How to Build Your Chess Opening Repertoire

by Steve Giddins

A user-friendly guide to choosing and planning your openings

All chess-players who have progressed beyond beginner level need an opening repertoire. However, there are many different types of repertoire, and dozens of openings to choose between.

From novice to grandmaster, a player’s basic task when choosing a repertoire is the he needs to select openings that suit his playing style and that he can play with confidence. The repertoire should not require more memory work and study than he is capable of, or has time for.

In this book, the first to focus on these issues, Steve Giddins provides common-sense guidance on questions such
The book is rounded off with a look at the use of ‘role models’ and a close look at the repertoires of leading players past and present.

Steve Giddins is a FIDE Master from England who plays regularly in international events and has frequently contributed to the British Chess Magazine . This is his second book for Gambit.

"a truly pleasurable romp through the eccentricities and changing landscape of contemporary openings. ... some of Giddins' insights will surprise you and I wholeheartedly recommend his book." - John Watson, TWIC

"one of the best instruction books I've read in recent years for improving players." - Leonard Barden, Evening Standard

"This work is full of sensible advice and especially those club players who lack access to a coach or to the advice of a strong player will find much in it which can easily be put to practical use." - Richard Palliser

"another name has been added to my "worthwhile chess author" list. ... an excellent book. It's about a subject that many players always agonize over, it's well thought out, it forces us to think, and it adds a dollop of humor here and there that makes reading this book a very enjoyable experience." - IM Jeremy Silman

"A book like this might have saved me a lot of heart-ache" - Alan Sutton, En Passant

"...one of the real gems is in his last chapter when about eight top GMs' opening repertoires are covered. You'll be able to see what they played, how their repertoires evolved and why studying any GM's repertoire is a great way to help your chess." - Michael Stevenson, NZ Chess

Genres: Chess, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2003

Reviews

[Eric]

Don't expect a lot of deep analysis here - that's not what this book is about. This book does what the title suggests: presents you with various ways to go about building your opening repertoire. General approaches along with suggestions are given. Particularly valuable are the portions that deal with what _not_ to do, and the section dealing with the information overload that hits you when going through the monstrous game databases currently available. I'm returning to chess after two decades away, and the entire chess world has been turned upside down by the information age.

You're not going to need this book for long - it's goal is to move you on to other titles, after you've given some thought to which openings you want to play. But it will help you a great deal in making those decisions. Absolutely the book I needed right now.

[Anthony Ragan]

Giddins provides good advice about what to consider when choosing an opening repertoire, as well as some entertaining games. This isn't, however, a manual on opening strategy or a deep exploration of various families of openings. Worth reading, but I'd suggest waiting for copy on sale, or getting it from the library.

[Jayu Eleuthéria]

This was useful.

[George Pricw]

An excellent introduction to building an opening repertoire, more on a conceptual level than actually choosing specific openings/variations to learn. The discussions are presented as open-ended for the reader to consider in their own games, and is well-balanced in arguments for and against the decisions one would make.

Would thoroughly recommend to anyone who is starting to get serious about their repertoire design, but it probably won't be a huge revelation to your game by itself.