HOW TO BEAT 1 d4 (James Rizzitano)
160 pages (248 mm by
172 mm).
£15.99/$27.50/€21,60
Rizzitano, author of Understanding Your Chess, presents a full
repertoire for Black against 1 d4, based on the Queen's Gambit Accepted (QGA).
The QGA is an extremely popular opening amongst players of all levels, as it
gives Black free development and counterpunching potential, especially if White
takes up the challenge and tries to set up a broad pawn centre. The QGA's
soundness is shown by the number of top-class grandmasters who have used it in
critical games - it was a key factor in Short's victory over Karpov, and has
even been used by Garry Kasparov at world-championship level. Rizzitano has
chosen to recommend dependable main lines of the QGA, and throughout emphasizes
how Black can create winning chances and White's typical ways to go wrong. The
repertoire is completed by a set of weapons against White's alternatives to
offering the Queen's Gambit, ranging from the stolid Colle to the weird Hodgson
Attack and the reckless Blackmar-Diemer.
James Rizzitano is a strong international master who
dominated chess in the New England region during a 14-year period from 1976 to
1989 - he won 157 out of 336 events in which he competed. His career highlights
include victories over Alburt, Benjamin, Benko, Christiansen, Dlugy, I.Gurevich
and Wolff, and exciting draws with de Firmian, Larsen, Speelman, and the
legendary former world champion Tal. Rizzitano has recently made a return to
competitive chess.
Gambit books by Rizzitano: Understanding Your Chess, How to Beat 1 d4, Chess Explained: the Taimanov Sicilian, Chess Explained: the Queen's Gambit Declined, Play the Najdorf Sicilian.
Download a pdf file with a
sample from the book.
"Rizzitano, a strong American IM with tremendous practical
playing strength, has used this opening effectively for many years and has
recognised the fact that the QGA is underrated and under-analysed compared to
many openings. He concentrates on tried and tested dependable main lines and
offers a number of new ideas and original analysis. Throughout the book he
emphasizes how Black can create winning chances and highlights the typical ways
in which White can go wrong. The repertoire is completed by a set of weapons
against White's alternatives to playing 2.c4. Great stuff." - John Anderson,
BCCA magazine
"If you're looking for a good repertoire book to help you
face 1.d4, I can't think of a better one - highly recommended." - S. Evan
Kreider, www.chessville.com
"An excellent black repertoire book against 1 d4,
particularly suitable for strong players and ambitious 'improvers'. Highly
recommended." - Phil Adams, http://www.btinternet.com/~cccs.chess
"Overall, I see no reason not to recommend this book to
players from 1200 through at least master level. The analysis is comprehensive,
the judgments and evaluations are carefully considered, and a complete
repertoire against a major opening move is presented. Highly Recommended." -
Lou Mercuri, Chess Horizons
"This repertoire is based on solid main line openings, which
are played at the highest level without being overly complex for club players.
Highly Recommended." Paul Dunn, Australian Chess
"It is well-researched and up-to-date, with a number of
original suggestions and attempted improvements over established theory."
Steve Giddins, BCM
"This book is a very good start for any player seeking fresh
ideas on how to meet and beat 1.d4." Phil Hughes, Chess Post
" James shows systems that work and fit really well
together. In fact players who use some of these openings with white could
discover some gold nuggets to be found in this book." Michael Stevenson, New
Zealand Chess
"Players often find chess tougher when playing Black because
of the fact that their opponents on the white side frequently retain some
initiative by virtue of having the first move in every game. Well, American IM
James Rizzitano provides an appealing solution to the problem by demonstrating
many merits of the Queen's Gambit Accepted in "How to Beat 1 d4", a superb new
work…" GM Paul Motwani, The Scotsman
"How to Beat 1.d4 deserves to find a wide audience from club
players looking for a straightforward lifetime answer to 1.d4 to titled players
looking to pick up a new defense. Highly Recommended." John Donaldson,
www.jeremysilman.com |
