This book is about positional play when starting 1 e4. Not in a sense of slow or boring but based on a strong positional points, such as rapid development, more space, attacking chances, or even gambit ideas in some cases. I am covering all the major options and openings by Black in normal chess games. It is clear that the Sicilian is the most popular with many games inside. After that come solid reactions such as 1...e5, 1...c6 and 1...e6, followed by other stuff such as the Alekhine, Pirc, and Scandinavian, which are also very popular. Sometimes I present sharper positions and sometimes ones that are less well known or simply less analysed or less published in general. It is very important to realize that learning such positions will greatly help the reader’s ability to understand positional aspects of less forcing lines but not necessarily less dangerous lines. I have separated material into six chapters. The Sicilian, Caro-Kann, French, and 1...e5, each have their own chapters due to their importance. The Sicilian, for instance, has 43 annotated games alone! That’s how popular and widespread it is. For other openings I have also presented various move orders for the Philidor Defence and Pirc.
Milos Pavlovic
October 2024
Milos Pavlovic is a grandmaster and former Yugoslav Champion. He has two medals from the European Senior Championships and has won many European tournaments, including very strong events, such as Biel. He has also been a trainer of many prominent players. He is also a prolific author, having written over 20 books.
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