It costs too much.
It's $15. To a 12-yr old, I can see how that might feel expensive. However, you can ask your dad to get it for you. You and your brother can split it between the Tu of you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4dyRTAfsKc
It sounds like a good book IF you can keep all those variations in your head. Unfortunately, the reviews you list are pretty secretive about which openings are covered and give no examples of what "deep theoretical" explanations are made. If it includes stuff that guides you to a good middlegame like pointing out where valuable knight outposts can be had or principles like, "Here you can castle on the opposite side and have an advantage in pawn-storming the king," I'd be highly interested.
But the reviews hide the contents of the book better than North Korea hides the condition of its nuclear test sites.
Chessable is designed to force you to memorize the lines, if you are willing to put in the work required by spaces repetition.
Mickin, it does that in the annotated games. The theory goes deeper. The book is truly broken down for beginners, intermediates (broadly construed), and advanced players. I've heard at least on player near the FM level say that they got novelties of use from the book. Two Experts have said the annotations really helped with practical play; and I can affirm that, as an A-Class player.
I see you wrote a blog post, and there's a 40 minute video in the chessable link, and from skimming your review it looks very promising. Thanks for bringing attention to it, I might get it.
But also I'd like some kind of super condensed preview. Maybe I'll be able to dig that out of a 40 minute video, but right now I don't have the time or patience.
For example just hitting the basic openings, each 4-5 moves only.
Something like:
Offers main line Ruys
Nc3 french
Caro advance
Bc4 Najdorf (one of the few lines I actually saw mentioned)
Nf3 classical pirc lines
3.Nf3 Scandinavian
Obvously not in depth, but just giving a flavor.
Hi, there is a general break-down from the intro:
The main recommendation against the Najdorf is the Fischer-Sozin, 6.Bc4. A similar approach is recommended against the Classical (6.Bc4). 6.Be2 is recommended against the Scheveningen, and the Yugoslav attack (9.Bc4) against the Dragon. The Maroczy bind, Hedgehog, and ...e6 Sicilians are not ignored.
Because the work is so big it's not easy to go over every single variation saying what's included.
I'm an 1.e4 player and will use this as my main rep. I like that all the variations are based on sound logical development as that suits my style, though I will pick and choose some of the variations.
It sounds like a good book IF you can keep all those variations in your head.
I agree with the above post that the Chessable platform will naturally add these variations to memory with the review system. However, do you read the complete works of Shakespeare and expect to memorise all the plays at once? No really. Therefore I recommend, as in my review, you pick and choose the variations that suit you first and then move on to another. It's a huge work. More of a chess opening library, something I will keep returning to a bit at a time rather than trying to do the whole thing in one go.
If it includes stuff that guides you to a good middlegame like pointing out where valuable knight outposts can be had or principles like, "Here you can castle on the opposite side and have an advantage in pawn-storming the king," I'd be highly interested.
Yes it does. Actually I have started to collect screen shots of these and use them as flashcards as each line includes arrows and circles along with verbal commentary on plans and ideas. This works more for me than trying to drill lines. I have a plan to store these in folders so that I can quickly review the images on my phone as this is another idea that I think will work for me (as I can't remember tons of lines.) I'm also thinking of memorising some of the key games.
All in all, it's a huge work and I would also highly recommend it.
Thanks for sharing, I took an immediate look at Chessable opening books again and carefully poured over the options and watched logozar's video ... this looks like an absolutely fantastic ebook and it is by far Chessable's largest opening book with over 1300 trainable lines (most Chessable opening books, even the "comprehensive" ones, have less than 300 trainable variations), however there is also the second largest Chessable opening book-- "1.e4 Keep It Simple" by IM Sielecki on Chessable-- that also looks quite comprehensive (nearly 700 trainable variations) and has an option of buying 15 hours of video instruction to go along with the book (though very expensive ... around $150!!).
Can anyone comment on which one of these repertoires might appeal to a certain type of player compared to another? One big difference I noticed comparing the two is that logozar goes for the Ruy Lopez while IM Sielecki goes for the Scotch, which might explain some of the differences in the number of training variations(?). But how would a casual club player, looking for something for gradual long-term growth and instruction, figure out which one of these resources would be more instructive and useful?
EDIT: I just read through your (Milliern's) blog (the second link in his opening post) just now where you explain some of the differences between logozar's far more comprehensive 1.e4 repertoire and Sielecki's "simpler" repertoire, thanks!! I hope more books show up on Chessable of this level of detail (explanations and variations) for the Black side of the more classical chess openings (1.e4 e5 and 1.d4 d5, certainly). Thanks, Milliern!
I used this repertoire in the U2100 section of the Philidelphia International and the U2000 section of the World Open. I won the Philidelphia International (6.5/9) and tied for 5th at the World Open (7/9), moving my USCF rating from 1954 to 2025.
It's worth noting that I had an opening advantage in every game where I played White in both tournaments, often with a large time advantage and a clear understanding of the correct middlegame plan.
For anyone interested, there's an incredible book that was released today on Chessable, which gives comprehensive coverage of 1. e4. It has been endorsed by GM Dejan Bojkov.
Here is the book: https://www.chessable.com/opening-book/1e4-a-comprehensive-white-repertoire/8209/
Here is my quick review: https://www.chess.com/blog/Milliern/a-solution-to-all-of-your-1-e4-problems
I didn't have much time to write a review, but I'm more than happy to answer specific questions about lines in the repertoire or opinions I have regarding particular aspects of the book.