Encyclopedia of Chess Openings.

A perspective to consider regarding which chess books are appropriate vs skill level of the player...

Many beginning players, in a desire to acquire and study the "best" chess books, too often choose books that are not appropriate for their skill level.  Not all books are "easily" accessible to all levels of players.  That is, many chess books, regardless of how "good" they are touted to be (particularly by advanced players, or those with "Master" in their chess title), are simply too advanced for the less experienced or accomplished player, meaning, for example, that the beginner-novice player is far more likely to benefit from books written specifically for that target audience, than from books addressed primarily to titled players.  A good example is John Nunn's books (very advanced treatments) vs Bruce Pandolfini or Dan Heisman (beginner-novice).  For a player who does not have very good command of the fundamental concepts covered in Pandolfini's or Heisman's books, trying to learn learn from Nunn's books would be like trying to read a calculus book before having a good grasp of algebra.

Ludek Pachman's "Complete Chess Strategy" is a trilogy (in 3 volumes) and is available only in Descriptive notation.   The other Pachman book referred to - "Modern Chess Strategy" - is a single volume, and is essentially a "condensed" version (314 pages in the Dover Publications paperback edition) of the topics addressed in the trilogy.  It is also available only in Descriptive notation.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_23?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=complete+chess+strategy+pachman&sprefix=complete+chess+strategy%2Cstripbooks%2C208&crid=OAZK296ZQ0OJ&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Acomplete+chess+strategy+pachman

https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Chess-Strategy-Ludek-Pachman/dp/0486202909/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496667464&sr=1-1&keywords=modern+chess+strategy+pachman

"... Just because a book contains lots of information that you don’t know, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be extremely helpful in making you better at this point in your chess development. ..." - Dan Heisman (2001)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140626180930/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman06.pdf

That is a good article by Heisman.  Here is another quote from the article...

"I would also recommend a one-stop encyclopedic book like Nunn’s
Chess Openings or Modern Chess Openings 14. These books won’t
tell you how to understand the chess openings, but they can’t be beat if
you don’t know what you should have played and want a
recommendation as to which moves might have been better." 

Yes, as I mentioned above, 'Complete Chess Strategy' is in three volumes, while 'Modern Chess Strategy' is in one volume. Personally, I'd recommend the three volume work, because it contains many more examples. This is a feature of many older translations of foreign words, primarily by Russian authors, but also others. In order to keep the cost for the buyer down, the material was often substantially reduced and condensed. Mikhail Shereskevsky's three excellent volumes on the endgame ('Endgame Strategy' and 'Mastering the Endgame' vol. I & II) are a perfect case in point with scores of games and examples omitted from the translation.

As regards John Nunn, I can only concur. Personally, I'm not too keen on Nunn's writing style in any event (and I'm most definitely a member of his target audience), and I think many would agree with me having played over the second volume of Paul Keres best games collection, 'The Quest for Perfection' where John Nunn annotates the last 11 games (to make up 100 games in each volume). Compared to Keres' own delightful and lucid style with an excellent mix of didactic prose comments and germane variations to match, Nunn quickly gets bogged down in endless reams of analysis which have the feel of database dumps. Nunn was at his best before the computer engines came into the picture.

I must admit that I think I still prefer the 1999 Nunn's Chess Openings over the newer MCO and Small ECO.  The parts that Nunn in particular wrote were extremely well thought out adding novelties and including many new lines which were just coming into fashion.  Joel Gallagher and John Emms did quite good jobs on their sections as well.

I agree, Wayne! NCO is of higher quality than MCO and the Small ECO.

Two things to note: (1) The date of the quote is 2001. As has been noted, now, in 2017, years have gone by without revisions of these opening encyclopedias. The chess world seems to have gone over to using computer products.

"... a revised edition was undoubtedly overdue, because theory has been changing incredibly fast in the intervening years [since 2003]. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen, commenting on the 2010 Small Encyclopedia
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627063241/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen145.pdf

(2) "These books won't tell you how to understand the chess openings." It might not work out so well if one has limited money and buys an expensive out-of-date opening encyclopedia now with the hope that it will help one's understanding years later.

It's important to remember that it's all too easy to overestimate the importance of exceedingly detailed opening knowledge. At all levels below E2300-E2400, solid endgame and middlegame knowledge is likely to stand a player in better stead than bang up to date opening erudition, and up to a level of about E2200 you can play virtually any number of second, third or fourth best options without being punished for it. Quite the opposite, in fact. One often gets rewarded by taking one's opponent out of book, throwing them onto their own devices.

This is why, in addition to MCO/NCO/ECO etc., and the like,  it is advisable to also own something like John Watson's "Mastering the Chess Openings".....to aid in UNDERSTANDING....

