Introduction
King’s Kalashnikov is a great resource for Sicilian players. Whether you’re just picking up 1…c5, or if you’re a seasoned Sicilian player, the Kalashnikov is a great opening choice. The Najdorf or the Taimanov may be more popular and slightly more sound, but the Kalashnikov, as King proves in the book, can be more deadly, more dynamic, and more fun. I have recently started playing the Sicilian and my go to weapon is the Sveshnikov (playing Nf6 before the immediate e5, the Kalashnikov). Both the Sveshnikov and the Kalashnikov have the same underlying theme of pushing e5, weakening d5, and fighting for the initiative and the d5 or f5 breaks. Both openings are dynamic and wild.
The Kalashnikov was one of the first openings GM King has seriously employed, starting at the age of 12. He mentions in the introduction to the book that it turned out to be a great choice since the variations are somewhat forcing and White’s options limited when compared to those against the main lines. He has played it on and off since and has tremendous experience with the Kalashnikov. He has assembled a great resource in which he covers model games and goes over every sensible variation white could employ against the Kalashnikov.
About the Author
Daniel King is my favorite YouTuber, and his channel, Power Play Chess is a goldmine. GM King focuses on covering grandmaster games and analyzes most games from the top events. The reason his videos are remarkable is a combination of his chess expertise, years of experience commentating on chess, something he’s been doing for 30 years, and his charm. He is relatable, witty, and professional at the same time. His videos aren’t clickbaity crap, and he delivers true value every time. His books, just as his videos, are immensely valuable too. He has been commenting on chess events since the time before YouTube and Twitch. GM King has written numerous books, including Sultan Khan, Winning with the Najdorf, and How Good is Your Chess.
Structure of the Book
The book is divided into two parts; model games and theory. I like the first section with the games more since it’s easier to learn ideas from games than from theoretical variations. I think it provides a lot of added value to the book. Following the games, King covers the theory of the Kalashnikov in 20 chapters, sorted by white’s options. The book is structured more like a repertoire than a comprehensive guide to the entire Kalashnikov. Daniel omits plenty of black’s options in order to provide a ready-to-play repertoire.
Chessbook is the fastest way to build a bulletproof opening repertoire. It helps you find the gaps in your repertoire before your opponents do, pick the best moves to maximize your win-rate, and you’ll only spend time on the moves you’ll actually see in real games.
The chapters themselves are brief and don’t go very deep into the variations. As a tournament player looking to create a deep, detailed repertoire, I think that’s a major downside. I think the book targets players who are just starting out learning opening theory and are in need of a simple repertoire.
Quality of Annotations
Daniel’s annotations are very good, and the lines that are covered are annotated and explained in a way that a 6 year-old could understand them and that a GM would find them useful. That’s a rare skill I love about Daniel King’s videos as well. When it comes to the amount of lines shown, and the amount of annotations and explanations, I think the King’s Kalashnikov Sicilian could have been expanded a bit. That is also the case with the Anti-Sicilians and with almost any opening book.
Difficulty
I think the book is very easy to go through and written for beginners and intermediate players. The variations seldom go more than 10 moves deep, meaning that they cover a few moves after the forcing beginning of the Kalashnikov. For any advanced tournament player it would be trivial to follow. Still, it’s a great resource for those working on their first repertoire.
Conclusion
This is a ready-made repertoire book for beginners and intermediate players. The lines shown are simple to follow and don’t go deep, making them easy to learn. Accompany the book with Daniel’s Anti-Sicilians for a complete repertoire.
