The Kaufman's New Repertoire for Black and White – a Complete, Sound and User-Friendly Chess Opening Repertoire by Larry Kaufman

Seven years after the success of his bestselling The Kaufman Repertoire for Black and White, Grandmaster Larry Kaufman returns with a new repertoire book that comprehensively covers all chess openings for both White and Black in a single volume.

Two key factors motivated this update: First, Kaufman, who regularly plays the lines he recommends, found that after 1.d4 (the suggestion in his previous book), it became difficult to consistently demonstrate an advantage for White, especially against defences like the Grünfeld and Nimzo/Ragozin. Second, chess engines have dramatically increased in strength.

In this new book, Kaufman introduces a fresh White repertoire starting with 1.e4, designed to achieve an objective advantage through simple, practical options without requiring the sharpest lines. The Black repertoire has also been significantly updated, adding three new chapters.

Kaufman's New Repertoire for Black and White is groundbreaking as the first opening book primarily based on a Monte Carlo search. Its innovative analysis offers numerous improvements to existing theory. The repertoire is clearly explained and easy to implement, and it features solid, practical lines that will remain relevant over time and are suitable for both masters and amateurs alike.

• This book is ideal for intermediate to advanced players. In particular, coaches, club players, tournament competitors and aspiring masters will benefit tremendously from it
• Covers all significant openings for both White and Black
• Written in an accessible manner which makes concepts understandable
• Including a repertoire you can easily digest without becoming overwhelmed by theory
• Kaufman’s practical and user-friendly approach will help you understand key concepts
• Increase your confidence in black-and-white repertoires

Reader’s Reviews:

Despite being initially put off by some of the reviews on Amazon, I decided to purchase the book and was pleasantly surprised. It's an excellent read, one you can immerse yourself in for days or weeks if you really dive into the material. I'd recommend having a rating of 1800+ before delving into this book and some familiarity with building your own opening repertoire. 

While I found a few minor mistakes, others I thought were errors turned out to be my misunderstandings upon further review. Having an engine running alongside can be very helpful for checking lines. 

Kaufman doesn’t force you into specific openings like the Grünfeld; instead, he provides various options for both White and Black, allowing you to choose what suits your style. For instance, I'll explore the Marshall once I master the Breyer.

I particularly appreciated how Kaufman analyzes the conclusions of lines, which gave me insight into how Grandmasters evaluate positions, weighing material and space compensation - Haddard.

Before diving into Kaufman’s Grunfeld lines, he offers practical responses to Queen’s Pawn Game for both Grunfeld and King’s Indian players. I particularly appreciate how straightforward his Trompowsky recommendation (2...d5) is, as it equalizes quickly. 

Many popular sources provide more complex lines like 2...c5, or 2...Ne4 (as Avrukh suggests) is suitable for professionals but not ideal for National Masters like me who don’t want to memorize 50 pages of theory just to counter the Trompowsky.

Kaufman’s Marshall theory has been an excellent addition to my 1...e5 repertoire, which I’ve mainly based on Bologan since 2016. He also allows playing the Breyer, Marshall, or Moller. Don’t shy away from the Anti-Marshall labyrinths! The coverage is thorough yet concise compared to other sources. Go for the Marshall! - B.Grady.

About the author:

Lawrence Charles Kaufman (born November 15, 1947) is an American chess player. He was awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE for winning the 2008 World Seniors Championship (which he later retroactively shared with Mihai Suba). Kaufman had been previously awarded the title of International Master in 1980.

A longtime researcher in computer chess, Kaufman has made several contributions to chess-related works. He helped write the opening book for the pioneering program Mac Hack, co-developed Socrates II and its commercial adaptation, Kasparov's Gambit, edited the journal Computer Chess Reports, and worked on many other research and commercial chess engines. He is also known for his work on computer chess engine Rybka 3, and several books and articles, including "The Evaluation of Material Imbalances". On March 17, 2023, Larry Kaufman announced that he is now a paid consultant for Chess.com for the development of the chess engine Dragon by Komodo Chess. 

Other Details:
Paperback
464 pages
Dimensions: 17.12cm x 2.97cm x 23.29cm
ISBN-13: 9789056918620