Double Fianchetto

Today chess theory is exploding and entire books are written on single variations. The idea of solving all of one’s opening problems for both White and Black with just one volume seems to be too good to be true, but German Grandmaster Daniel Hausrath begs to differ. His first book Double- Fianchetto: The Modern Chess Lifestyle offers ideas on how to build a repertoire after the moves b2-b3, g2-g3, …b7-b6 and …g7-g6. Unlike most Thinkers Publishing efforts, which are arranged like standard opening book, Hausrath’s work is arranged around 62 model games. This works well for the subject matter under discussion which is based more around ideas and strategies than long concrete variations.As White the repertoire typically begins with 1.Nf3 and 2.g3, meeting the King’s Indian/Grunfeld with 3.b3, a variation Vladimir Kramnik started to play near the end of his career. The double fianchetto also works well against the Dutch, certain lines of the Queen’s Gambit (the Tarrasch for example) and various variations in the Reti. It’s also possible to transpose into some line Hausrath covers via 1.g3 or 1.c4.The heart of this book are Hausrath’s insightful annotations, primarily prose, which cover all parts of the game (opening, middlegame and endgame). If you are interested in double fianchetto setups with either color, or if you only want to improve your positional understanding, Double- Fianchetto: The Modern Chess Lifestyle is the book for you. IM John Donaldson - USA September 2020.
A new author and a novel subject, but the two-word title is sufficient to give you a good idea as what it's all about. It turns out that the 'Double Fianchetto' examines the relevant scenarios in several openings, but the main area of struggle is generally later on. It's an opening book where theory is kept to a minimum. A decent selection with a great deal of fighting chess, general principles, practical advice and some psychology, can be found, but no real theory at all! The annotations are light but with plenty of instructive text in straightforward English, as if a school teacher is showing a pupil how it works. GM G.Flear NIC YB 136-2020.