Books on Opening

I was curious what is the best book or books to study with regard to opening moves?

hmmm.... alot of opening books can be very detailed and wont benefit the beginner player greatly. The amount of time you could spent playing through variations among variations could be better spent reading the Chapter on 'The centre and development' in my system by Aron Nimzowitch only then to go into learning some mainlines. Opening theory takes time to learn but you will pick up moves simply by playing games, and also playing through master games.

I think regardless of what standard you are or if your just an internet player, i think everyone should have a copy of NCO for reference. The book wont teach you much in terms of understanding but does give you an insight into the extent at which opening theory exists.

Insted of learning opening moves, if you can understand the main ideas you will be able to play at a decent standard. You will begin to notice similar positions occur in your games. When this happens take note and look up the move and see what the best responses are. Gradually learning is better than learning off by heart. Trust me, i have done it in the past and it wont get you far so learn from MY mistake. Im sure others have made the same mistake but wont admit it =)

Two books in particular are very good if i was to recommend you opening books specifically. They are 'Openings explained for White (and Black)' by Lev Alburt/Dzindzi. Basically the two books give you a complete opening repitoire for white and black. The two books cover a complete repitoire and explains the moves. For two books to cover a complete repitoire its quite something. Some books on one opening only are the same size as one of these books so they provide condensed learning for sure. If you dont like some of the opening in the book you can always work your way around them and specialize in something else.

It can be a daunting task to improve your opening play but a good understanding of middlegame play should also imrpove your opening play, since opening play aims at carrying an advantage into the middlegame. The Lev Alburt book recognises that both phases of the game are related and also explains the middlegame aspects of each opening.

You can settle to buy many opening specific books but if you do i dont recommend trying to learn all the variations as there will be LOADS! and you wont learn them and remember them. Insted of focusing your time on 'opening study' look through games and play aswel as read articles and the forums, maybe thats the best advice one could give.