Openings For Amateurs by Pete Tamburro

This Openings For Amateurs by Pete Tamburro is an English-language chess opening book for players who want to improve their opening play without memorising long variations. It focuses on practical decisions, common mistakes and the ideas that help you reach the middlegame with a playable position.

What this book covers

This book is aimed mainly at club players and school-age players who want to take the next step in their development. Rather than an encyclopaedia of lines, it explains how to think in the opening, which habits cause problems, and which assumptions about openings can lead you astray.

The book is organised as a kind of two-in-one guide. The first part introduces opening play through typical mistakes, unhelpful habits and practical decisions at the board. Pete Tamburro also looks at awkward and tricky systems such as the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, Belgrade Gambit, and popular system setups like Colle and Barry. It also addresses questions many amateurs ask during a game, such as when to chase a bishop and how much trust to place in opening manuals.

Inside the book

The second part presents a selection of openings you can consider depending on your needs and style of play. Just as importantly, the author does not stop at move sequences. The material is built around 53 annotated model games, which makes it easier to understand the ideas behind the opening instead of simply memorising moves.

That approach makes the book useful both for checking your current level and for deciding how to structure your opening study. It is a sensible choice if you do not have time to work through 30 moves of theory, but still want to handle the opening more confidently and sensibly in your next tournament.

Edition details

• Language: English
• Author: Pete Tamburro
• Format: paperback
• Pages: 360
• Content approach: practical guide to opening play
• Model games: 53 annotated model games
• Audience: club players and school-age players