by Hans Berliner 176 pp. (Gambit 1999)
Hans Berliner is one of the most successful correspondence chess players of all time, and was utterly dominant in the 5th World Championship. Here, for the first time, he explains the set of principles - The System - that he used to guide him to the right moves. Readers will be astonished by the simplicity and power of Berliner's methods as he takes several major openings and subjects them to System principles, and finds radically new approaches to them.
"If you would like a different perspective on the openings and insights into both how (heuristic) computers and some humans play chess, this is an interesting book and deserves a wider audience. Like many books of this type before, there is something of the curio about it. Designed for humans rated 1800-2500 and computers of any rating, I think this book will be valuable to many and incomprehensible to others. I think the gamble is worth it. Buy this book" - Alex Dunn, CORRESPONDENCE CHESS NEWS
"...elucidates the former World Correspondence Champion's deep-thinking powerful approach to chess...makes for compelling reading" Paul Motwani, SCOTTISH CHESS
"[Berliner's] artistic creativity comes shining through...Recommended" - Alan Borwell, SCOTTISH CORRESPONDENCE CHESS
"The strength of the book is the insight it gives of how a World Champion Correspondence player approaches chess and selects his moves. There are many issues that Berliner covers that will make you think even if you do not agree with them. Highly recommended for dogmatic players" - AUSTRALIAN CHESS FORUM
"Highly recommended" - THE CHESS GAZETTE
"Probably last year's most controversial opening publication" - NEW IN CHESS
"Berliner believes the best opening move is 1.d4 and that with correct play, White can build on his half-move advantage to achieve a winning position against certain openings. .. I may never be able to emulate Berliner's system of thinking, but I did find it applicable and beneficial in terms of positional analysis" - Mark Donlan, CHESS HORIZONS
