---
product_id: 53125141
title: "Mastering the Chess Openings, Volume 4: v. 4"
price: "COP 365124"
currency: COP
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 5
url: https://www.desertcart.co/products/53125141-mastering-the-chess-openings-volume-4-v-4
store_origin: CO
region: Colombia
---

# Comprehensive opening theory Same-day dispatch before noon Covers rare & surprise openings Mastering the Chess Openings, Volume 4: v. 4

**Price:** COP 365124
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Summary

> ♟️ Elevate your opening game — be the player everyone fears to face!

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Mastering the Chess Openings, Volume 4: v. 4
- **How much does it cost?** COP 365124 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co](https://www.desertcart.co/products/53125141-mastering-the-chess-openings-volume-4-v-4)

## Best For

- Customers looking for quality international products

## Why This Product

- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Key Features

- • **Fast & Secure Delivery:** NewMint condition with guaranteed packaging and no-quibble returns, dispatched same day if ordered before noon.
- • **Unlock Hidden Chess Strategies:** Dive deep into rare openings like Réti, Fianchetto, and reversed systems to outsmart your opponents.
- • **Insightful Move-by-Move Analysis:** Go beyond rote memorization with clear explanations of the purpose behind every move.
- • **Master the Art of Opening Preparation:** Learn how to select and prepare openings tailored to your skill level and evolving chess trends.
- • **Surprise Your Opponents with Uncommon Gambits:** Leverage primitive and positional gambits to gain the upper hand in any game.

## Overview

Mastering the Chess Openings, Volume 4 by John Watson is the definitive guide to lesser-known and complex chess openings. This volume offers in-depth explanations, original analysis, and strategic insights into openings like Réti, Fianchetto systems, reversed openings, and gambits. Designed for serious players aiming to deepen their understanding and surprise opponents, it combines clear, approachable writing with practical advice on opening preparation. Delivered in NewMint condition with fast, reliable shipping.

## Description

In this highly-acclaimed series, John Watson helps chess-players achieve a more holistic and insightful view of the openings. He explains not only the ideas and strategies behind specific openings, but also the interconnections of chess openings taken as a whole. By presenting the common threads that underlie opening play, Watson provides a permanent basis for playing openings of any type. This final volume draws together many themes in a wide-ranging discussion of general opening topics. By looking at familiar situations from new angles, Watson helps us greatly increase our understanding of them. In the process, he covers a wide variety of opening structures and variations not seen in the earlier volumes and presents a great wealth of original analysis. * Réti and Fianchetto Systems * Reversed Openings * Symmetry * Irregular Openings * Gambits: Primitive or Positional * Universal Openings In the final two chapters, Watson presents his views on the importance of opening study and explains how players should best prepare and choose their openings for the level at which they play. He looks at the future of chess openings and explains which skills will be most important as chess evolves in the forthcoming decades.

Review: In-depth Coverage of Less Common Openings - It took joining a local chess club and repeatedly getting clobbered right out of the opening to realize that in order to stand much of a chance I needed to invest more time in the study of opening theory. I already have a copy of MCO but it is heavy on spewing out moves, light on explanation and has more than a few typos that sometimes make following the variations difficult. I researched books on opening theory and finally settled on Watson's Mastering the Chess Openings series. This is a somewhat more costly resource than many of the others available (four volumes instead of a single book) but it's a worthwhile investment. Volume 4 of the series covers a lot of odd openings that did not fit into the other three volumes, some of which are not often seen in higher levels of play but are very useful for the surprise factor. Of the four volumes, this one is the one I use and appreciate most. It covers the following openings and systems: - Reti: Open and Closed Variations - Reti: Slav Variations - Modern Kingside Fianchetto - Modern Queenside Fianchetto - Gambits - f-Pawns and Reversed Openings (this includes the Dutch and Bird Openings) - Symmetry and its Descendants (Petroff, Four Knights and two variations on the English Opening) It also includes a couple of chapters that suggest how to select openings for study and also try to predict the trends in opening theory. I was especially interested in the Dutch Defense and this volume really helped me to understand the themes behind it. I have been successful with it though I still have more to learn. Watson does a great job of explaining all of these opening systems (or opening defenses as appropriate). That is, rather than give a summary blurb about the opening and then just prattling on with move after move, he walks the reader through the opening, explaining the purpose behind each move. Then, once finished with the main sequence of moves, he includes one or more instructive games with relevant analysis and variations. This is so much more helpful than a cold and clinical presentation of silent moves. Watson's writing style is very clear and approachable. He neither talks down to his readership nor does he assume that everyone has a doctorate in chess. This is a superb series on chess openings which will leave the reader with a much clearer understanding of not just the moves involved in the openings but also an understanding of the purpose and goals of any given opening and variation covered. Although the cost of the series is more than that of a single volume it is well worth it.
Review: Parfait - Parfait

