How to learn about opening theory in chess?

Where do I go to learn opening chess theory?

• I would like to start learning opening chess theory. Not just moves, but the advantages and disadvantages that each opening along with its variation provides as well as other things ...show more

• Answer:

  The answer to this question used to be pretty easy: MCO. MCO, that is, Modern Chess Openings, has been the chess player's "Bible" for quite some time answering all these questions you ask. The latest version is the 15th. Here it is with a preview: http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Chess-Openings-15th-Firmian/dp/0812936825/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276048909&sr=8-1 That's probably still the easy answer. I don't have a copy, but the reviews of FCO (Fundamental Chess Openings) are full of praise. That could be an even better route than MCO at this point: http://www.amazon.com/FCO-Fundamental-Paul-Van-Sterren/dp/1906454132/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_i For a more comprehensive reference (without descriptive commentary) there is ECO, the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings, which is a five-volume set and most likely beyond what you would need. For example, this is one volume: http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Chess-Openings-Zdenko-Krnic/dp/8672970462/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276049143&sr=1-3 The trouble nowadays is that computers are finding flaws in many old evaluations and the latest theory can be hard to keep up with. For that reason, many turn to online or digital databases with millions of games and the most current theory. Here are a couple of handy resources: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/explorer and http://www.chesslive.de. Apart from staying up with the latest theory, there are fundamental concepts behind the openings that remain mostly constant. Reuben Fine's "Ideas Behind the Chess Openings" (http://www.amazon.com/Ideas-Behind-Chess-Openings-Algebraic/dp/0812917561/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276049518&sr=1-1) is one of the best. Wikipedia is also a great resource (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_openings) so maybe that will someday just circumvent all other easy answers. Finally, you can find a treasure trove of old information on http://books.google.com if you just search on chess. Sure, most of those old books are hopelessly outdated, but they also contain lots of information that has been lost over the years, including deep insights by some of the greatest masters who ever lived. Here's an example: http://books.google.com/books?id=9yZ-laVYRgUC&dq=chess&lr&as_brr=1&pg=PP18#v=onepage&q&f=false ... I've added another example with great descriptions (are all openings bad?) by Gunsberg, who was one of the very top players around the time of Steinitz: http://books.google.com/books?id=SGwZAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=chess&lr=&as_brr=1&cd=32#v=onepage&q&f=false Enjoy!