Rating: 
Summary: Seems like a classic to me
Review: I feel that comments about it not being current with modern opening theory to be misguided. If this is a valid complaint for you then you probably don't need this book. I don't have an exact rating cutoff, but I assume that somewhere around 1800+ you probably already know most of what is in this book. Stated another way, for those under 1600 this book is gold.
Another comment. Someone complained that it was nothing but long, boring variations. Well accept it, if you want to improve your opening play you need to work through some variations. Set them up on a board and play through them. The point is the well written prose motivates and explains what is going on in a way that a book like MCO certainly does not.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Three Best Chess Books in the World.
Review: I have a chess library that contains several hundred dollars worth of books. And looking at them there are three that I have learned more from than all the rest: IDEAS BEHIND THE CHESS OPENINGS by Reuben Fine, MY SYSTEM by Aron Nimzowitsch, and COLLE SYSTEM by George Koltanowski. A game of chess has three phases: the opening, middlegame, and endgame. This book, as its title says, concentrates primarily on the opening phase, but it also gives the reader plenty of ideas and strategy to carry into the middlegame. Fine explains those opening strategies that both players (White and Black) must strive for in order to enter the middlegame with an advantage, or at least an equal position. He describes pawn structures that lead to positionally won or lost games and alternative variations on mainline opening themes. This book was written in the early 1940's but it still contains a wealth of understanding because the basic opening ideas are still valid today. This is a must-have for any aspiring chess player
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointment
Review: I have owned this book for years and continue to go back to it for quick overviews of an opening. It is the only short one volume discussion of the basic themes of the opening. The language is obtuse, but the explanation of basic opening principles is useful. So much of chess is tactical. Knowing the general themes doesn't help all that much.
Rating: 
Summary: A half-hearted attempt at an update
Review: I have the original of this book, and I've had this new edition for 8 or 9 years. While the original may have been excellent for its time, this update falls far short of the mark. Just to give two examples: (1) the Pirc Defense is not covered, nor is the Modern Defense; (2) in the update to the Sicilian, all the author did was tack on a new section at the beginning, saying (in effect) that because of the Sozin move, Black does best to abandon all the other variations and use the Najdorf. Right after he says that, you move right to the old text detailing the old variations, as though nothing had happened in the meantime! Sloppy. That's not all. The typographical errors (impossible moves) are a dime a dozen. If you have a sufficient feel for chess you can guess the correct moves, but they're annoying. If you look at the diagrams for the King's Indian-Gruenfeld complex, you will find, upon reading the text, that it doesn't make sense -- some of the pawns are in the wrong places. Here the guesswork is a bit more difficult. My advice: spend your money elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Great explanation of many openings.
Review: I purchased this book on a recommendation from a stronger player. I had already purchased NCO and found that I did not "understand" the ideas behind the chess openings. Reuben Fine explains many openings (although some currently popular openings are not covered as much). He goes into great detail about certain openings, such as the Indian Defenses such as the King's Indian, Queen's Indian, and Nimzo Indian Defenses. His diagrams with pawn structures are very helpful in understanding these openings. I use this book to understand the opening ideas while I use NCO and my database to get more current information on chess theory. It's a great combination. My only criticism is that it is not current, but at my level and below (USCF ~1700), it is sufficient (especially in combination with Nunn's Chess Openings) for my needs in understanding the opening phase of the game.
Rating:
Summary: Great explanation of many openings.
Review: I purchased this book on a recommendation from a stronger player. I had already purchased NCO and found that I did not "understand" the ideas behind the chess openings. Reuben Fine explains many openings (although some currently popular openings are not covered as much). He goes into great detail about certain openings, such as the Indian Defenses such as the King's Indian, Queen's Indian, and Nimzo Indian Defenses. His diagrams with pawn structures are very helpful in understanding these openings. I use this book to understand the opening ideas while I use NCO and my database to get more current information on chess theory. It's a great combination. My only criticism is that it is not current, but at my level and below (USCF ~1700), it is sufficient (especially in combination with Nunn's Chess Openings) for my needs in understanding the opening phase of the game.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I really like this book. For me, finding some basic principles that I can apply to any opening or position is more important than memorizing pages of opening theory. This book gives me exactly that. I would not tell anyone to treat this book as a 'bible' of chess openings and I don't believe it was intended to be so. It is however a great guide to OPENING (as against OPENINGS), helping to fill the gap between lengthy opening theory and common sense. Now I usually get destroyed after move twelve, instead of move five. *grin* I would have given it 5 out of 5, but there are a few errors in the text that can confuse. That lost the point.
Rating:
Summary: Too many errors!
Review: I'm happy with the content of the book so far, but too many errors were apparently introduced in this version with the algebraic notation. I've been saving the games in my computer to be able to study them, and so for out of 4 games 2 have mistakes in them!! I'm spending more time figuring out what the errors are than in studying the ideas behind the openings. It's so annoying. I wish I could find a previous version.
Rating:
Summary: The title says: "ideas" and "openings"
Review: I've found this a good book. Well I'm pretty conservative, so due to some minor points, only 3 stars. It is a reprint (with algebraic notaion) of a dated book. The book discusses the ideas of the main lines of all the most known openings. Well written but a bit dated and with little depth in the discussion of variants. It contains some good description of the typical "patterns", but more would have been better. The adaption to algebraic notation has introduced quite some errors in the notation, hence read carefully.
Rating:
Summary: Wish I had bought this book first instead of last.
Review: I've purchased four opening books over the past couple of years. If I had bought this book first instead of last I believe I would be proficient in the major openings now rather than just starting to learn them. Fine does exactly what the title suggests, he explains the ideas behind the openings. He groups them into four broad families which share important features. Where many books simply drown you in countless variations Fine clearly presents the major lines in terms of these shared features. Even if you can't keep the names straight or remember the entire move sequence of an opening you will know the primary strategic ideas involved. This book is not an encyclopedia of openings or a presentation of the latest in opening theory. It is, however, the only book I have ever seen that will help a recreational player develop a logical framework for understanding the opening. If you often find yourself unsure of what your plan should be after the second move then you need this book. Finally, I strongly recommend against buying Seirawan's "Winning Chess Openings".
| 
