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Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings

Reference work on chess openings From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings (ECO) is a reference work describing the state of opening theory in chess, originally published in five volumes from 1974 to 1979 by the Yugoslavian company Šahovski Informator ('Chess Informant'). It is currently undergoing its fifth edition. ECO may also refer to the opening classification system used by the encyclopedia.

This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

First edition of ECO volume E. The title is given in eight languages. In the center are the two openings included in the volume: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6; and 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 without (symbol ┘) an early ...d7–d5.

Overview

Both ECO and Chess Informant are published by the Belgrade-based company Šahovski Informator. The moves are taken from thousands of master games and from published analysis in Informant and compiled by the editors, most of whom are grandmasters, who select the lines that they consider most relevant or critical. The chief editor since the first edition has been Aleksandar Matanović (1930–2023). The openings are provided in an ECO table that concisely presents the opening lines considered most critical by the editors. ECO covers the openings in more detail than rival single-volume publications such as Modern Chess Openings and Nunn's Chess Openings, but in less detail than specialized opening books.

The books are intended for an international audience and contain only a small amount of text, which is in several languages. The bulk of the content consists of diagrams of positions and chess moves, annotated with symbols, many of them developed by Chess Informant. Chess Informant pioneered the use of Figurine Algebraic Notation to avoid the use of initials for the names of the pieces, which vary between languages.

Instead of the traditional names for the openings, ECO has developed a coding system that has also been adopted by other chess publications. There are five main categories, "A" to "E", corresponding to the five volumes of the earlier editions, each of which is further subdivided into 100 subcategories, for a total of 500 codes. The term "ECO" is often used as a shorthand for this coding system. ECO code is a registered trademark of Chess Informant.

Openings covered

Main article: List of ECO codes

Volume A: Flank openings

Volume B: Semi-Open Games other than French Defence

Volume C: Open Games and French Defence

Volume D: Closed Games and Semi-Closed Games

(including Grünfeld Defence but not other Indian Defences)

Volume E: Indian Defences

(other than Grünfeld Defence and Old Indian Defence)

First edition

The first edition was published in the following years:

  • Volume A: 1979
  • Volume B: 1975
  • Volume C: 1974
  • Volume D: 1976
  • Volume E: 1978
More information Author, Codes ...
Volume D (1976)
Author Codes
Abramov, Lev 70–79, 98–99
Bagirov, Vladimir 00–01, 94–95
Barcza, Gedeon 60–65
Botvinnik, Mikhail 70–79, 98–99
Bukić, Enver 56–57
Cvetković, Srđan 02–05
Euwe, Max 31–32
Filip, Miroslav 50–55
Florian, Tibor 60–65
Gheorghiu, Florin 45–46
Gipslis, Aivars 38–39, 80, 90–91
Hort, Vlastimil 58–59
Judovič, Mihail 66–69
Karpov, Anatoly 85–89
Korchnoi, Viktor 43–44, 47–49
Kotov, Alexander 15–19
Krnić, Zdenko 25
Larsen, Bent 33–34
Matanović, Aleksandar 30, 35–36
Matulović, Milan 25
Minev, Nikolay 06–09, 37–38
Samarian, Sergiu 45–46
Sokolov, Vladimir 02–05
Parma, Bruno 40–42
Polugaevsky, Lev 26–29
Smyslov, Vasily 96–97
Suetin, Alexey 10–14
Taimanov, Mark 20–24
Ugrinović, Dragan 30, 35–36
Uhlmann, Wolfgang 81–84, 92–93
Volume E (1978)
Author Codes
Abramov, Lev 27–29, 47–49
Averbakh, Yuri 00–05
Bagirov, Vladimir 32–37
Boleslavsky, Isaac 67–69
Botvinnik, Mikhail 27–29, 47–49
Byrne, Robert 97–99
Cvetković, Srđan 06–07, 93–94
Euwe, Max 90–92
Filip, Miroslav 46, 56–59
Florian, Tibor 87–89
Gipslis, Aivars 10–11, 20–23
Ivkov, Borislav 54–55
Judovič, Mihail 52
Karpov, Anatoly 83–84
Kotov, Alexander 43, 50–51
Krnić, Zdenko 06–07, 93–94
Larsen, Bent 85–86
Lepeshkin, Vladimir 67–69
Lilienthal, Andor 87–89
Matanović, Aleksandar 08–09, 15–19
Mednis, Edmar 97–99
Minev, Nikolay 70–72, 76–79
Neishtadt, Yakov 00–05
Parma, Bruno 24–26, 53
Polugaevsky, Lev 14, 73–75
Razuvayev, Yuri 80–82, 83–84
Suetin, Alexey 12–13
Taimanov, Mark 30–31, 40–45
Ugrinović, Dragan 08–09, 15–19
Uhlmann, Wolfgang 60–63
Unzicker, Wolfgang 38–39
Vlastimil Hort 95–96
Wade, Robert 64–66
Close

