Small Encyclopedia of Chess Opening

This is an upgrade from MCO. This book has more variations (60 KID lines vs 42 MCO). I bought it because I wanted the complete list of 500 ECO openings, so can index all of my games to Chess Informants. Recommend this book for players over 1800.

None of the openings are named. All you get is algebraic notations. So it's frustrating to try to find anything. Hint: go to Wikipedia for a bit of help in trying to figure it out. I guess this book is aimed at an expert level international audience. Its purpose seems to be to show the consequences of any move you can imagine. But it feels like it's a list of all the possible moves in chess! A waste of a lot of money and time considering the usefulness of computers for this task. It's not what I was hoping for.

If I hold my hand close behind a page I can see my fingers. For the price of this book I was hoping for nice, thick pages like were used in Nunn's Chess Openings. Instead I have to gingerly turn each page because I'm afraid of tearing it. The paper is actually thinner than standard printing paper. Not at all worth in my opinion the publisher's asking price. Sure, Nunn's Chess Openings was published in 1999. But you know what? The pages still in great condition after all these years. As far as the book's content it's what I expected. 650+ pages of opening analysis with clear print and diagrams.

Very good reference book. Super handy.

Very thorough review of all openings, in a portable book that can be carried around. It refers to the openings in the aomewhat dry "Letter/Number" (e.g. B21) system; if you like to use the "historical" name of the openinga you can always looke it up on the web and weite it down in the book. Excellent book.

I thought the one-volume encyclopedia was dead. Nunn's is unlikely to be updated. While I have not used it myself, MCO seems to have a weak revision. Competition from Chessbase and Chess Assistant might have rendered the one-volume encyclopedia less useful to modern players. Now don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of databases having used Chess Assistant since 2003. But having a set of games to start with is essential for me. And I love browsing a physical quality book. For openings, I hate monographs and would rather learn by mimicking players I admire. I love the four volumes of essential chess openings too, but this thing has way more depth (two different animals, both good). I view this as a starting point to enable a reasonably high standard of play and a place to start your own opening researches and come up with your own theory of chess. If you're into chess, this is an outstanding volume. I balked at the price and sold my Nunn's and FCO to help cover the cost. So far, I do not regret the decision. I find the languageless interface very comfortable to use. The fonts are small, but even in complicated notes, it is easy to find the thread. As a bonus, the production values are lavish. This is a beautiful hardcover book and I'm glad to have it.

I am a proud owner of this SECO, even though my ranking is not high... Most people think that the 5-vol ECO set and the Small ECO are too high a level, and they are published for 2200+ players! I think it is true! Higher the ELO, more opening lines and variations people need to know. However, today I found that theSmall ECO is ideal even for ~1500 players! The reason and the answer is here: [...] wikipedia not only lists all the opening codes and connect each category in more popular fashion---name of the openings, but also the related annotation, explanation of these opening lines! But, this is not the end of the story yet. you even can find more detailed information also. When you visit the link above, you should know what I am am talking about!