by James Plaskett, 144pp. (Everyman 2005)
There are not too many feelings more satisfying in chess than winning very quickly by cleverly snaring your opponent in an opening trap. Conversely, all chess players, even budding World Champions, have experienced the utter humiliation of losing in exactly the same manner! In this entertaining and instructive book Grandmaster James Plaskett presents a wealth of illustrative games that contain disasters in the crucial opening phase of the game, where for one reason or another the battle is concluded prematurely. Studying Catastrophe in the Opening will allow the reader to capitalise on any early blunders by his or her opponent, whilst also avoiding the various pitfalls that await chess players in the opening.
