Modern Chess Openings
Encyclopedia
Chess opening
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...
s, first published in 1911 by the British players Richard Clewin Griffith (1872–1955) and John Herbert White
John Herbert White
John Herbert White was co-author with Richard Clewin Griffith of the first three editions of the famous chess opening treatise Modern Chess Openings. It was first published in 1911 and is still in print...
(1880–1920). Harry Golombek
Harry Golombek
Harry Golombek OBE , was a British chess International Master and honorary grandmaster, chess arbiter, and chess author. He was three times British chess champion, in 1947, 1949, and 1955 and finished second in 1948. He became a grandmaster in 1985.He was the chess correspondent of The Times...
called it "the first scientific study of the openings in the twentieth century".
History
Although Bilguer'sPaul Rudolf von Bilguer
Paul Rudolf von Bilguer was a German chess master and chess theoretician from Ludwigslust, Mecklenburg-Schwerin....
Handbuch des Schachspiels
Handbuch des Schachspiels
Handbuch des Schachspiels is a chess book, first published in 1843 by Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa. It was one of the most important opening references for many decades...
was more authoritative at the time MCO was first published, it was last published between 1912 and 1916, and was becoming outdated by the 1930s. MCO was popular with English-speaking players and has continued to be updated throughout the 20th century and into the 21st, with fifteen editions from 1911 through 2008. Early editions were small enough to fit in a pocket (the first edition was 190 pages), but later editions grew and the fifteenth and most recent version is 768 pages. In 1977, Harry Golombek
Harry Golombek
Harry Golombek OBE , was a British chess International Master and honorary grandmaster, chess arbiter, and chess author. He was three times British chess champion, in 1947, 1949, and 1955 and finished second in 1948. He became a grandmaster in 1985.He was the chess correspondent of The Times...
said "The work became popular at once and for over forty years was regarded as the main book on the openings throughout the world."
The first three editions (1911, 1913, and 1916) were the work of Griffith and White, with an introduction by Henry Ernest Atkins
Henry Ernest Atkins
Henry Ernest Atkins was a British chess master who is best known for his unparalleled record of winning the British Chess Championship nine times in eleven attempts. He won every year from 1905 to 1911, and again in 1924 and 1925...
. Editions through at least 1946 continued to be attributed to Griffith and White, with Philip Walsingham Sergeant and Maurice Edward Goldstein providing revisions starting with the fourth edition in 1925.
In 1939, Reuben Fine
Reuben Fine
Reuben Fine was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the early 1930s through the 1940s, an International Grandmaster, psychologist, university professor, and author of many books on both chess and psychology.Fine won five medals in three chess Olympiads. Fine won the U.S...
became the first grandmaster to edit MCO. Fine was not able to work on subsequent editions of MCO, so in 1948 he wrote Practical Chess Openings. As Practical Chess Openings was not revised in any further editions, MCO remained the most popular English language opening reference.
Walter Korn
Walter Korn was an author of books and magazine articles about chess. Despite his status as a writer, there is no known record of him playing tournament chess, and few chess players ever met him...
worked on the seventh through thirteenth editions, assuming editorship starting with MCO-8 in 1952. Korn was assisted on certain editions by Jack Collins
John W. Collins
John William Collins or Jack Collins, was an influential American teacher of chess.Collins was born and raised in Newburgh, New York, but lived most of his life in New York City. He became a chess master in the 1930s...
, Larry Evans
Larry Evans
For the football player of the same name, see Larry Evans .Larry Melvyn Evans was an American chess grandmaster, author, and journalist. He won or shared the U.S. Chess Championship five times and the U.S. Open Chess Championship four times...
, and Nick de Firmian
Nick de Firmian
Nicholas Ernest de Firmian , is a chess grandmaster and three-time U.S. chess champion, winning in 1987 , 1995, and 1998. He also tied for first in 2002, but Larry Christiansen won the playoff...
. The first twelve editions used descriptive notation
Descriptive chess notation
Descriptive notation is a notation for recording chess games, and at one time was the most popular notation in English-speaking and Spanish-speaking countries , . It was used in Europe until it was superseded by abbreviated algebraic notation, which was introduced by Philipp Stamma in 1737...
to record the moves, and only with MCO-13 in 1990 did the series begin to use the now-standard algebraic notation
Algebraic chess notation
Algebraic notation is a method for recording and describing the moves in a game of chess. It is now standard among all chess organizations and most books, magazines, and newspapers...
. The most recent edition, MCO-15 in 2008, was written and edited by de Firmian.
