Playing the Ragozin

Publisher: Quality Chess, 2016, Pages: 440, Paperback

The Ragozin is an ideal system against 1.d4: Black establishes a foothold in the centre and quickly develops his pieces on active squares, with good chances for dynamic counterplay or a kingside attack. Black’s opening has proven its worth at the highest level, yet the underlying ideas are simple enough to be learned without excessive memorization of variations.

In this book, IM Richard Pert shares his own complete repertoire for Black after 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6. The main subject is the Ragozin, which occurs after 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bb4, but the author also provides thoughtful recommendations in the related 3.Nc3 Bb4 variation, as well as against the Catalan (3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3) and all other popular White options. Throughout the book, Pert not only checks for theoretical soundness, but also goes out of his way to avoid forced draws and other dead-equal positions, making this repertoire especially suitable for practical players who want to play for a win with Black.

Richard Pert is an English International Master whose previous book, Playing the Trompowsky, was well received by readers and critics. GM Glenn Flear commented that Pert shows: “...how the Trompowsky can be played with attitude. He succeeds in his quest, as time and time again Richard Pert reveals innovative ideas from both his own games and analyses.”