This book provides detailed coverage and strategic explanation of all lines of the Queen's Indian, with particular focus on the most critical and topical variations. The Queen's Indian is one of the most important modern chess openings. It was one of the key battlegrounds of the Kasparov vs. Karpov world championship matches. It is renowned for its resilience, but is nevertheless a good choice for those seeking to win with either colour. Both White and Black have plenty of ways to complicate, and there are few lines where either side is forced to exchange pieces off into a dull endgame. The Queen's Indian is the 'companion' opening of the Nimzo-Indian, and was also a brainchild of the great chess thinker Aron Nimzowitsch. Black establishes his light-squared bishop on the long diagonal, and if White is not careful, this can form the basis of a devastating attack. In the critical lines, White contests this diagonal, either by trying to block it with a pawn advance, or by opposing Black's bishop with a fianchetto of his own.
Jouni Yrjölä is a grandmaster from Finland. He has won the Finnish Championship twice, and regards Sochi 1984, where he shared third place with the legendary Mikhail Tal, as his best tournament result. He was awarded his grandmaster title in 1990. Jussi Tella is also from Finland. He is an international master and an experienced chess trainer. They also wrote the Gambit book An Explosive Chess Opening Repertoire for Black.
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"I can warmly recommend this comprehensive theoretical work to amateurs and professionals equally." - Dr. W. Schweizer, Rochade
"Anyone who plays the Queen's Indian as black and/or meets it with white should have this book." - Sören Bär, Rochade
" The authors seem to me to have struck an almost perfect balance of scope between breadth and depth." - David G Smith, Weekend Chess
"The authors do a fine job presenting the basic ideas for what do for or against hanging pawns, isolated d-pawns, hedgehog structures, etc., and although this chapter isn't long, it may be the most valuable one in the book. The student who absorbs the material in this book should not only be able to play the opening, but also formulate a reasonable middlegame plan. ... If you want only one Queen's Indian book on your shelf, this is the one you want." - Scott Parker, Georgia Chess
"An example of their thoroughness is the attention given to Nimzo-Indian hybrids in chapter five. For that reason, it will probably prove indispensable to Nimzo-Indian, as well as Queen's Indian, players." - John Saunders, BCM
"A potential gem for any player wanting to learn the Queen's Indian." - Michael Blake, IECG Newsletter
"Overall this is a weighty but excellent cover of this reliable defence and along side the Nimzo-Indian Defence both provide a solid and popular repertoire against 1. d4." - Marvin Carbin, Open File
The two Finnish co-authors have produced a truly monumental survey of the Queen's Indian, which has recently enjoyed a real surge in popularity. It is a complex opening system with a wide range of pawn structures arising from it, and these are all discussed in Chapter One. There are a further ten chapters dealing with the major variations. In each chapter the author begins by examining typical positions and plans for both sides, adnd only then do they present their analysis, which is very deep at times. Then at the end of each chapter there is a brief summary of the whole line. This is certainly not a book for beginners, because of the enormous amount of material included. But for experienced players who want to include the Queen's Indian in their repertoire, it makes both an excellent introduction and a detailed reference work." - Alan Sutton, En Passant