English Chess Forum

Why is it that most books/dvds nowadays start with several chapters of sidelines before hitting the mainline theory?

By the time I've committed to memory a whole bunch of lines that I will rarely face I have very little energy left for studying the more critical stuff.

Is there a reason why authors choose to put sidelines before mainlines and not the other way around?

These days it is more common to focus on the lines that actually happen in practice rather than those played at the highest levels.

For example, if you prepared for White the Botvinnik Variation of the Semi-Slav then you might hope that Black would take on c4 but invariably they will play Nbd7 and attempt to play solid moves rather than anything critical.

You might like to spend some time preparing 16. Rb1 or 16. Na4 and never ever get to the position except on-line.

Opening books are more pragmatic than they used to be and rightly so.