The Taimanov Sicilian (Chess Openings: King's Pawn)

A Gambit Classic Reissue: Detailed coverage of a flexible Sicilian system"One thing for sure is any opening book by Burgess is likely to be of the highest standard" - Monroe Morrison, Open FileThe Taimanov Variation is one of Black’s most flexible approaches to the Sicilian. With his ‘ideal’ move-order, Black maintains plenty of options while sidestepping some of White’s most dangerous attacking plans. The main game-plan is counterattack, but, unlike in many Sicilian lines, Black can tailor his plan of development according to how White arranges his pieces.The Taimanov has been used to good effect by many outstanding players of recent decades, notably Karpov, Polugaevsky, Andersson and, of course, Taimanov himself. This book discusses in detail all lines after 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nc6, including the ‘pure’ Taimanov approach with ...Nge7 and the more popular ‘Paulsen’ lines with ...Qc7. Move-order subtleties, including possible transpositions to the Scheveningen, are discussed in detail. All analysis has been scrupulously computer-checked.Winner of a book of the year award from InfoXadrez (Portugal).Graham Burgess holds the world record for marathon blitz chessplaying. He is a highly versatile chess writer, whose previous books range from general guides for relatively inexperienced players to high-level theoretical manuals. His Mammoth Book of Chess won the 1997 British Chess Federation Book of the Year Award, while Nunn’s Chess Openings, of which he is a co-author, has established itself as the leading modern one-volume openings encyclopaedia."Burgess’s grasp on which lines are good or bad and why may be the most outstanding feature of the book. In the midst of very dense and confusing theory, full of transpositions, he not only identifies the theoretically preferred lines and explains why others have fallen into disfavour, but he also directs our attention to numerous underrated ones, reviving them with suggested improvements when necessary. ... Burgess generates a remarkable amount of original analysis and suggestions for further research ... In my experience, a good opening book with a strong analytical bent maintains its usefulness for more years than one with more words and fewer specifics." - IM John Watson, The Week in Chess"Burgess is meticulous ... providing very full coverage and also challenging analysis, and suggesting improvements all the way" - IM Richard Palliser, Hull Chess Club Magazine"Burgess has done an impressive job compiling up-to-date information" - GM Einar Gausel, Dagbladet"a compressive and deeply detailed opening book" - Mark Donlan, Chess Horizons"The Taimanov, the line in the Sicilian where Black plays ...e6 and ...Nc6, is noted both for its transpositional nature and popularity. Facing these two challenges head on, Burgess has done a first rate job of sifting through a huge mass of material and making sense of it. How he accomplished the job is likely to be a model for other authors in the future" - IM John Donaldson (USA Team Captain), Inside Chess Online Read more