Publisher: Edition Olms, 2008
Edition: Paperback medium Pages: 148 Language: English
Shortlisted for the English Chess Federation 2008 Book-of-the-Year Award!
There are traps lurking in every stage of a chess game, but we find them especially often in the opening.
It is well known that you should learn from your mistakes, and after a thorough study of the first volume of this series, students will be well equipped to deal with the typical traps after 1.e4.
In this second volume, the two internationally recognised authors now cover those traps which can be expected after 1.d4.
The scenario is basically the same: the victim makes some quite ‘normal’ move – a piece is developed, something is captured, or a threat is set up and parried. The reply, for the most part an unusual one and therefore totally unexpected, then almost inevitably leads to a rapid win for the ‘trapper’.
For every important opening after 1.d4 such as the Queen’s Gambit or the King’s Indian Defence, there are introductory texts with the most typical trap motifs of which you should be aware.
There are two other important plus points of this genuinely entertaining book: – as a welcome side effect, your own combinative ability is guaranteed to improve significantly – at the same time you can systematically expand your opening repertoire, in order for yourself to set traps.
Rainer Knaak and Karsten Müller are two German Grandmasters. They have moved the concept of the opening trap to a significantly higher level.
From the Judges' Report of the ECF Book-of-the-Year Award: "Much better organised than previous works of this type as the authors endeavour, not only to show the nasty accidents that can arise, but also set them in a strategic and tactical context so that the reader improves his opening knowledge as he goes along."