Second edition

The second edition was published in the following years:

  • Volume A: 1996
  • Volume B: 1984
  • Volume C: 1981
  • Volume D: 1987
  • Volume E: 1991
More information Author, Codes ...
Volume B (1984)
Author Codes
Abramov, Lev 13–14
Cvetković, Srđan 28–29
Bagirov, Vladimir 04–05, 18–19
Botvinnik, Mikhail 13–14
Filip, Miroslav 10, 12, 15, 17, 36–39
Geller, Efim 70–79
Gipslis, Aivars 95–99
Gufeld, Eduard 20–21, 23–26
Hort, Vlastimil 02–03
Kasparov, Garry 80–85
Korchnoi, Viktor 30–31, 34–35
Krnić, Zdenko 28–29, 87
Larsen, Bent 00–01, 16
Matanović, Aleksandar 60–69
Minev, Nikolay 06, 11
Nunn, John 57, 88–89
Parma, Bruno 07–09
Polugaevsky, Lev 44, 50–53, 86, 90–94, 96
Suetin, Alexey 27, 54–56, 58–59
Sveshnikov, Evgeny 22, 33
Taimanov, Mark 40–43, 45–49
Ugrinović, Dragan 60–69
Uhlmann, Wolfgang 32
Close

Third edition

The third edition was published in the following years:

  • Volume A: 1999
  • Volume B: 1997
  • Volume C: 1997
  • Volume D: 1998
  • Volume E: 1998

Fourth edition

The fourth edition was published in the following years:

  • Volume A: 2001
  • Volume B: 2002
  • Volume C: 2000
  • Volume D: 2004
  • Volume E: 2008

Fifth edition

The fifth edition was published in the following years:

  • Volume C: 2006
  • Volume B part 1 [ECO codes: B00–B49]: 2020
  • Volume B part 2 [ECO codes: B50-B99]: 2021

See also

References

Bibliography

  • Matanović, Aleksandar; Molorović, Milivoje; Božić, Aleksandar (1971). Classification of Chess Openings. Chess Informant.
  • Abramov, Lev; Bagirov, Vladimir; Botvinnik, Mikhail; Cvetkovic, Srdan; Filip, Miroslav; Geller, Efim; Gipslis, Aivars; Gufeld, Eduard; Hort, Vlastimil; Kasparov, Garry; Korchnoi, Viktor; Krnic, Zdenko; Larsen, Bent; Matanović, Aleksandar; Minev, Nikolay; Nunn, John; Parma, Bruno; Polugaevsky, Lev; Suetin, Alexey; Sveshnikov, Evgeny; Taimanov, Mark; Ugrinovic, Dragan; Uhlmann, Wolfgang (1984). Encyclopedia of Chess Openings, volume B (2nd ed.). Belgrade: Chess Informant. ISBN 0-7134-3716-2.
  • Hooper, David; Whyld, Kenneth (1996) [First pub. 1992]. "Encyclopedia of Chess Openings". The Oxford Companion to Chess (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 123. ISBN 0-19-280049-3.

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