that have a GM following, perform better than par in practice but which are not the first choices of theory. The rationale for his choices outlined in the Introduction is very compelling and far superior to Berliner's "System" (with its axes to grind) and Shereshevsky's 'Conveyor' repertoire (which was designed for Soviet-era kids with a chance of becoming greats as opposed to plateauing club players like me). Kaufman quotes over 200 recent games or game fragments by 2400+ players using succinct but clear annotations. He favors Silman-esque evaluations in terms of the significant positional features over plus/equals signs, so this is incidentally a good middlegame strategy manual. (The role of the 2 bishops is particularly stressed.) My only regret is that I can't keep the repertoire to myself, as everyone will start playing these lines. -- Oh, and those are: for White, Spanish Exchange, Sicilian Bb5, French Tarrasch, C-K Advance, etc.; and as Black, Spanish Berlin, QGD Semi-Slav (Moscow, not Botvinnik, and a positional Bd6 defense to the Meran). A final and interesting point: the recommendations are validated with but not dominated by computer-checked analysis. As an expert in computer chess, Kaufman is uniquely well qualified to provide this kind of human-machine symbiotic analysis. Even if you don't like the sound of some of these lines, give it a chance: The book is a labor of love, not a "Win as White/Black with..." potboiler.
Rating: 
Summary: Mixed feelings
Review: The author sets up an opening system for you that may or may not fit our style - as typical of most books that select a system for you. However, the book will provide you with a fair number of good ideas for a player who already has developed their opening system.
Some of the lines are not the strongest, and often obvious questions come up about alternate moves that seem like reasonable continuations. Explaining on what is going on is lacking for the lower rated player. Therefore, this book is recommended for players between perhaps about 1400 and 2000.
Rating:
Summary: Greatest repertoire book I have ever seen
Review: This book by Kaufman is the best repertoire book I have seen. It provides a comprehensive repertoire for white and black. It makes its points though illustrative games, but there are wonderful strategic explanations too. This is a rare and wonderful book, that is packed with great chess openeing stuff!
Rating: 
Summary: Too much effort for too little
Review: This book is not creating much reviews, if you scan the reviews on the net there are perhaps two reviews on this book.
You are being asked to memorize 246 pages of material for white. That's a heck of a lot of study of 2nd rate openings just to play white. Note the author's approach is to choose the second best move in a attempt to cut down on the theory required yet still give you an opening advantage. You are perhaps better off learning the English opening and getting a first-rate repertoire in less time.
In terms of black there are 131 pages of coverage, covering the full gamit of the classical openings, Ruy lopez, Italian, Scotch King's gambit etc. Again if you have the time you are better off spending time on a decent opening such as 100 pages of the Sicilian (Kann or four knights perhaps). You will gain a first class opening that will serve you over the years.
In terms of the strategy of the opening moves the strategies are somewhat sparse compared to opening books that focus on the strategy and then use complete games as illustrations. However not too many variations are covered so this book cannot be considered a variations book either.
This book is really for players 2000 & up who are looking for a quick brush up on a particular opening or want to consider deepening their options. They already under stand the fundamentals and are able to research more games and variations to get the fulll level of detail required to fully play an opening in a tournament setting.
All the computer analysis of the win rates is rather nice, however decent column writers have explained that you have to be careful with computer stats for example "white does well at 55% win rate" , was it white with an average strength of 2700 beating up in IMs or was it all players 2000 and over. A subset might show that in the 2000 to 2400 range the percentages are reversed? I find it difficult that we would be called upon to learn over 400 pages of perhaps some second class responses, the major problem I have is too much work for an opening repetoire that looks second rate.
Why could the author not have covered have some simplified openings? Petroff against E4 (10 Pages) , Lasker variation of Queens Gambit for D4 (10 Pages), the modern to cover everything else and the English for white perhaps 100 pages to cover players to 2200. Yes its highly selective but a good start.
This book however definetly has an audience, it's for Master players looking to brush up on a new variation or opening. If you like the Berlin defense to the Ruy Lopez then I would consider this book at least for the white side. (That section is co authored by a GM). Also its current on opening theory at least to the end of 2003 so it makes a good reference on current opening chances & fashionable lines on most of the responses to E4. If you are not a chess master I would recommend the opening books from the Everyman series or the E4 chess openings book from IM (now GM) Kallai.
Makes me want to also write a one volume work.
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