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Subject: Chess Openings Theory and Practice vs. MCO 14

Author: Dana Turnmire

Date: 11:05:31 01/19/01


  I used to play in a few tournaments though not active now and always used I.A.
Horowitz's book "Chess Openings Theory & Practice" as my "opening bible" when
preparing for tournaments (I'm just a club player).  I was contantly told that
it was outdated and practically ANY opening manual was outdated in a short
period of time because opening theory was constantly changing.
  I recently went out and bought a copy of MCO 14 to test it side by side with
my old standby.  I have CM 8000 on an AMD k6-2/500 64 RAM.  I took ten opening
variations from the Ruy Lopez section in both books and used only the variations
in which White had a "clear advantage" (a plus sign over one minus sign).  I
then let CM 8000 play out the game.
  RESULTS: In Chess openings Theory and Practice White had 7 wins 2 draws and 1
loss.  MCO 14 had 5 wins 3 draws and 2 losses.
  Is a strong master today any more capable of analyzing an opening position any
better than a strong master 37 years ago?  It doesn't seem to be the case.
  I always liked the layout of "Chess Openings Theory and Practice" better than
the modern counterparts.  Is there any possibility it can be updated with
algebraic notation in the future?  Would anyone like to try this challenge with
NCO, ECO or any other highly regarded openings manual?



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