WOW! Thank you fellows for all these new comments, recommendations, advice & wishing me good luck

This is a helpful article RussBell & a very nice collection! I bought some of them already.

I agree with what you all said about chess books of every level being the best for learners of such level, however I concentrated on buying advanced books for several reasons:

1) I have no problem with understanding advanced books.

2) I have already some beginner & post-beginner Arabic books, what my library (and the Arabic library in general) lacked is the advanced ones.

3) I had to pay a small fortune for such books and I believe that sooner or later any player needs such advanced books so I concentrated on buying them. I guess that one can learn pre-advanced info from websites, watching other players playing & by his own practice. I would have been very happy to buy all the best chess books from different levels but it is a luxury I don’t have.

However my collection includes some books which could be regarded as less advanced than the aforementioned game collections: “Fundamental Checkmates”, “Attack and Defence”, “Art of Attack”, “New Art of Defence” and “Pawn Structure Chess”.

I’m enjoying Pachman’s book on the opening & I guess I will take a look at his other works. I guess he is an underrated chess writer.

On the endgame I have “Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual” & “Fundamental Chess Endings”, they are both quite advanced, I started reading the blue parts of “Dvorestky’s” then I intend to reread it as a whole. Silman's one seems to be great. I'm currently reading his "How to Reassess Your Chess, 4th edition" & it's teaching me loads.

Speaking of the legendary Keres there is a new book about him from the “Move by Move” series by Zenon Franco.  I looked at its sample & it seemed quite promising. Have you seen it?

About the Opening encyclopedia and after thinking about your advice & recommendations as a whole I guess I will either go to the Small ECO or NCO (significantly cheaper) or simply save my money for now & after finishing reading Watson’s series I’ll look for what’s new & available then.

Thank you all again I’m really grateful.

Doesn't change the fact that one may be in for a disappointment if one now uses limited funds to buy an expensive already out-of-date Small Encyclopedia for future help with understanding of openings.

Read a book on Keres myself recently

He was a very practical player. He would frequently look for the most murky looking move, rather than the objective best, was more interested in winning than being correct

True.  This is why I suggested MCO/NCO in the first place....they are not expensive....

If the goal is additional help with the understanding of openings, saving money for now, seems to me to be a better choice than NCO and the Small Encyclopedia. If one wants a book resource for looking up moves in specific lines, NCO would be cheaper, but it should perhaps be remembered that its highly respected authors were trapped in the last century.

I would advise caution about doing too much buying in advance of reading. At least from what you have written so far, I do not get the impression that you have had much exposure to the really advanced stuff, but, even if one ignores that problem, reading more of your current books can help you to know what you need from future purchases. There may be a saving in buying stuff now, but there can also be a saving in avoiding stuff that doesn't really turn out to be helpful. Also, if one waits for the future, there is the possibility of buying books (and computer products) that are only available there.

Until one reaches a level where s/he has attained a rating with "Master" in the title, and therefore are routinely playing titled opponents in games requiring the latest in opening theory knowledge, it is probably a waste of funds for the average chess amateur (especially if rated below intermediate level) to purchase resources, books, etc., simply for the purpose of obtaining the most recent, up to date opening theory, which the lower rated player is very unlikely to have the opportunity to employ against lower rated competition... 

People seem to treat opening books like some kind of security blanket. Throw it away, and just think for yourselves, its quite liberating and unlikely to cost points, as thinking from move One puts you in tune with whats happening at the board.     Someone who just parrots out opening moves will be more at a loss.

  Try playing a move One move you dont know and just play.  Nc3 is a good one, can literally be played knowing nothing

At the time I posted my "(2)" comment, the last word from Mohammad-al-Baydaq, as far as I knew, was (~1 day ago):

"... I wanted to buy some encyclopedia to start with after finishing that series, I guess I will then be able to understand these openings (at least their general ideas) by myself. I’ll probably try to get the small ECO for now. ..."

Subsequently, I saw: "... I guess I will either go to the Small ECO or NCO (significantly cheaper) or simply save my money for now & after finishing reading Watson’s series I’ll look for what’s new & available then. ..."

That was the sort of change that I was hoping for. Switching from the Small ECO to NCO reduces the expense problem, but it increases the out-of-date problem by more than a decade and doesn't do much to change the problem of a possible disappointment in the future search for help with the understanding of general ideas for openings.

