"... Nearly 170 pages [in The Mammoth Book of Chess] are ... devoted to various chess openings. ..." - Steve Goldberg (2010)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093123/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review756.pdf
(Lots of illustrative games included.)
Note the number of illustrative games apparent in the samples from some other books:
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Understanding_the_Chess_Openings.pdf
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/FCO_Fundamental_Chess_Openings.pdf
"... Nearly 170 pages [in The Mammoth Book of Chess] are ... devoted to various chess openings. ..." - Steve Goldberg (2010)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093123/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review756.pdf
(Lots of illustrative games included.)
Note the number of illustrative games apparent in the samples from some other books:
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Understanding_the_Chess_Openings.pdf
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/FCO_Fundamental_Chess_Openings.pdf
I am holding the book in my hands as I type this. I have to stand corrected in the sense that pages 110-277 of the book are devoted to the topic of the openings, primarily via presentation of example games. On the other hand, I stand by my comment that the overall presentation is relatively superficial (IMO); so much so that I had put the book away several years ago upon first acquiring it, and not opening it again until now. On top of this, the book is a very cheaply produced paperback, printed on the cheapest possible paper, with the cheapest possible binding, which is almost guaranteed to fall apart with more than just limited use. In my view, the best than can be said about the book is that it is better than nothing at all (as well as being relatively cheap, for good reason - an example of getting what you pay for)...
"... For inexperienced players, I think the model that bases opening discussions on more or less complete games that are fully annotated, though with a main focus on the opening and early middlegame, is the ideal. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2010)
"... For inexperienced players, I think the model that bases opening discussions on more or less complete games that are fully annotated, though with a main focus on the opening and early middlegame, is the ideal. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2010)
I completely agree with this statement, in terms of providing the best possible understanding of the opening being discussed....
However, if one wants detailed coverage of an opening along with well-annotated example games, then that is not generally to be found in single volume references of the sort previously mentioned (the Graham Burgess book, with its superficial treatment notwithstanding). For detailed treatment of the opening together with useful annotated example games, one will generally have to acquire books that deal with specific openings, or with opening repertoires, i.e., not general opening references and/or succinct overview surveys of the sort mentioned earlier.
Note the number of illustrative games apparent in the samples from some other books:
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Understanding_the_Chess_Openings.pdf
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/FCO_Fundamental_Chess_Openings.pdf
Note the number of illustrative games apparent in the samples from some other books:
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Understanding_the_Chess_Openings.pdf
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/FCO_Fundamental_Chess_Openings.pdf
Again, I am holding both of these books in my hand. Neither book provides complete annotated games of the openings presented. In most cases, the coverage of the opening typically stops by the 10th move, with very few game fragments presented beyond that, and never to extend beyond move 15. As good as these books are for their intended purpose, they do NOT present complete presentations of annotated example games.
… pages 110-277 of [The Mammoth Book of Chess] are devoted to the topic of the openings, primarily via presentation of example games. ...
... if one wants detailed coverage of an opening along with well-annotated example games, then that is not generally to be found in single volume references of the sort previously mentioned (the Graham Burgess book, with its superficial treatment notwithstanding). For detailed treatment of the opening together with useful annotated example games, one will generally have to acquire books that deal with specific openings, or with opening repertoires, i.e., not general opening references and/or succinct overview surveys of the sort mentioned earlier.
"... really, rather than try to learn about a bunch of openings in quick succession, I suspect that, for now, [ceckerson's] best choice would be books selected from those that try to introduce a limited set of openings using sample games. I am thinking of books like:
Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014)
http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/openings-for-amateurs/
https://www.chess.com/blog/ForwardChess/book-of-the-week-openings-for-amateurs
https://www.mongoosepress.com/catalog/excerpts/openings_amateurs.pdf
First Steps: 1 e4 e5
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7790.pdf
https://chesscafe.com/book-reviews/first-steps-1-e4-e5-by-john-emms/
First Steps: Queen's Gambit
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7652.pdf
My First Chess Opening Repertoire for White
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9033.pdf
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/vincent-moret/
Opening Repertoire 1 e4
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7819.pdf " - me (~3 days ago)
… In my view, the best than can be said about [The Mammoth Book of Chess] is that it is better than nothing at all ...
One could mention all those games.
"... it provides a good overview of a large number of openings, ..." - Steve Goldberg (2010)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093123/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review756.pdf
… In my view, the best than can be said about [The Mammoth Book of Chess] is that it is better than nothing at all...
One could mention all those games.
"... it provides a good overview of a large number of openings, ..."
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093123/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review756.pdf
"good" in this case is subjective. I would not use that adjective to describe the book and its coverage of the openings. Perhaps "ok" would be the best that I could say about it, but even that might be overstating its value. I would spend my money on any of the other books previously mentioned before buying the Graham Burgess book.
There is no more that I wish to say on the subject of this particular book.
For a first book on the subject of opening play the book to get is "Discovering Chess Openings" by John Emms. It confines itself to a treatment of fundamental opening principles (i.e., it is not concerned with attempting to present or analyze all the openings and their variations in any organized or comprehensive way).
Beyond the Emms book for its treatment of fundamental principles, for a more detailed survey of all the major openings and their primary variations in an organized but succinct overview presentation, I would choose from among the following three books, also previously mentioned, each of which do a good job in that respect. In increasing order of the depth/details of their treatment of the openings, they are...
Winning Chess Openings by Yasser Seirawan
Back To Basics: Openings by Carsten Hansen
Understanding The Chess Openings by Sam Collins
On the other end of the "details" spectrum for an opening reference (i.e., very detailed, and excellent treatments) are - "FCO Fundamental Chess Openings" by Paul van der Sterren, (for the best single-volume reference) and "Mastering The Chess Openings" by John Watson (an outstanding four-volume reference).
There are of course many good opening books that go into detailed treatments of specific openings to various degrees, but for the purposes of a reasonably succinct and readily digestible first exposure to the openings for the beginner-novice, the books specifically mentioned would accomplish the mission nicely I believe. By the way, I own all of the books discussed, and understand and appreciate the differences between them very well.
As a peripheral comment, I would avoid the book Mammoth Book of Chess by Graham Burgess previously mentioned, which is a general treatment of chess, and a relatively poor one (IMO) at that; its focus is not chess openings, although it does contain some relatively superficial treatment of the topic.