The HIPPO System: A Universal Chess Opening for White & Black

Got this book for my husband and he loves it..

This is an excellent work! I collect all books on the Robatsch and related lines and actually had not known of this volume.Production values are quite good (I assume it is a POD book) and the content and games are very instructively annotated. Mr. Briffoz did a great job of it. Purists may lament the use of games from lower rated plays or written by a ‘lowly’ Expert, but I think this is a plus. I mostly play club level where ratings are in the 1400-2000 range. I want to know how to reply to moves those folks might make against me! This in a similar vein to The Dogs of War book on the Colle System.If you are interested in things-Hippo I also recommend Martin’s the Hippopotamus Rises and Winning with the Krazy Kat and Old Hippo by Gifford/Rozzoni/Wall.

They said nice things, yes, great selection of positions versus two-to-three centralpawn setups by the opponent. So, five stars for coverage. Now, subtract onestar for clunky English grammar with typos (like using Nd4 instead of Nxd4+ in theunannotated game continuations after a winning position is reached).Here's my big criticism, the book shows many GM v. GM games. So, maybe theywere not playing for an all-out assault because they knew the opponent had highlyskilled defensive ability. But, at expert level, using a Tarrasch style, the expertswill attack against the Hippo setup with everything (pawn storm, bishops, androoks). So, it remains to be seen if amateurs will be successful with the Hippo !Bad English and typos aside, I sat down on a long rainy Saturday and played overalmost a third of the games. The book has very light notes, and some interesting games.By "interesting" I mean the games were quiet, then, maybe a surprise (but not often).You will need a chessboard to enjoy this, some of the diagrams are for the sidevariations, and without a board it is not obvious what move goes to what diagram.So, a reserved four stars, minus a technical star.... (Could be a reliable opening!?)What more does it need? (Strategy ! See awesome Edmar Mednis' Strategic Chessin the Closed Games. Since the Hippo relies on "creativity", learn the thinking process.)Briffoz does mention (as do others) that there's another defensive system byGM Bauer --- "Play 1....b6" --- it's more detailed and strikes earlier than the Hippo.Briffoz didn't mention how the Hippo player should be prepared for Sicilian-likeattacks and defense (see Emms' Starting Out Sicilian, all kinds). Briffoz' book showsgames, like almost quiet GM wins, but again, experts will attack with everything andhis book doesn't show what can happen. So, be prepared to surprise your amusedopponent with your strong expertise in Sicilian tactics, "Beneath the surface!"If you are new to tactical openings or tactical early midgames, see Chernev's Winning ChessTraps (12 to 15 move games, many openings) and Michael Stean's expert Simple Chess. TheHippo might sound like an easy answer to the opening, it's not. Consider as White theColle-London system or instead King's Indian Attack, and as Black "1.... b6" against everything. Or,Black against 1.e4, William's Attack with the French, against 1.d4, King's Indian Defense(Collins).Update June 2019: New in Chess just published Alessio De Santis' The Hippopotamus Defence.It proves the point that there is theory, strategy, experience, and specific move orders thatare not shown in Briffoz' very lightly annotated game collection. You can "look inside" at Santisat newinchess.com. I think Santis' book is extraordinary and instructive, he points out the theorybehind the Hippo, and he does it step-by-step. Amazing book! Also, reviewers never mentionthat you can also look inside books at qualitychess.com. Those books are readable while oftenvery detailed and advanced for specific openings and defenses. They also have instructivebooks, mostly advanced, look at Under the Surface (Markos), Luther's Transformation (Luther),they tell how they progressed from amateur to master players.

It appears this was written by a non-native English speaker and is in sore need of editing. Worse yet it doesn't actually talk about any of the basic ideas of the hippo before launching into the normal game analysis and assumes you know how to set it up. I believe there is one diagram of the opening after the first 8 moves. The freestyle at the beginning makes some rather strange claims.

However, my Kindle version is a real mess. There are no links from the table of contents and the table of contents is wrapped all over the screen making it unreadable. There are multiple typos in the text. Sloppy work.Fortunately, the topic is unique and interesting so I have found the book of some use. I just wish someone had done some editing and quality assurance on this book before publishing this mess.

As on now, the Hippo System is not properly respected. If that changes, then maybe this book could be used as reference.