In the opening, each player tries to control the center, set up a flexible pawn structure, develop the pieces rapidly and harmoniously, sometimes even go for direct attack. But there are so many complicated variations -- how can you memorize them all?<br><br>You can't -- and you don't have to! If you understand the basic goals of the opening you're playing, you will know which moves fit logically into its overall scheme. This classic, best-selling volume, now completely reset in modern algebraic notation, explains everything you need to know to play the opening sensibly and successfully.<br><br>Reuben Fine, an International Grandmaster, is one of the world's top players and a leading theoretician of chess. He is the author of over half a dozen books, including the definitive Basic Chess Endings.