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TheEncyclopaedia of Chess Openings (ECO) is a reference work describing the state ofopening theory inchess, originally published in five volumes from 1974 to 1979 by theYugoslavian company Šahovski Informator (Chess Informant). It is currently undergoing its fifth edition.ECO may also refer to the opening classification system used by the encyclopedia.
BothECO andChess Informant are published by theBelgrade-based companyŠahovski Informator. The moves are taken from thousands of master games and from published analysis inInformant and compiled by the editors, most of whom aregrandmasters, who select the lines which they consider most relevant or critical. The chief editor since the first edition has beenAleksandar Matanović (1930-2023). The openings are provided in anECO table that concisely presents the opening lines considered most critical by the editors.ECO covers the openings in more detail than rival single volume publications such asModern Chess Openings andNunn's Chess Openings, but in less detail than specialized opening books.
The books are intended for an international audience and contain only a small amount of text, which is in several languages. The bulk of the content consists of diagrams of positions and chess moves, annotated withsymbols, many of them developed by Chess Informant.Chess Informant pioneered the use ofFigurine Algebraic Notation to avoid the use of initials for the names of the pieces, which vary between languages.
Instead of the traditional names for the openings,ECO has developed a coding system that has also been adopted by otherchess publications. There are five main categories, "A" to "E", corresponding to the five volumes of the earlier editions, each of which is further subdivided into 100 subcategories, for a total of 500 codes. The term "ECO" is often used as a shorthand for this coding system.ECO code is a registered trademark ofChess Informant.
The first edition was published in the following years:
The second edition was published in the following years:
| Code | Author |
|---|---|
| 04–05 | Bagirov, Vladimir |
| 18–19 | Bagirov, Vladimir |
| 13–14 | Botvinnik, Mikhail |
| 13–14 | Abramov, Lev |
| 10 | Filip, Miroslav |
| 12 | Filip, Miroslav |
| 15 | Filip, Miroslav |
| 17 | Filip, Miroslav |
| 36–39 | Filip, Miroslav |
| 70–79 | Geller, Efim |
| 95–99 | Gipslis, Aivars |
| 20–21 | Gufeld, Eduard |
| 23–26 | Gufeld, Eduard |
| 02–03 | Hort, Vlastimil |
| 80–85 | Kasparov, Garry |
| 30–31 | Korchnoi, Viktor |
| 34–35 | Korchnoi, Viktor |
| 28–29 | Krnić, Zdenko |
| 87 | Krnić, Zdenko |
| 28–29 | Cvetković, Srđan |
| 00–01 | Larsen, Bent |
| 16 | Larsen, Bent |
| 60–69 | Matanović, Aleksandar |
| 60–69 | Ugrinović, Dragan |
| 06 | Minev, Nikolay |
| 11 | Minev, Nikolay |
| 57 | Nunn, John |
| 88–89 | Nunn, John |
| 07–09 | Parma, Bruno |
| 44 | Polugaevsky, Lev |
| 50–53 | Polugaevsky, Lev |
| 86 | Polugaevsky, Lev |
| 90–94 | Polugaevsky, Lev |
| 96 | Polugaevsky, Lev |
| 27 | Suetin, Alexey |
| 54–56 | Suetin, Alexey |
| 58–59 | Suetin, Alexey |
| 22 | Sveshnikov, Evgeny |
| 33 | Sveshnikov, Evgeny |
| 40–43 | Taimanov, Mark |
| 45–49 | Taimanov, Mark |
| 32 | Uhlmann, Wolfgang |
The third edition was published in the following years:
The fourth edition was published in the following years:
The fifth edition was published in the following years:
Bibliography
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