## Features

- New
- Mint Condition
- Dispatch same day for order received before 12 noon
- Guaranteed packaging
- No quibbles returns

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | 3,761,428 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 429 in Chess (Books) 6,552 in Indoor Games |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 69 Reviews |

## Images

![Mastering the Chess Openings, Volume 4: v. 4 - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71gzpzgKNiL.jpg)

## Available Options

This product comes in different **Media Language, Media Format** options.

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ In-depth Coverage of Less Common Openings
*by M***N on 4 June 2012*

It took joining a local chess club and repeatedly getting clobbered right out of the opening to realize that in order to stand much of a chance I needed to invest more time in the study of opening theory. I already have a copy of MCO but it is heavy on spewing out moves, light on explanation and has more than a few typos that sometimes make following the variations difficult. I researched books on opening theory and finally settled on Watson's Mastering the Chess Openings series. This is a somewhat more costly resource than many of the others available (four volumes instead of a single book) but it's a worthwhile investment. Volume 4 of the series covers a lot of odd openings that did not fit into the other three volumes, some of which are not often seen in higher levels of play but are very useful for the surprise factor. Of the four volumes, this one is the one I use and appreciate most. It covers the following openings and systems: - Reti: Open and Closed Variations - Reti: Slav Variations - Modern Kingside Fianchetto - Modern Queenside Fianchetto - Gambits - f-Pawns and Reversed Openings (this includes the Dutch and Bird Openings) - Symmetry and its Descendants (Petroff, Four Knights and two variations on the English Opening) It also includes a couple of chapters that suggest how to select openings for study and also try to predict the trends in opening theory. I was especially interested in the Dutch Defense and this volume really helped me to understand the themes behind it. I have been successful with it though I still have more to learn. Watson does a great job of explaining all of these opening systems (or opening defenses as appropriate). That is, rather than give a summary blurb about the opening and then just prattling on with move after move, he walks the reader through the opening, explaining the purpose behind each move. Then, once finished with the main sequence of moves, he includes one or more instructive games with relevant analysis and variations. This is so much more helpful than a cold and clinical presentation of silent moves. Watson's writing style is very clear and approachable. He neither talks down to his readership nor does he assume that everyone has a doctorate in chess. This is a superb series on chess openings which will leave the reader with a much clearer understanding of not just the moves involved in the openings but also an understanding of the purpose and goals of any given opening and variation covered. Although the cost of the series is more than that of a single volume it is well worth it.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Parfait
*by B***U on 15 April 2026*

Parfait

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Muito bom.
*by E***A on 17 March 2023*

Não é muito detalhista, mas descreve bem os conceitos de cada linha. Pra mim atendeu muito bem. E se você não é muito chegado ao inglês, é só traduzir os mais longos em espanhol ou português Portugal mesmo. Pena que o Kiddle não encontrei o português Brasil.

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*Product available on Desertcart Colombia*
*Store origin: CO*
*Last updated: 2026-08-12*