Since 1980, there have been other one-volume opening encyclopedias to rival MCO: Batsford Chess Openings (BCO) in 1982 and 1989, Nunn
John Nunn
John Denis Martin Nunn is one of England's strongest chess players and once belonged to the world's top ten. He is also a three times world champion in chess problem solving, a chess writer and publisher, and a mathematician....
's Chess Openings (NCO) in 1999, and Paul van der Sterren
Paul van der Sterren
Paul van der Sterren is a Dutch chess grandmaster. He won the Dutch Chess Championship twice, in 1985 and 1993...
's Fundamental Chess Openings in 2009. John Watson wrote that MCO-13 "really isn't up to modern expectations", but called MCO-14 "a vast improvement over its predecessor #13 in almost every respect" and comparable in quality to NCO.
Editions
| Edition | Year | Authors | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1911 | R. C. Griffith and J. H. White John Herbert White John Herbert White was co-author with Richard Clewin Griffith of the first three editions of the famous chess opening treatise Modern Chess Openings. It was first published in 1911 and is still in print... , with an introduction by H. E. Atkins Henry Ernest Atkins Henry Ernest Atkins was a British chess master who is best known for his unparalleled record of winning the British Chess Championship nine times in eleven attempts. He won every year from 1905 to 1911, and again in 1924 and 1925... |
British Chess Magazine British Chess Magazine British Chess Magazine is the world's oldest chess magazine in continuous publication. First published in January 1881, it has appeared at monthly intervals ever since. It is frequently known in the chess world as BCM.... |
| 2 | 1913 | R. C. Griffith and J. H. White, with an introduction by H. E. Atkins | Longmans, Green & Co. Longman Longman was a publishing company founded in London, England in 1724. It is now an imprint of Pearson Education.-Beginnings:The Longman company was founded by Thomas Longman , the son of Ezekiel Longman , a gentleman of Bristol. Thomas was apprenticed in 1716 to John Osborn, a London bookseller, and... |
| 3 | 1916 | R. C. Griffith and J. H. White | Longmans, Green & Co. Longman Longman was a publishing company founded in London, England in 1724. It is now an imprint of Pearson Education.-Beginnings:The Longman company was founded by Thomas Longman , the son of Ezekiel Longman , a gentleman of Bristol. Thomas was apprenticed in 1716 to John Osborn, a London bookseller, and... |
| 4 | 1925 | R. C. Griffith and J. H. White, completely revised by R. C. Griffith, M. E. Goldstein, and P. W. Sergeant | Whitehead & Miller |
| 5 | 1932 | R. C. Griffith and J. H. White, completely revised by P. W. Sergeant, R. C. Griffith, and M. E. Goldstein | Whitehead & Miller |
| 6 | 1939 | R. C. Griffith and J. H. White, completely revised by Reuben Fine Reuben Fine Reuben Fine was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the early 1930s through the 1940s, an International Grandmaster, psychologist, university professor, and author of many books on both chess and psychology.Fine won five medals in three chess Olympiads. Fine won the U.S... , R. C. Griffith, and P. W. Sergeant |
Whitehead & Miller |
| 7 | 1946 | R. C. Griffith and J. H. White, completely revised by Walter Korn Walter Korn Walter Korn was an author of books and magazine articles about chess. Despite his status as a writer, there is no known record of him playing tournament chess, and few chess players ever met him... under the editorship of R. C. Griffith and P. W. Sergeant |
Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons |
| 8 | 1952 | edited and completely revised by Walter Korn | Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons |
| 9 | 1957 | completely revised by Walter Korn and John W. Collins John W. Collins John William Collins or Jack Collins, was an influential American teacher of chess.Collins was born and raised in Newburgh, New York, but lived most of his life in New York City. He became a chess master in the 1930s... |
Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons |
| 10 | 1965 | completely revised by Larry Evans Larry Evans For the football player of the same name, see Larry Evans .Larry Melvyn Evans was an American chess grandmaster, author, and journalist. He won or shared the U.S. Chess Championship five times and the U.S. Open Chess Championship four times... under the editorship of Walter Korn |
Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons |
| 11 | 1972 | Walter Korn | Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons |
| 12 | 1982 | Walter Korn | A. & C. Black |
| 13 | 1990 | Walter Korn, revised by Nick de Firmian Nick de Firmian Nicholas Ernest de Firmian , is a chess grandmaster and three-time U.S. chess champion, winning in 1987 , 1995, and 1998. He also tied for first in 2002, but Larry Christiansen won the playoff... |
A. & C. Black |
| 14 | 1999 | completely revised by Nick de Firmian | David McKay |
| 15 | 2008 | completely revised by Nick de Firmian | Random House |
Quotations
- ... the most important single book in world chess literature." – American Chess Correspondent, writing about the tenth edition.