How to Play the Torre Attack

This new edition is greatly expanded by over 100 games with commentary.

Carlos Torre Repetto was the First Mexican Chess Grandmaster. His opening became known as the Torre Attack because he used to to defeat World Chess Champion Emanuel Lasker with a spectacular Queen Sacrifice at the International Tournament in Moscow 1925. This became one of the most famous chess games ever played.

Most of the World Champions have included the Torre Attack in their arsenals, especially Alekhine, Spassky and Petrosian. Capablanca, Botvinnik, Smyslov and Kasparov have also used it.

It has been more than a decade since the 2nd edition of this book was published. This new edition concentrates on two structures that lie at the heart of the Torre Attack. They have been named the Terrapin Formation and the Tortoise formation. They are not variations as such but rather common structures that meet the opening goal of controlling the center by placing both the d-pawn and e-pawn on the 4th rank. They are like the head poking out of a solid turtle shell that keeps the king well defended. The formation is used against both the Fianchetto and …e6 variations and a few others.