Book excerpt: In this book, the first to focus on these issues, Steve Giddins provides common-sense guidance on one of the perennial problems facing chess-players. He tackles questions such as: whether to play main lines, offbeat openings or 'universal' systems; how to avoid being 'move-ordered'; how to use computers; if and when to depart from or change your repertoire. Giddins argues that from novice to grandmaster, a player's basic task when choosing a repertoire is the same: he needs to select openings that suit his playing style and that he can play with confidence. The repertoire should not require more memory work and study than he is capable of, or has time for. The book is rounded off with a look at the use of 'role models' and an investigation of the repertoires of leading players past and present.