Modern Chess Openings, by Nick de Firmian » (Reviewed by Wil C. Fry)

Photo by Wil C. Fry

★★★★ (of 5)

Full Title: Modern Chess Openings: 15th Edition
Author: Nick de Firmian
Year: 2008
Pages: 739*
Genre: Reference, Chess
Publisher: Random House
ISBN 978-0-8129-3682-7 (trade paperback)
Wikipedia page
Author’s Wikipedia page

(* not including acknowledgements, introduction, explanatory notes, “tips for the novice”, and index)

Summary

This might be my first review of a reference book (in any category), so bear with me.

Modern Chess Openings (or MCO) is, simply, a list of known and studied opening move sequences in chess. The game itself has existed in its modern form for more than 500 years and inspired quite a bit of writing over the centuries. MCO first showed up in 1911, when other standard books of chess openings were about to go out of style, and by the fifth edition or so (1930s) was considered the “main book” on openings. Early editions were small enough to fit in a pocket; the latest version requires a backpack or briefcase.

A multitude of editors have worked on MCO’s various editions. Chess grandmaster Nick de Firmian (three-time U.S. champion) came on board to revise the 13th edition in 1990, and fully took over by the 14th edition (1999). As De Firmian notes in the acknowledgements, one person can’t do this alone; he was helped with MCO-15 by John Fedorowicz, Justin Sarkar, Yuri Lapshun, and John MacArthur.

A “chess opening” (for my readers who are’t familiar) is a sequence of moves that begins a chess game. Technically, there are twenty possibilities for White’s first move, and twenty possibilities for Black’s first move — which means exactly 400 possible first-move combinations. (Depending on those first moves, the number of possibilities changes for each succeeding turn.) But some first moves are better than others, as are some responses to those first moves. And due to the game’s age, certain series of moves eventually grew common enough to be named, and the names range from academic sounding terms (“Chigorin Variation”, “Grünfeld Reversed”) to more exciting phrases (“Accelerated Dragon”, “Benko Gambit”, and “Sicilian Defense”). Some of these openings have been mapped out as far as 19 or 20 moves in their main lines, and grandmasters and world champions memorize the lines (along with popular variations) in order to counter them when they show up. Many work well enough that supersmart chess geniuses have been playing them for generations. This book lists all of these, and quite a few that aren’t so common.

(I first heard of this book in the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit, in which protagonist Beth Harmon is gifted a copy when she is a child, and begins to memorize the various openings.)

The Good

I suppose there’s nothing good about this book unless the reader is (1) a chess player, and (2) interested in increasing his/her knowledge of the game. But once those two qualifications exist, MCO-15 is a treasure trove of well-worn paths. There is probably something to be said for going into each game without a clue or a plan, if surprise and wonder hold greater weight for you than, say, standing a chance of winning.

Before looking into this book, I was aware that some opening lines existed, because I had heard the terms bandied about — “Oh, he’s opening with the Sicilian”, or “how good are you against the King’s Gambit?”. But I didn’t realize just how many had been mapped out and to what extent. After skimming through it and testing out a great deal of these openings, I noticed a marked change in the way I perceive chess and the way I look at games when I’m playing them. In the past, I would see a knight come out and think, “Oh, he’s brought out his knight, what should I do about that?” Now, I see the same move and recognize that it’s a part of a known series of opening moves, perhaps the Giuoco Piano (quiet game) or the Ruy Lopez. When I recognize that, I also know there are a set number of counter-moves that masters employ with success, and quite a few ways to muck it up. The more one has studied her openings, the more one will remember those successful counter-moves and use them. This realization alone has put me on a plane that I never even truly considered before — and I think my (slowly) improving ratings are evidence of that. (According to my chess ratings graph on Chess.com, my scores had begun to plateau at around 1070 in March/April, but as I read this book, I rose relatively quickly to near 1200.)

It’s also the type of book that one can’t absorb in a front-to-back fashion, and so it should sit near the chess board for future deep dives into one opening or another.)

The Disappointing

I suppose I had expected some more explanation of why certain moves almost always follow one another, or why not to do other things. Because sometimes I’ll see one of these openings start to play out in a real game, but my opponent will go completely off-book and I think: “I know that’s supposed to be bad, but why?” Perhaps experience is what must teach me the why.

More frustrating was the number of typos in this edition. And when most of the text consists of lists of moves — like: “1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e3 0-0 6. Nf3 Nbd7 7. Rc1 c6 8. Bd3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 Nd5 10. Bxe7 Qxe7 11. 0-0 Nxc3 12. Rxc3 e5” (experts will recognize the Queen’s Gambit Declined, Orthodox Variation) — then missing one little character can seriously cause a problem. Just one example: on page 151, the Center Game, black’s second move is listed as “cxd4”, which isn’t possible. (It must be “exd4”.)

Further, De Firmian chose to use symbols to indicate which side gains the statistical advantage with a particular series of moves, and some of those symbols could be improved on. I agree that the = (equal sign) is obvious, but using a plus sign over an equal sign (html won’t display it here) for white advantage or an equal sign over a plus sign for black advantage is just confusing. Why not use “W+” or “B+” or something?

Lastly, I was surprised at the lack of space given to the London System, which has been in use since the 1920s and continues to be popular in the 21st Century. MCO-15 only mentions it briefly in the text underneath the Réti Opening (pages 718-721). From other sources, I see it mentioned quite often as a preferable opening, but this book nearly completely ignores it.

Conclusion

As I said, it’s a reference book, not meant to be enjoyed like a novel or tell a story like a biography. It seems well organized with a competent index. I suspect that if I continue to play chess, then I’ll continue to refer to this book for years to come.