help bot wrote:
Albert wrote:
'OPENINGS WITH 1 P-K4, P-K4

Both White's and Black's initial moves are perfectly natural and
normal: both assist development and affect vital central squares.
As long as Black can retain symmetry, White can lay no claim to an
advantage. Consequently the task is to compel the defender to give up
his strong center positions, in other words to abandon his P at K4.
White can achieve this aim only by playing P-Q4.' -- Fine

[...] he also seems to reject so-called hyper-modern strategy
altogether, in favor of classical.

No. All he is saying is that 1.e4 e5 is `natural and normal' and
that, if those two moves are played, White's only hope for an
advantage is to play d4 at some point. This in no way excludes the
possibility that other first moves might be played by Black (or even
by White!) or that different strategies might be called for against
those moves. He's not `rejecting' hypermodernism; he's just not
discussing it in the section `OPENINGS WITH 1 P-K4, P-K4' because they
don't belong there.

If you don't want to have to deal with all the dogmatic commentary
and mis-statements, just go with a book by one of the many modern
writers, like say, Yasser Seirawan. (Okay, I'm showing my age here;
...by say, GM Nakamura.)

Which book by Nakamura would that be? I can't find anything beyond a
chapter in each of _Secrets of Opening Surprises_ volumes 5 and 7.


Dave.

--
David Richerby Hungry Nuclear Sushi (TM): it's like
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ a raw fish that's made of atoms but
it'll eat you!