How much book do you need to know?

"The bare minimum is", said GM Andrew Soltis, "you need to know the traps that come up in your openings."

222 Opening Traps after 1.e4 is the title of a new book we just received, published by the respected house of Olms in Switzerland.

It's authors are two German GM's: Karsten M?ɬºller and Rainer Knaak, and it was about time that the old Znosko-Borowsky books were replaced with something up-to-date and thorough.

M?ɬºller and Knaak have expanded the concept of a trap just a little, and also include typical mistakes that are not the result of a line deliberately chosen by the one who sets the trap.

An important part of their book is devoted to "normal" looking moves which are met by unusual tactical blows.