Does anyone know/has anyone heard when/whether New in Chess plans to release SOS 12. They’ve usually come out in January and July, but I’ve been checking NIC’s SOS page at least once a day for quite a while, and seen nothing.
Alex Relyea
Maybe that’s part of the secrets?! Amazon is estimating April 16th.
Regards,
John
For whatever it’s worth, NIC emailed me today saying that this is available.
Alex Relyea
Since you have started this topic, if you don’t mind: can you comment on the quality/usefulness of this publication series, in your opinion? I have often looked at their ads/summaries but have not (yet) invested in it. (I am assuming you must think it’s at least somewhat useful if you are looking for the next edition.)
And: if you were to recommend one (or a few) particular edition(s) to get a feel for things, which one(s) would that be?
Thanks in advance for any opinions you can offer along these lines regarding “SOS”.
I like it. I have all 12, and I haven’t waited for any of them to come out in the U.S., but have ordered them all directly from New in Chess. The articles are uneven, of course, and some of them are more helpful than others. Volume 1 is very different from the other 11. What openings do you play/are you interested in? That would help me pick out a few volumes that might be of interest for you.
For those who haven’t read a lot about this series, these books are largely a collection of short (usually less than 10 pages) articles about early offbeat paths in familiar openings. An example is 1.f4 Nh6. The first volume has longer articles, and they are organized by theme. I find them very thought provoking.
Alex Relyea
The page for SOS 12 has four sample PDFs:
Thanks, Alex. Like many club players I am constantly experimenting, and I’ll even laugh at my own list for its variety - I often choose based in part by my opponent’s tendencies and perceived (non) comfort zone!
That said, I almost always play 1.e4, and enjoy as White -
- Giuoco Piano - even into the Fried Liver if given the chance!
- King’s Gambit
- (against 1…c5) open Sicilian with an early f2-f4 (not sure what ECOs to cite there), and usually 0-0-0
- …and an occasional English, or Reti
As Black, I typically counter 1.d4 with …d5 and like these lines -
- Tarrasch QGD
- Benko Gambit
- Albin Counter Gambit (check out my other post/recent game)
I typically counter 1.e4 with…e5, and like these -
- Arkangel against the Lopez
- Schliemann " " (occasionally)
And sometimes I play the Pirc, again depending on my opponent (and mood)! I’ve had some pretty good games with that.
As you can see, I’m all over the board - but I do generally like aggressive openings, typically involving my f-pawn before too many moves have been made. 
Thanks for your suggestions.
Thanks!
If nothing else, the cover cartoon on these publications always gives me a chuckle… a bit reminiscent of the old “Mr. Bill” routine… Oh, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!