The Ultimate Colle is an introduction into a simple but dangerous opening. Well, it has been good to me and a score of 70% against good players. All the games are explained and while not all are perfect for White the idea is to learn the basic plans. There are lots of attacking opportunities and it is a safe line to play.
This book is a real help if you want to win with White. I like it.

The Colle has been my 1st choice for years. This book has managed to point me in the right direction on some of the lines I had previously been having problems with. Lane has done an excellent job of using the latest games and making it simple to understand. I think this is easily the best book on the opening that I have and I probably have them all! By the way I do use it against strong players and my results have been positive , which I think is more to do with the soundness of the opening than me.
A good investment for players of either color.

I have been playing the Colle off and on for years with mixed results. With some years experience I thought I knew a lot but was delighted to find out new tricks and plans. Gary Lane presents new games but does not forget the lessons of the old masters. My results have been improved and that is the ultimate test. An easy opening to learn and the prefect way to seek a win.

I have to say that this book promises much more than it offers. The Highly Original Thinking turns out to be a set of thinking rules which usefulness for chess is not clear. Also, the book is rater asystematic, but some people may find this entertaining.

Yes, Motwani is quirky, but he keeps you awake and alert. All of his books are wonderful; they are challenging, witty and instructive. His style (using many little stories, bizarre word games, weird astrological-type descriptions) rub some chess hardcores the wrong way (see Silman reviews and also the review of Chess under the Microscope by Taylor Kingston at chesscafe.com). But, for me, again, his style keeps me AWAKE. I can't count the number of nights I have fallen asleep with a book by Reuben Fine or John Nunn on my lap in front of me. So, I seek quirkiness in chess books, because the originality is so stimulating. This is one reason why My System by Nimzo. is such a classic. Plus, I liked The Syste, by Berliner for similar reasons. Finally, Motwani's annotations are very in depth and even his critics argue that there is a lot of good pure chess annotations in his work. I highly recommend all of his books.

Gary Lane advocates the use of the Advanced Variation (3 e5) of the French for White. Instead of providing a specific repertoire (as Soltis does in his book on the Advanced French), Lane gives the latest theory in all the Advance lines from the Milner-Barry gambit to Kupreichik's 5. Be3. Each line is illustrated by an annotated game by practitioners such as Sveshnikov, Nunn, Anand, Torre and others. It's hard to belive that this 1994 book is out of print already. Nothing earth-shattering has occurred in Advanced theory in the past few years, so this is still a very useful book. Recommended for anyone put off by the reams of theory one needs to play the Winawer or the boring positions that often result from the Tarrash or Burn variations of the French.

The Grand Prix Attack is an attacking line against the Sicilian. Mr Lane explains all the main lines with complete games and enough detail to play it with confidence. There are times when Black has good chances and these are covered fairly.
A good introduction to this dangerous chess opening.

The beauty of the Closed Sicilian is that someone with only a little knowledge can play the opening with confidence. Lane presents lots of annotated games to explain how and why White should develop his pieces. The emphasis is on creating a plan which means there is no need to learn a maze of variations. It certainly works because in my own games I have played in the same style of Spassky thanks to the author's clear explanation. I already own several of Lane's books and this is one of the best.

Instead of going into the more well-trodden paths, surprise your opponents as early as move 3. Playing 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 your opponent is probably expecting 3.Bb5 or 3.Bc4 but why not try 3.d4 which would seem to be a delayed Centre Game. Garry Kasparov has added a lot new tactical ideas which author Gary Lane points out. There are 4 main systems covered in 15 chapters. The only thing missing is The Goring Gambit. Also a good way to prepare for the lines as Black in case your opponent tries to sneak this one in on you.

Yes, I understand that college textbooks are not your average books and that they contain a wealth of information, but honestly...$47?? How do these people sleep at night? I can't understand a price that high for a 320 page soft cover book regardless of the information it contains.

After (1) d4 - d5, (2) Nf3, that is the basic London set up, the author fails to mention a single word about some very often seen black replyes such as (2) c5, Bf5 or even Bg4!

Just for the record in the "Opening for White According to Kramnik" by the top GM Khalifman there are more than 100 pages of analyses regarding the black's second move replies mentioned above.

Gary Lane does not play the London System and has no idea how to handle this opening. If you are in doubt just check your database.

This is just another easy book with the only purpose of making money for the author.

The title of the book has nothing to do with the classic book written by Fine.

This is NOT a complete repertoire book for chessplayers wishing to start their game whith "d4".

The lines mentioned in the book are not complete and have a lot of flaws.

Finally please note that the back cover statement that "a repertoire easy-to-learn based on Gary Kasparov's favorite move 1 d4" is 100% false.

Kasparov favorite move has been "e4" and not "d4" for the last 15 years.

Kasparov has not played the London more than 2 times in his whole carear.

Thus do not foull yourself with this awful book.

This is not exactly similar to Fine's Ideas Behind the Chess Openings, as the title might suggest. It's not a modern version, and it's a bit more complicated than just basic ideas.

This is more like a repertoire book in that it has sometimes deep lines of annotation for variations of an opening, and I normally advocate against studying repertoire books. However, if you absolutely must have an opening repertoire as White, you could do worse than the London System, which is a large part of what this book teaches. (Usually, 1.d4 ... 2.Nf3 ... 3.Bf4)

Strictly speaking, this is a "system", not a repertoire, since the idea is to develop your pieces into a typical structure largely independent of what Black does. You can play nearly the same move order, with nearly the same basic plans for almost any response by Black, and you will have attacking chances on the kingside.

Other systems are the Colle System, the Barcza Opening (explained in Seirawan's Winning Chess Openings), and Purdy's System in his 24 Hour Opening Repertoire book.

1.d4? Hmmm. I think it makes more sense to stick to open games (1.e4) while you're learning tactics below master level. If you want cheap, occasional victories, try gambits. But a system can be useful if you want a chance to reach the middlegame against stronger players. (You'll still lose, but the game will SEEM even for longer.)

If you think you want to learn the London System, I suggest that you start with Saddler's Tips for Young Players (not really for young players at all!) where he demonstrates the London System with a thorough explanation of all his moves in a single game, in a way which early intermediate players can comprehend. Then tackle this book if you're still interested.

Still, this book does a good job of explaining the goals and strategies behind many modern openings which are common in club play. If you follow one of the basic systems described here (including the Barry Attack and others) you won't have to memorize moves in order to have a decent game against such modern defenses as the Grunfeld, King's Indian Defence, Nimzo-Indian Defence, Dutch, Benoni, etc.

Or, you could play 1.e4 and study tactics instead of openings...

This is a book dedicated to making it easy to play 1 d4 against everything. Mr Lane wants us to play the London System because it is easy to learn and there are possibilities to attack. It looks good to me who has a rating of 1860 and has been playing this opening for years.I particularly like the ideas against the Benoni and the Dutch. I now know about the Barry Attack and the 150 Attack which are good despite the odd names.
Can this book make me play better, yes!