"These books won't tell you how to understand the chess openings." - Dan Heisman (2001)

That sounds close to being an argument against NCO altogether. In any event, for MCO, BCO, and the Small ECO, the interval between revisions seems to have previously been much less than 18 years. I suppose that it might be that the old revision rate was due to the preferences of masters, but my guess is that it had something to do with the preferences of players well below master level. After all, has there really been much master-level interest in books like MCO, BCO, and the Small ECO? I suppose it could be that the well-below-master-level players were misguided in wanting a revised encyclopedia after a decade or less, but I wonder if it is a good idea to assume the accuracy of that idea and use limited monetary resources to buy the 1999 NCO instead of waiting to see what better options will be available in the future.

I have said all I can constructively say on the topic of MCO/NCO vs ECO vs Watson's books, etc.  I stand by everything I've said up to now...

So I'm done on that aspect of this thread....

I will now diverge to a different perspective for the OP to consider - Opening repertoire resources, books....

A good opening repertoire book can be an effective solution whereby one can acquire a variety, a spectrum of choices to play against most of the openings/defenses one is likely to encounter from your opponents.  From the very first, it should be understood that opening repertoires have limitations (here I'll refer to books only, for the purposes of this discussion, with the understanding also that the comments generally apply to electronic products as well).  The major limitation being that any given repertoire may feature openings/defenses which one has no interest in playing. Another is that any repertoire book is necessarily limited in the depth to which it can examine the various myriad possible lines which could be played.

With that understanding, it is also true that for the average (non-"Master") amateur chess player, a repertoire book can be a cost effective alternative to spending lots of money on many different opening books, while still offering enough "theory" to address most opening scenarios likely to be encountered (assuming best, or reasonable play by both sides).  Certainly a good opening repertoire book will do a decent (at least!) job of covering the main lines of the openings/defenses it presents - which for the amateur, is probably the best, most prudent approach.

So what would I recommend?  There are many very good opening repertoire books available.  The first thing that must be considered is whether the repertoire offers openings/defenses that you like, feel comfortable with, or want to play.  Most of the opening repertoire books I own feature both lines with which I feel comfortable and also lines which I don't.  There will always be some trade-off in this respect.  It is unavoidable.  But if the concept of opening repertoire books has appeal, my suggestion is to find a few repertoire books, each of which contain MOSTLY lines/variations which you feel comfortable playing.

Thus...

For White who wants to play 1.e4, my forum thread...

Good Chess Opening Books for Beginners and Beyond....

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/good-chess-opening-books-for-beginners-and-beyond

contains several suggestions.  

In particular the repertoire books by Vincent Moret, John Emms, Lev Alburt and Jef Kaan.  All these books are accessible to the beginner through intermediate level player.  (Refer to my list for titles of these, as well as several other good opening repertoire books).

While Moret's and Emms' books are excellent for the repertoires they present, Lev Alburt's and Jef Kaan's repertoires are probably the most comprehensive, and I would recommend to include them in the repertoire library of any amateur.  Interestingly, Jef Kaan's White repertoire offers choices for both 1.e4 and 1.d4, i.e., for flexibility, depending on the preference of the player.

For what what might be considered a more "advanced" repertoire, i.e., one designed to be effective against even the highest level of competition, I would suggest to consider....

"The Kaufman Repertoire for Black and White" by Larry Kaufman....

https://www.amazon.com/Kaufman-Repertoire-Black-White-User-friendly/dp/9056913719/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496726715&sr=1-1&keywords=the+kaufman+repertoire+for+black+and+white

Understand, again, that the book does not (cannot) contain the latest developments in opening theory (it was written in 2012).  But for the amateur, that is not critically important.  What is most important is how generally effective it is in terms of offering ideas and lines of play which provide reasonable chances against nominally good play by the opponent.

Here are two comments in the overleaf of Kaufman's book....by two notable chess authors....

"The author has done a very good job at presenting a playable and interesting repertoire for both Black and White" - Carsten Hansen, ChessCafe

"Simply the best comprehensive repertoire book that I have ever seen." - John Watson

The openings/defenses featured in the Kaufmann repertoire are...

For White - 1.d4.  Kaufman states in the book's introduction..."Most of the choices were played by Garry Kasparov when he was active."  "1.d4 is by far the more practical choice for the vast majority of players.....the vast majority of amateur players (even including masters) are simply much better prepared against 1.e4 than against 1.d4."

For Black - Kaufman states "...the Black repertoire is mostly that of the world's highest-rated player (as of this writing), Magnus Carlsen."  Kaufmann has Black responding with 1.e4 e5, when the second player will allow the Ruy Lopez, heading for the Breyer Defense, which was Magnus Carlsen's preference at the time of writing.  Against 1.d4 Black's primary preference is the Grunfeld Defense (if White allows), with Kaufman stating again that "we are following the recent preference of Carlsen."

Finally, it is interesting to note that Larry Kaufmann is one of the developers of the World Champion chess engine, "Komodo"...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_(chess)