A White repertoire after 1.e4, covering the defenses Black reaches for when avoiding the main lines. Written by Justin Tan and published by Thinkers Publishing in 2021, 464 pages.
Five parts, each defense given its own run of chapters:
- Part I: Alekhine’s Defense, from the fifth-move alternatives and the Fianchetto Variation to the Alekhine Benoni and the main line
- Part II: Nimzowitsch Defense, second-move alternatives, 2…d5 and 2…d6
- Part III: Scandinavian, divided by 2…Nf6 and by the queen retreats to d8, d6 and a5
- Part IV: Pirc and Modern Defenses, including the Pribyl System
- Part V: Philidor Defense, including 4…exd4 and the main line
Tan writes the 1.e4 column for ChessPublishing, and some of the book expands on that analysis.
Best for: club and tournament players building a 1.e4 repertoire. Intermediate and up.