Knight on the left: 1.Nc3

Occupying the territory where unorthodox and main-stream openings meet, the Knight on the Left can undoubtly be a forceful weapon: The Dane Ove Ekebjærg nearly became correspondence World Champion, playing 1.Nc3 exclusively!
This is the first full-length book about this interesting opening, unfolding a complete theory of 1.qc3; including several off-beat lines against semi-open defences like the Alekhine or the Caro-Kann. The author thoroughly explains the basic structures which supply huge scope for creativity. There is broad discussion of move order subtleties and transposition issues, so that the book deepens your understanding of opening play in general!

The author, FM Harald Keilhack, first attracted attention with his 1994 book on the Tarrasch Defence. He works as editor of the Schachverlag Kania and as chess correspondent for the Stuttgarter Zeitung. For this English language edition he has thoroughly updated the original German manuscript, published in 2003.

``If you have a liking for the unusual and daring, you will probably not find many books this year that are better than this one!`` (Carsten Hansen on Chesscafe, Checkpoint September 2003)

``A marvelous investigation of the eccentric (so far!) development of the queen`s knight on the first move ... I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to get off the beaten path.`` (John Watson, The Week in Chess, Book Reviews #56)

``I hope that both regular and alternative players will read and enjoy this book. I myself certainly did, and not only because it was a pleasure to see the concepts I had developed so long ago worked out in so many different ways. The most important thing is that this book may stimulate more players to play this opening, for I know that it can give a lot of playing pleasure and fun.`` (Dick van Geet, New in Chess Yearbook #68)

• Casa editrice Kania
• Codice 5500
• Anno 2005
• Pagine p. 384, hardcover