No opening in recent times has captured the imagination of the chess public more than the Sicilian Sveshnikov. Initially popularized in the 1970s, the Sveshnikov has exploded onto the chess scene at the highest levels and is now regarded by many experts as one of Black s most promising answers to 1 e4. One of its major attractions is that more often than not the opening leads to incredibly sharp and complex play. In such situations both sides must play with extreme accuracy just to stay on the board as a single slip may lead to disaster "

The Queen's Indian is one of Black's most dependable and respected defences to the queen's pawn opening. It's an established favorite amongst world-class Grandmasters such as Vladimir Kramnik, Vishy Anand, Michael Adams, and Judit Polgar, not to mention Anatoly Karpov, who has been a loyal Queen's Indian supporter and theory developer for over three decades. Rather than classically occupying the central squares with pawns, Black adopts a hypermodern approach and endeavors to control this key area with pieces. This procedure leads to rich and varied positions that will appeal to players who...