Play the Evans Gambit

Rating:
Summary: One of the Great Openings
Review: I've always enjoyed going over games in this opening and i finally was able to obtain a copy (this is the only book on the subject available from what i can tell). There's quite a bit of information here with 15 chapters and over 230 pages. The game starts out quietly in the Giuoco Piano with 1 e4 e5, 2 Nf3 Nc6, 3 Bc4 Bc5 then BAM!! 4 b4!?. This unprotected pawn thrust attacks Black's bishop begging to be captured in order to open up lines of attack. All the greats have played it since the 19th century. The book also shows variations where Black declines the free pawn. In the right hands The Evans Gambit can be a dangerous weapon.

If you plan on taking up this opening, I'd also suggest becoming familiar with The Two Knights Defence (Black plays 3...Nf6 instead of Bc5). White can play 4 Ng5 with a double attack on Black's f7 pawn or employ the Max Lange Attack (4 d4). All 3 variations are fun to play. Who says the Giuoco Piano has to be boring?

Rating:
Summary: A must for everyone interested in the Evans Gambit !
Review: This book is the best one available. The authors have fooled around with this opening for many years in correspondence chess events and must be considered leading experts. If you are interested in the Evans Gambit - and you should be, as 1) it is of historical importance, 2) it may be sound, and 3) it develops your chess style - then you should just close your eyes and buy the book. Think later!

Negative:

1) The book misses an appendix with a tree of opening variations.

2) The authors did not bother to submit all the moves to the current chess computer programs such as Fritz or Rebel. As a consequence the analysis sometimes passes (or introduces) blunders that those programs detect in a flash.

Overall: excellent book!!

Rating:
Summary: A very provocative invitation
Review: When you read a chessbook you may simply search for a literal knowledge or better enter into a smart conversation between the author and you. This is the perfect book for that objective. There are no simple answers or "to-do-lists" to find here. This is a monography that invites you to follow the path after the ideas of many chessplayers. The only negative point in the book is the absence of a comprehensive opening tree.