who is david rudel? (part five)

Well, my initial journey through "Zuke 'Em: The Colle-Zukertort Revolutionized" has come to an end, and I still think it's an innovative and very interesting book. The final chapters contain material for exploration and experimentation, as well as a training section with which to test oneself and to learn various lines. This is only the second book on chess openings I've completed (Andrew Martin's "The Essential Center Counter" is the other) and there are several reasons for this, which I think make up a good final summary of my thoughts and impressions of this book.

First and foremost, it is written in a way that those of us who have not yet acquired an international title can readily understand. Too many opening books contain paragraph after paragraph of variations and analysis so dense that one needs at least two boards to follow it all. There is a lot of prose in this book, so I was less likely to skip over variations and long analysis. I will, of course, need to go into some of the variations in depth greater than I have so far, but the main ideas are clearly presented.

Secondly, the author's anticipation of myriad replies by Black at every juncture provides the Colle-Zukertort player with ideas and strategies if he is quickly taken out of "book." Most amateur players are not going to be very familiar with the main lines of this openings, and are not likely to stumble upon them on their own. I suspect that players used to handling the Black pieces against the Colle-Zukertort might have something to say about the variations presented and the evaluations given, but that's no different than any other opening in modern chess theory. I recall a time when the Petroff Defense was consider stale and boring and drawish; now it is being used by topflight Grandmasters. Chess players try new things, come up with new ideas, and theory evolves. At least now we Zukertort players have a reasonably complete resource for our opening.

Thirdly, the last few chapters in the book provide material for experimentation and (hopefully) new additions to theory. The chapter dedicated to training is a very good idea, something often lacking in other opening books. It is not the author's intention that players simply memorize lines; we all know that is foolish. But having page after page of diagrams illustrating positions from various lines and asking what White should play next is a great way to self-test learning and to become more familiar with what the position requires.

Lastly, The actual physical presentation of the book, with a clear font and reader-friendly letter size makes it easier to invest oneself in a study of the book. Now that the typos and other minor issues of the first printing have been corrected, the book should be even more readable.

If you are interested in learning an opening system for White that is solid, offers good chances, and is less likely to be known to your opponents (so far), "Zuke 'Em: The Colle-Zukertort Revolutionized" may be just what you need.