“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
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.
“‘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, USA Team Captain
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.
“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
“Rizzitano, a strong American IM with tremendous practical playing strength, has used this opening effectively for many years and has recognized 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