The Dynamic Reti

Rating:
Summary: An Early Bloodbath Avoidance System
Review: A self-styled chess romantic would probably cringe at the notion of taking up the Reti Opening. Among amateurs, it has a reputation for pusilaminity. Many beginners do not shirk from engaging in hand-to-hand combat right out of the opening. Yet, with time, I have come to see the dark side of trying to play a theory intensive opening repetoire which allows an opponent significant counterplay. David Bronstein once said that to gain winning chances, one has to grant some concessions to one's opponent. There is another school of thought to this idea of seeking dynamic imbalance as the catalyst for victory. Many masters are happy to play in an environment where they are not facing an attack out of the opening, where the deployment of their pieces are in an easy to follow plan, and yet there is still "something" there for the white player to work with. Players like Botvinnik, Larsen, Petrosian, Miles to name only a few, have been quite happy to play openings like the Reti. The opening has made appearances at the highest level of competition. I can think of Reti-Capablanca 1924, Alekhine-Euwe 1937, Petrosian-Tal 1962, Korchnoi-Karpov 1974, and Kasparov-Karpov 1987. The Reti allows broad scope for original maneuvering in the middlegame, and the possibility to outplay an opponent strategically. At the non-professional level, I would argue that it is in the best interest of a chessplayer to cut down as much as possible in the amount of theory one has to study. Why? because the amateur needs to spend time studying other things, like endgames and middlegame books (how to do this effectively is something else entirely though..) To go further, I would say that one should try and play openings which will be forgiving of less-than-exact play. The Reti fits this perfectly (I would also recommend similar openings like the Barcza or the Catalan). The key motif of the Reti is the early securing of the white king in a kingside fianchetto. I tend to think it is a good idea for beginners to play this way, as they tend to survive longer. Now, to get to specifics, the nature of white's "pull" in the Reti is subtle, so a slight error by white can allow black to equalize fairly quickly. Yet even if black can swing the position around to his favor, the white king position is still a tough nut to crack. Now to get to the meat of this book. The only other book to cover the Reti in recent times is "the easy guide to the Reti" by Dunnington. I would recommend this book as well, although there are differences in style and in the lines emphasized. The "Dynamic Reti" is better as a complete repertoire book. Having spent so much time talking about theory avoidance, I will now say that there is a body of theory to the Reti and related systems, and if one has any pretensions to getting anything out of the opening, one had best study it. One nice thing about the Reti is that if one studys it for just a short time, and then plays it against someone unfamiliar with it, I am still amazed at how effective it is, opponents seem to be left with lousy pawn structures (like isolated pawns, or hanging pawns) all the time. the title "Dynamic Reti" is well chosen, as Davies has indeed tried to select more aggressive set ups for white. Some of his suggestions (in the "Reti Slav")are similar to Tony Kosten's lines in "the Dynamic English" (I should mention here that I started out trying to play 1 c4, but I found the move 1..e5 quite a challenge, with 1..e5 white can find himself under a surprisingly fierce kingside attack. 1 Nf3 cuts out this possibility, to some degree). As one works through the Davis book, it becomes clear that in the main lines of the Reti, for black to challenge for the initiative requires boldness and preparation. I am thinking of the reversed Benoni lines or the thrust used by Geller in the Closed Reti (game 5 in the book). The Symmetrical English (which is probably required study for a Reti player, unless one wants to play 2 b3 or 2 e4!? in response to 1..c5) is a challenge for the white player, and I like the lines Davies comes up with here. Of course, there are several ways of playing the Symmetrical, and if one finds his lines not to one's taste, then one can try different lines. Davies suggests the 6 Nc2 line against the Maroczy Bind, which, he admits, is controversial. However, the main lines of the Bind are a tough bite to chew, so I am with Davies here. The other lines include the Rubinstein variation, which also has a reputation for solidity. I have not yet "field tested" his ideas here, but, as far as I am concerned, any suggestions for chipping away at this defense are most welcome. So, for those who play 1 c4, I would recommend this book as well. The Reti b4 line against the Kings Indian is a refreshing break from the mind-numbing vast pool of theory in the KID, I think the b4 thrust gives white something to work with. Against the Dutch, he also recommends b4 lines. As a Dutch player(a very double-edged defense, to be sure) I think 1..f5 is a good way to stir things up against the Reti. I quite like his b4 lines against these dutch set-ups, just remember that when the game takes this course, the play is going to be rather sharper than in most Reti lines. In conclusion, I am going to play the Reti myself, and I have confidence with the white pieces that I have not had in a long time.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I like Nigel Davies' books very much. I think "Taming the Sicilian" is a very interesting book, with an effective and original way of meeting the Sicilian. This book, however, on the Reti, struck me as lacking the fire or originality to make it anything special. In fact, it is one of the few chess books I have ever returned for a refund. Perhaps I was not completely fair to this book, but everything about it struck me as half-baked. First, there is the standard 144 pages from Everyman. When they produce a very special work, such as that on the Nimzo-Larsen Attack by Jacobs and Tait, this page limit does not apply. That wonderful work was 192 pages. So, you have the pot-boiler 144 pages, but what is worse, is that Davies' introduction in this Reti book is a "Schiller-esque" copy of his intro. in Taming the Sicilian. This is just lame. The exact same advice is given, which adds to that feeling that this book was "cranked out" rather than being a labor of love. But what finally did me in was his recommendation against the Reti Accepted (dxc4). He says that the normal ways of playing to regain the pawn, Na3 or Qc2, lead to equality for black; so he recommends the very rare e4!? This gives you a backward d pawn in exchange for "dynamic" play. He never even discusses the other moves, so e4 is his only recommendation. Well, I quickly realized that I don't want to play e4, and since you see dxc4 all the time (indeed, it seems like the best move), this left me with a very bad feeling about this book, as in, I shouldn't have bought this book. This is not to say that it is not well-written or does not contain plenty of interesting well-annotated games. But I felt compelled to write this review for the benefit of anyone who perhaps buys a few too many chess books, to tell them, this seems like one of those "too many."