"Winning with the English Opening" Revised Third Edition by GM Andrew Soltis, 1997 Chess Digest, English Algebraic Notation, Flexicover, 179pp., $17.50 American Grandmaster Andy Soltis is one of the most prolific chess writers in the world today. He has carved a particular niche out in the area of repertoire books, the proverbial "Winning with the ..." fare. His latest offering is the third edition of a work first released over fifteen years ago, "Winning with the English." Essentially, Soltis advocates a 1 c4, 2 g3 sequence against virtually any set-up by Black. The rare exception is the response 2...d5 after either 1...e6 or 1...c6, when 3 b3 is recommended, although even here, the King's Bishop does end up fianchettoed, but just a few moves later. The book maintains the same basic coverage as the second edition. It is divided into four sections: I - c4 e5; II - c4 c5; III - c4 Nf6; and IV - c4, others. There are two basic systems presented in the book: The set-up credited to Botvinnik, with the KB fianchettoed, the QN on c3, pawns on c4, d3 and e4, and the KN on e2; and a variation of this, with the pawn on e3, with the d-pawn retaining the option of going to either d3 or d4, depending on circumstances. The second edition appeared over ten years ago, in 1987, and so one would hope that in the decade between releases, much new material could have been added. Such is not the case however. In the first sixty pages of the third edition, we were unable to find more than three references to games later than 1987, and nothing more than cosmetic revisions. Things got a little better after that, but it remained quite clear that major theoretical updating had not really been done by the author. What saves this book from the recycling bin is Soltis' great facility for explaining *ideas*. Just a few examples would be his discussions of White's typical b4 and f4 levers in the English, when the White QN should usually drop into d5 and other strategic concepts in this complex opening. This is a strength exhibited in his other repertoire books (e.g., "Black to Play and Win with 1...g6" - another very good book that should be just about due for an update) and this aspect is such a plus that it serves to remedy the defect,usually fatal for opening books, of not being absolutely *au courant*. Even so, there are still a few ideas that could have used more clarification. For example, one of the most common responses by Black is certainly the King's Indian set-up. Soltis discusses the use of both systems (the pure Botvinnik and the modified Botvinnik with the e-pawn on e3) against this structure, with very little help or guidance for the student regarding what the deciding factors should be in selecting one system or the other. Certainly, for players below master strength, this is very frustrating. It would also have been very helpful to explain clearly the recommended system to be used by White when it is Black who employs the Botvinnik system, i.e., when Black's pawn structure is c5, d6, e5 (or even e6) and g6, with the KN going to e7. This is a very effective system (and Soltis likes it - he recommends it for White). But it is not clear how White should respond when faced with this system. It could be argued that this kind of coverage would lessen the book's appeal to the masses, but some guidance really should have been provided. Nevertheless, after all is said and done, this book is still to be recommended. In less than 200 pages, the strategically complex English is broken down into its basic elements, examined, explained, put back together and served up to the student so that it is understandable and useable, particularly for the 1800-2200 rated player. Yes, a better job could (should?) have been done in updating the games and in the explaining another system or two, but the overall impression is still quite favorable.