[.ca] Tiger's Modern (ISBN 9197524360)

Now my main weapon against e4:
I am a 1600 to 1700 ranked correspondence (web based) chess player who opens with c4 and D4 with white. Developing a reply to black's e4 has been a bit of a challenge for me. I have tried the sicilian, but there is so much theory to learn, both on your chosen variety, and the anti-sicilians. The modern is a terrific alternative. Statistically it achieves results almost as good as the sicilian, but more importantly for me, most e4 players at my level don't spend time learning it (unlike the sicilian, which is played as much as 50% of the time against e4). Another thought I had when considering the modern was that unlike D4 players, most e4 players haven't spent as much time learning to defeat a fianchettoed kings bishop (D4 players have to due to the popularity of the kings indian). I purchased Tiger's book as a backup to my sicilian - another option to try. Well, I have now been converted, and use Tigers modern as my main weapon. This is a beautiful book, which really highlights in the introduction to each chapter the key plans for black and white. I have been amazed how often white players fall for simple traps (like advancing the b pawn to challenge knight on c3, allowing capture of e4 pawn), mainly because white is just not familiar with the idea. I love the chapter on the Hippopotamus, which can be used as an alternative with some of Tiger's lines. Tiger is a fun author to read, his use of a quote by Talking Heads in this chapter (nothing happens in heaven) is for me almost worth the price of the book! The chapter on c4 is probably not the strongest, but in fairness, it is not that common for an e4 player to play c4 in the first few moves, as this is a D4 opening (c4 can also often be prevented by Nf6 if not played quickly). I don't currently have the confidence to try the modern against a D4 or C4 opening due to this, but this isn't an issue for me. Tiger is very honest about this chapter, and for me, it is enough for the odd situation when C4 does arise soon after e4. The ideas are still very well presented, and accordingly, quick to learn. This book may not suit everyone, but it has been a godsend for me.