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I have a paperback version of A65 The Benoni by Chess Informant. This is my first monograph ever, and I cannot understand how to read it. Any ways to do it? Searching didn't help at all.

MikhailTal
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In the very first pages of the book you will find code system. It is described in 5 world languages and Serbian.

This is important to know so you can see at the end of the line what is the final evaluation of the position, if there are any novelties or alternative moves and so on.

Then you can skip the pages all the way to the line you wish to investigate.

Main line is written in bold font and the subvariations are given in normal font. This is the important part, and probably the one that confuses you:

If you see a number next to the move, something like ♘f319 this means that there are alternative moves. You can find them by searching for that number ( in our case 19 ) in the section that comes after the main lines end.

Below is the picture of what I am talking about:

enter image description here

You seek the number next to the move in the section marked with an arrow, at the bottom of the picture. Instead of playing ♘f3, from our example above, you play the move from that section.

That's it! If you have further questions leave me a comment ( for now there is nothing else I can do to help because your question is not specific enough ).

Hope this helps, good luck!

AlwaysLearningNewStuff
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  • I am going to accept this answer, but I require a final clarification. In the picture the h4 h5 line has move 7 blank for both players. I assume it is because move 7 was the one played directly above it. Is my assumption correct? – MikhailTal Oct 08 '14 at 13:11
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    @MikhailTal Yes, "..." means "same as the row above". – dfan Oct 08 '14 at 13:50
  • @MikhailTal: Yes, your assumption is correct. The `...` means that the move is the same as in the above line. Thank you for officially accepting ( and I assume upvoting also? ) my answer. Hopefully things are now crystal clear :) – AlwaysLearningNewStuff Oct 08 '14 at 17:57
  • @AlwaysLearningNewStuff Yes it is much clearer now. Although now I have to deal with one of the most complex openings of all time, so the position is equal :p – MikhailTal Oct 08 '14 at 19:46
  • @MikhailTal: Take a **good look** at Taimanov attack ( it goes with `f4` + `Bb5+` ) as I have heard that it refutes BenOni. There was some sort of move order to dodge it but I am not sure how things stand now. It's been long time since I have delved into BenOni. Good luck! – AlwaysLearningNewStuff Oct 08 '14 at 23:54
  • @AlwaysLearningNewStuff It has been unrefuted. You give a check with your queen after Nfd7 instead of the old line. It has proven nice. And plus, A65 doesn't involve the Taimanov. – MikhailTal Oct 09 '14 at 15:28