An original and shrewd opening for Black against 1.e4

Taking your opponent out of his comfort zone is a good idea to start your game with.

Grandmaster Sergey Kasparov pushes this concept one step further: lure your opponent onto the slippery paths of the Philidor Swamp!

After 1…d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5, White is confronted with a stark choice: either to continue on the road of a calm Philidor Defence, or to immediately gain almost two tempi by forcing Black into an endgame that looks better for White, if not close to winning.

This second option, however, is a treacherous road strewn with pitfalls, as Kasparov demonstrates in his fresh, humorous and persuasive style.

White will walk into the Philidor Swamp in which he runs a big risk of getting stuck.

Sergey Kasparov does not bother the amateur reader with variations of 15 or 20 moves deep, but concentrates on the plans and counterplans for both Black and White.

Kaspariov provides dozens of entertaining and instructive exercises to test your understanding.

International Grandmaster Sergey Kasparov (1968) was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, and now lives in Belarus.He is the author of the successful books The Dynamic Benko Gambit (2012) and Steamrolling the Sicilian (2013), as well as numerous Yearbook Surveys, all for New In Chess.

Glenn Flear, author of 'Starting out: The Open Games':
"As usual, Sergey Kasparov prefers gentle explanations to a labyrinth of variations (..) Kasparov’s easy-reading style will appeal to those seeking a solid grounding."

CHESS Magazine:
"Right from the off Black offers a queenless middlegame, but it is easy to outplay an inexperienced white opponent (..) The Lesser Kasparov (still a decent grandmaster in his own right) is concentrating on the typical plans and manoeuvres rather than becoming overly bogged down in theory (..) How many players with the white pieces will have prepared thoroughly for these lines? Not many, that's for sure."

IM John Donaldson:
"One-stop shopping for those looking for an answer to 1.e4. Everything the reader needs to meet 1.e4 will be found in this volume (..) This book has much more explanatory prose than the typical opening treatise."