Best White 1.d4 2. c4 player opening repertoire book

Right now at least, I enjoy opening with 1.d4 often followed by 2.c4. What do folks things is the best book(s) for this?

John Watson's A Strategic Chess Opening for White seems good. I hear good things about the book by Burgess. I believe Pallisar and others may have similar books. Starting Out, Everyman, etc.

What's considered the top in this genre?

In d4 openings learning common strategies and piece placement is often much more important than actual theory.  d4 is tricky for under 2000 rated players, so make sure you know 'why' you are doing things rather than just going with theory.

Thanks. That's great info. from all of you. I'll review those games and the other books mentioned.

That's good to know about Watson. I knew he was respected for the way he writes and his eplanation of the meaning behind moves. I suppose reading his works will be useful for that alone, even if I didn't utilize all of his lines.

Kaufman has some nice lines for QG + Indian systems, but the explanations are not extremely thorough.

I'm not sure how the book by Graham Burgess is: A Cunning Chess Opening Repertoire for White.

i have read your last post----care to lay that against me???

Watson's book is poor, stay away from it. Same applies for Kaufman.

I'd say Schandorff on Quality Chess, because his repertoire is principled. But it has several analytical flaws, which are hardly relevant to the class level.

Is An Opening Repertoire For White (Keene) out of date? Or can the ideas still hold at the class level?

Probably not, but I appreciate ALL recommendations for future reference and for others who are more advanced. Probably best to give recommendations for a few different levels.

I think what is needed for us non-titled players is something that explains reasoning behing the moves.

I am surprised pfren shot down the Watson book, but I know pfren knows what he is talking about.

Watson's older books have been very good, but the last ones (French 4th edition and Strategic Repertoire for White) were really poor. His prose is still very good, but the variations choice and included analysis is disappointing. I have bought his books on the English opening and French some 35 years ago (I still have them) and I enjoyed them a great deal, but time has passed...

I was just about to download Watsons book too. Thanks for the review

Silman recommends "Wojo's Weapons" for a Catalan-based repertoire entered by 1.Nf3 with later d4/c4 (to avoid Benoni and Benko).

Pretty meaty stuff. Generous amounts of text illustrated by games rather than line dumps.

Silman considers it a repertoire for 2000+.

lM Shahade also recommends Wojo Weapons (among other books)...again, if you are that level and opening with 1.Nf3....not to say others wouldn't benefit form reading though.

What are you implying...?

I have Watson and Schandorff both, and I think they compliment each other well - Watson is trying to give an overview of nearly all popular lines where Schandorff is offering a specific repertoire.

There are big holes in both works....for example, Watson wholesale disregards the QGA as a viable option for black - just "3.e3 - white is better NEXT!" And neither book adequately discusses Bf4 in the QGD (as opposed to Bg5). Watson is bad about introducing a line, giving the first few moves, and leaving us to sort it without an example game. Schandorff will steer you toward sharp lines when he can, so a lot of more positional ways of playing are glossed over (and he admits as much in the intro, if memory serves).

All that to say - you need to have multiple resources because one book will tell you "this is the main main line, and playing anything else is silly" where the next book will tell you "the old main line is terrible! Play this one." You need to see that controversy in order to figure out what works for you. Also, even if you have every opening repertoire book on the planet, you should still be checking your repertoire in a database to see what novelties you might expect from both sides.........Watson's book is stuck in 2007, databases are updated almost immediately. 

I think you nailed it, Alison. Several books and maybe Chessbase (updated) if you are really serious and competing and at a high level.

Kaufman's books are more of Komodo data dumps, although there is some explanation of ideas... and he usually avoids main lines...choosing perhaps the third most popular line. Something can be said for that. Then again, something can be said against it. Relatively concise if that is what you want. It has its place. I suppose there are pros and cons to any single resource.

He's a smart guy no doubt. He managed to squeeze Black and White all into one book, so he wasn't going for multiple volumes. I'm not criticizing him. There is just only so much room he had with which to work.

Which of his books did that? The older one (Chess Advantage in Black & White) or the newer one (The Kaufman Repertoire for Black & White).

I actually had occasion to use the Russian System against the Gruenfeld from the latter book. I use a lot of Kaufman's lines, even though they are ostensibly "beyond my [neophpyte] level." Whatever Heather.

Bishop sac line in the Slav? Where is that, exactly? I don't remember that.

Probably this business.

OK. Kaufman's line (from White's perspective), is:

1. d4d52. c4c63. Nf3Nf64. Nc3dxc45. a4Bf56. Ne5e67. f3Bb48. Nxc4 O-O 9. Kf2 . . .

Pages 134, 262 of The Kaufman Repertoire for Black & White.

Interesting. When you have your book with you, see the game on pp. 135-136 that follows this line. Kaufman considers several options for Black to play on move 9, but Bc2 is not considered by him (well, I just took a quick glance but didn't see it).