Rakhmanov's Secrets of Opening Preparation

En sterk stormester viser fram mye av åpningsrepertoaret sitt med både hvite og svarte brikker, sammen med en del historie om hvordan han kom fram til nettopp disse variantene som han deler med oss lesere. Fascinerende åpent.

Boka inneholder i hovedsak komplette partier spilt av Rakhmanov, og i tillegg seksjoner med analyser av utvalgte varianter. Repertoaret hans består som hvit mest av 1 d4, eventuelt 1 c4 eller 1 Sf3 og ofte overgang til d4-åpninger, men noen ganger også 1 b3. Med svart spiller han oftest Russisk mot 1 e4, og enkelte ganger Skandinavisk med Dd6. Mot 1 d4 spiller han oftest 1...d5, men også 1...Sf6 2 c4 d6 3 Sf3 g6 4 Sc3 Lf5!?

Boka omtaler også konkrete forberedelser mot konkrete spillere, og prosessen rundt åpningsforberedelser til et parti.

Fra forfatterens forord:

All the opening lines in this book are taken from my own games, and I divulge what I know about them. Although it's difficult to reveal everything in this book, I don 't feel obliged to hold something back for myself. I will easily find more lines to play for myself.

Most interesting opening options are already in the public domain. There are a few players who invent something themselves, while others utilize their inventions. Therefore, if you are not an elite player, now or in the future, then why would you try to discover the continents again, if they have already been found?

A couple of years ago, I would be surprised if someone had said that I would write a book about openings. I have always considered the opening part as my weak spot. But at some point, I began to notice that I was able to surpass my rivals with my preparation. And that in general, my preparationskills were good enough, especially considering the ratio of time spent to the result. I was managing to secure positions that were comfortable for me.

I hope that some of the things written in this book will sur prise you. Some of you may be surprised by the modest amount of necessary knowledge that is enough to implement an opening line. To some, my preparation will seem weak, and they will be surprised how I have gained so many points and have such a high rating. Perhaps some will think about whether it is worth spending a lot of time analyzing opening variations. While some others will realize that weak opening preparation is not, in itself, to blame for a low ratin

Forlagets egen omtale:

Aleksandr Rakhmanov was born on 28 August 1989 in Cherepovets, Russia, and started to play chess at the age of seven. He became an IM in 2006, a GM in 2007 and a FIDE trainer in 2020. His current rating is 2651. His peak ratings are 2676 (classical), 2721 (rapid) and 2704 (blitz). In 2007 he won a hat-trick of bronze medals at the Russian, European and World U-18 championships. In 2017 he took 21st place in the World Rapid Championship in Riyadh and in 2019 won gold medal on 3rd board in the European Club Cup in Montenegro, took 18th place in the FIDE Grand Swiss, probably the strongest chess open ever, and participated in the World Cup. As a chess tourist Aleksandr likes to travel and has visited about fifty countries around the world.

Aleksandr decided to write about something that I would be interested to learn myself. In this book the author shows what preparation for a game by a 2650 player looks like. In chess, we only see the game on the stage, and can only guess at what is hidden behind the scenes. Top players can't reveal this, nor can their seconds, so Aleksandr decided to show following: preparation for games, accompanied by analyses; how to outplay opponents, not with powerful opening preparation, but by leading them into positions that are pleasant for hirnself or unpleasant for his opponents. On top we have a close look at matters that many players do not pay attention to in terms of opening preparation and preparation for a specific adversary.