Complete Defense to Queen Pawn Openings

This book covers the Tarrasch Defense which can be used against White's opening moves of c4,d4 and Nf3. The defense is quite sound and allows many various counterattacking and initiative advantages for Black. There is plenty of theory and analysis available for variation affecinadoes but some pawn structures available after exchanging pieces may leave some in disarray during middle and endgame play. Overall the author covers interesting lines of play and leaves the imagination and creativity to the reader. Remember, more chess play equals more experience and victory.

This is a typical Cardoza book in that editing, proofreading, and careful production were not part of the equation. I can't understand why this publisher seems to take pride in sloppy work. That out of the way... Schiller admittedly loves to hype the things he loves, but that's fine. He is a big fan of the Tarrasch, but he backs this with solid knowledge and extensive practice, so it all works to the good. And that's the upside of Cardoza's line of books: they brim with enthusiasm, excitement, interesting ideas, and above all a philosophy of getting out there and winning. After a couple of hours with this book, you just can't wait to get out there and play and try out your new ideas. That's no small thing--- how many chess books make you want an afternoon nap instead? There are few full books to be found about the Tarrasch. Schiller's book fills a real hole. (The other book I know of is Aagaard and Lund's "Meeting 1. d4" which, while quite good, is more theoretical and dry.) Schiller definitely concentrates on ideas and typical plans and tactics for both sides. The writing style and presentation is cogent and easy to follow. You cannot get through this book without having a thorough conception of the flow of the Tarrasch. Enough material is presented on variants and alternatives to make the book a reasonable enough reference, though you might have to hunt around a bit; of course the book is not "theoretically complete" but it never seemed intended to be. As a good practical introduction, this book will have you playing the Tarrasch in tournament games rather quickly (as it is doing for me). Later on if you want to become a complete Tarrasch specialist you'll need a little more material, such as a game collection. But for getting going and learning the concepts, this book will take you quite far. You just have to grin and bear it when really obvious typos appear multiple times in one line. Overall 4 stars for content and sheer enthusiasm and energy; one star off for poor editing.

Schiller is a Tarrasch fanatic, and it shows in this thick (288 pages) well-produced epic on the Tarrasch Defence. It brims with enthusiasm and with tactics, strategies, traps, theory, history--everything you need to play and love the Tarrasch. The overview and typical strategies sections at the beginning are beautiful. Schiller does not sugarcoat this Defence, but he does promise you exciting chess and that by studying this opening your overall game will improve. It is important to learn how to play with an isolated d-pawn. Another great benefit of the Tarrasch is you can play the pawn structure against nearly any opening (even against 1. e4 you can play a French and have the same structure. Even though Kasparov gave up the Tarrasch, obviously it is a worthy opening if several world champions have played it. Solve the problem of the Bc8 being trapped in the most forthright way! Play the Tarrasch, and get this book!

After reading this book I am pretty much at ease defending the Queen pawn opening. The strategy presented here will get you through the first 10 or so moves and keep you out of trouble. After that you are of course on your own but not without some ideas and places to look for white weakness. I liked the summary of the strategy that was given in the Overview and Strategic Goals chapters. The short study of alternatives in the last few chapters is also very helpful if the game does not open exactly as planned.