The Taimanov Variation is one of Black's most flexible approaches to the Sicilian. With his 'ideal' move-order, Black maintains plenty of options while side-stepping some of White's most dangerous attacking plans. The main game-plan is counterattack, but, unlike in many Sicilian lines, Black can tailor his plan of development according to how White arranges his pieces. The Taimanov has been used to good effect by many outstanding players of recent decades, notably Karpov, Polugayevsky, Andersson and, of course, Taimanov himself. This book discusses in detail all lines after 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nc6, including the 'pure' Taimanov approach with ...Nge7 and the more popular 'Paulsen' lines with ...Qc7. Move-order subtleties, including possible transpositions to the Scheveningen, are discussed in detail. All analysis has been scrupulously computer-checked.

"Excellent... a valuable resource for this contemporary opening" - John Watson, TWIC

"This book does a great job of helping the reader to understand the often hard-to-fathom transposition possibilities... a well written guide" - Randy Bauer, RANDY'S REVIEWS

"[The Taimanov] is flexible, slippery and transpositional, with links to the Scheveningen, the Kan and even the Sveshnikov. Verdict: an excellent specialist opening book from one our best authors of such books, ideal for the strong OTB or postal player" - .Phil Adams, THE MANCHESTER CHESS SCENE

"Burgess is meticulous... providing very full coverage and also challenging analysis, and suggesting improvements all the way" - Richard Palliser, HULL CHESS CLUB MAGAZINE

"Burgess has done an impressive job compiling up-to-date information" - Einar Gausel, DAGBLADET

"Incredibly up-to-date... simply a compressive and deeply detailed opening book" - Mark Donlan, CHESS HORIZONS

"really detailed coverage of the many important paths stemming from 2...e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nc6. For completeness, various early alternatives are examined too, making it a most useful reference work to have in one's chess library" - Paul Motwani, THE SCOTSMAN

"One thing for sure is any opening book by Burgess is likely to be of the highest standard... up-to-date and authoritative" - Monroe Morrison, OPEN FILE

"The Taimanov, the line in the Sicilian where Black plays ...e6 and ...Nc6, is noted both for its transpositional nature and popularity. Facing these two challenges head on, Burgess has done a first rate job of sifting through a huge mass of material and making sense of it. How he accomplished the job is likely to be a model for other authors in the future" John Donaldson, INSIDE CHESS ONLINE, BLITZ CHESS

"....for an experienced Taimanov player it is a must buy" - Danny Gormally, WEEKEND CHESS

"Burgess has written an excellent Sicilian repertoire book" - Paul Dunn, AUSTRALIAN CHESS FORUM

Download a pdf file with a sample from the book.

Gambit books by Graham Burgess: Chess Highlights of the 20th Century, Gambit Guide to the Torre Attack, The Slav, The Taimanov Sicilian, Chess Openings for Kids, The Gambit Book of Instructive Chess Puzzles, A Cunning Chess Opening Repertoire for White.