The Modern Spanish: Breyer and Zaitsev Systems

The Breyer and Zaitsev variants of the Spanish Open or Ruy Lopez are two of the most dynamic lines played today.

The Breyer variation is a creation of the hypermodern Hungarian Gyula Breyer. He suggested the paradoxical withdrawal of the nine Knights ... Cb8 in the early 20th century. Although its solidity has been confirmed in many grandmaster games for over a century, surprisingly little has been written about it. This book just changed all that.

The Zaitsev variation was one of Anatoly Karpov's workKnights in his title fights against Garry Kasparov. Formulated by the brilliant theorist Igor Zaitsev, it can be found in the repertoires of some of the leading grandmasters of our time. As the author points out in his introduction, this is an objective presentation of two excellent opening variations for Black, from which players sitting on either side of the board can benefit. The game is strategically complex, tactically rich and will improve you as a player and as a connoisseur of the game.

Kotronias' clear writing style, coupled with in-depth analysis, makes it a splendid opening manual on two of the most current and solid variants of the Spanish opening.

"Vasilios Kotronias has managed not only to teach us (myself included) some important theories and practices of the Breyer and Zaitsev systems, but also to broaden our horizons to our approach to chess in general. His explanations are quite clear and the lines he provides are logical and concrete. This new book is aimed at all ages and levels of chess. Welcome to the fascinating world of Breyer and Zaitsev!" - Alexei Shirov, from his Foreword.