Two great books from the Everyman Chess Library, Starting Out: The
King's Indian by Joe Gallagher and Starting Out: The Sicilian Dragon by
Andrew Martin, brought together in one volume. The King's Indian is one
of the most exciting defences in chess and is favoured by ambitious and
aggressive players. At the highest level it has been a major weapon for
World Champions Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov. In this easy-to-read
guide, Grandmaster Joe Gallagher goes back to the basics of the King's
Indian, studying the key principles of its many variations. Throughout
the book there are an abundance of notes, tips, warnings and exercises
to help the improving player, while important strategies, ideas and
tactics for both sides are clearly illustrated. In Starting Out: The
Sicilian Dragon Andrew Martin studies this famous opening in a
simplistic way, introducing the crucial initial moves and ideas and
taking care to explain the reasoning behind them, something that has
sometimes been neglected or taken for grantedFew would disagree that the
Sicilian Dragon is one of the most exciting, high profile and
controversial openings in chess history. Right from the very beginning
of the game Black chooses to unbalance the position, thus maximising his
or her chances of playing for a win. The positions reached are dynamic
and of a highly tactical nature, with both players very often going
straight for each other's throats in search of a quick-fire knockout
blow. In these razor-sharp encounters, it goes without saying that one
slip by either side can prove to be fatal. Because of its aggressive
nature, the Sicilian Dragon is very popular at all levels of chess,
while it received an ultimate seal of approval when Garry Kasparov used
it as his main weapon to beat Vishy Anand in a World Championship match.
