BCO vs. ECO vs. MCO
Gerald Cameron
I'm looking to pick up one of these three books as a general handbook to
guide some experimentation with various openings so I can find some I'm at
home with. I'd like some help deciding which I should invest in.
What is of interest to me is:
1) Reasonably complete coverage of major lines in major openings
(what's major you ask? Use your own judgement. I don't think
any of these three should have any trouble on this count anyways.
2) GOOD explanation of the strategic themes of both the opening in
general AND specific lines it discusses.
3) Relative ease of use. Clear writing and appropriate
explanations at key positions.
4) Price. While this is a last consideration (these are in order
of importance), and exceptionally high price will turn me off of one.
Please post or e-mail replies. If you are only familiar with two of them
(or even one) your opinions are still welcome.
Thanks.
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Paul A. Lane
>Hey all,
>I'm looking to pick up one of these three books as a general handbook to
>guide some experimentation with various openings so I can find some I'm at
>home with. I'd like some help deciding which I should invest in.
>What is of interest to me is:
> 1) Reasonably complete coverage of major lines in major openings
> (what's major you ask? Use your own judgement. I don't think
> any of these three should have any trouble on this count anyways.
ECO is most complete (being a 5 volume set as opposed to 1 for BCO2/MCO13).
> 2) GOOD explanation of the strategic themes of both the opening in
> general AND specific lines it discusses.
All three of those volumes fail miserably, i.e., virtually *no* explanation.
A viable alternative is Horowitz's book which does involve some discussion.
However, it is dated.
> 3) Relative ease of use. Clear writing and appropriate
> explanations at key positions.
All three of those books consist of tables of various chess lines. I don't
think you'll be happy with one of those on its own.
> 4) Price. While this is a last consideration (these are in order
> of importance), and exceptionally high price will turn me off of 1.
I think ECO is ~$200 for the complete set. The other two are around $30-$40
as is Horowitz.
>Please post or e-mail replies. If you are only familiar with two of them
>(or even one) your opinions are still welcome.
I have BCO2 and two volumes of ECO (as well as Horowitz). I think that your
second and third needs rule out getting any of these on their own. Horowitz
is probably written exactly in the style you need, but is somewhat older. I
rather wish that someone would undertake updating that book.
However, this doesn't rule out getting one of these books. If you do decide
on one of them, you should pick up a companion volume which won't have the
same level of depth but will have much more discussion. There are a number
of these kinds of books. It simply depends on your tastes.
As for myself, I have a copy of Harding & someone's Openings for the Club
Player. I picked it up fairly early and used it whenever someone hit me
with something I didn't know. It discusses several alternatives for every
common opening and includes board positions arising from these openings (both
good for White, Black, and even). When I go into more depth, I pick up my
copy of BCO2 and I use ECO for analysis (or when looking for an unusual line).
Paul
--
Gerald Cameron
>In <1994Jan17.1...@relay.acadiau.ca> 900...@dragon.acadiau.ca (Gerald Cameron) writes:
>>What is of interest to me is:
>> 1) Reasonably complete coverage of major lines in major openings
>> (what's major you ask? Use your own judgement. I don't think
>> any of these three should have any trouble on this count anyways.
>ECO is most complete (being a 5 volume set as opposed to 1 for BCO2/MCO13).
ECO seems to be out of the question due to cost :(
>> 2) GOOD explanation of the strategic themes of both the opening in
>> general AND specific lines it discusses.
>All three of those volumes fail miserably, i.e., virtually *no* explanation.
This seems to be the consensus. Too bad. I'll still likely get BCO or
MCO though. In light of this fact though...
>A viable alternative is Horowitz's book which does involve some discussion.
>However, it is dated.
Okay....how about some recommendations for a book of this sort to
suppliment BCO or MCO? What is the title of Horowitz's book (I'm outta
touch with the literature :)?
>> 3) Relative ease of use. Clear writing and appropriate
>> explanations at key positions.
>All three of those books consist of tables of various chess lines. I don't
>think you'll be happy with one of those on its own.
Point taken.
>I have BCO2 and two volumes of ECO (as well as Horowitz). I think that your
>second and third needs rule out getting any of these on their own. Horowitz
>is probably written exactly in the style you need, but is somewhat older. I
>rather wish that someone would undertake updating that book.
Me too :) Seriously, is there maybe another book of this vein which is
more recent?
>As for myself, I have a copy of Harding & someone's Openings for the Club
>Player. I picked it up fairly early and used it whenever someone hit me
>with something I didn't know. It discusses several alternatives for every
>common opening and includes board positions arising from these openings (both
>good for White, Black, and even). When I go into more depth, I pick up my
>copy of BCO2 and I use ECO for analysis (or when looking for an unusual line).
This sounds a lot like the 1974 BCO I've seen, which I enjoyed quite a
bit. Thanks for the ref.
Robert Canright
In <palane.7...@pv7426.vincent.iastate.edu> pal...@iastate.edu (Paul
A. Lan
e) writes:
>In <1994Jan17.1...@relay.acadiau.ca> 900...@dragon.acadiau.ca
(Gerald
Cameron) writes:
>As for myself, I have a copy of Harding & someone's Openings for the Club
>Player. I picked it up fairly early and used it whenever someone hit me
>with something I didn't know. It discusses several alternatives for every
>common opening and includes board positions arising from these openings
(both
>good for White, Black, and even). When I go into more depth, I pick up my
>copy of BCO2 and I use ECO for analysis (or when looking for an unusual
line).
>Paul
I think Levy & Harding or Harding & Levy have a slim book out on chess
openings that I recommend. It has pretty much everything Gerald asks for,
except that it lacks the numberous variations that BCO etc have. It was
out of print, but has been reissued in paperback.
bob
Robert Canright
In <1994Jan17.1...@relay.acadiau.ca> 900...@dragon.acadiau.ca
(Gerald C
ameron) writes:
>Hey all,
>I'm looking to pick up one of these three books as a general handbook to
>guide some experimentation with various openings so I can find some I'm at
>home with. I'd like some help deciding which I should invest in.
>What is of interest to me is:
> 1) Reasonably complete coverage of major lines in major openings
> (what's major you ask? Use your own judgement. I don't think
> any of these three should have any trouble on this count anyways.
I use BCO but when I first started it was awkward because there is no
text. Not a word is said. The subvariations often do not have their names
listed, so if you don't already know their names, you won't learn them from
BCO.
> 2) GOOD explanation of the strategic themes of both the opening in
> general AND specific lines it discusses.
BCO has no text. You'll find that for a variation, the most popular lines
are at the back of that set of variations. For strategic themes, try
"Ideas Behind the Chess Openings" by R.Fine, or maybe the old Horowitz book
on openings, it includes complete games as examples. It might be fine for
an average club player.
MCO used to have some discussion, but its been a long time since I looked
at it. Maybe I should look at it again.
> 3) Relative ease of use. Clear writing and appropriate
> explanations at key positions.
Key positions? Buy a specialized book on the openining of your choice.
> 4) Price. While this is a last consideration (these are in order
> of importance), and exceptionally high price will turn me off of
one.
ECO is multi-volume. If cost matters, forget this one.
bob canright
notes.tssi.com!tower.tssi.co...@tssi.com
Regarding the merits between MCO and BCO (I don't have ECO), I tend to
give these chess openings nicknames.
MCO is known as the 'Old Testament' of Chess
BCO is known as the 'New Testament' of Chess
I have both, as it is usually good fun to find one line regarded as 'good
for white' in MCO, while it might be 'equal' in BCO, and vice versa!
They are a must for every chessplayer, after all they are the Bible.
Ilan Dwek