Sam Collins - The King's Indian Defence: Move by Move (K-5284)

The Caro-Kann Defence arises after the moves 1 e4 c6. With this first move Black (as is also the case with the French Defence - 1 e4 e6) plans 2 ... d5, establishing a well-protected central pawn. The Caro-Kann has a reputation as a rock solid defence that minimises the risk of Black being subjected to undue early pressure. Rather than inviting the opponent to engage in immediate warfare, Black focuses on completing development comfortably and postponng the serious battle until the middlegame. It is notable that the White systems which try to batter the Caro-Kann into early submission are highly double-edged and often rebound badly.

The Sicilian is far and away the most popular chess opening, and many players prefer to side-step the Open Sicilian with one of the Anti-Sicilian systems at White's disposal. This book equips Black to fight against all these lines. The Anti-Sicilian systems include: positionally motivated lines such as the 2 c3 Sicilian and the 3 Bb5 systems; slow but tricky attacking lines including the Closed Sicilian and the King's Indian Attack; aggressive but loosening ideas like the Grand Prix Attack and a variety of gambits. In the most critical variations, Rogozenko provides a choice between a solid and an aggressive option. He caters for those who meet 2 Nf3 with the three main moves, 2...d6, 2...e6 and 2...Nc6.