Fly the Pterodactyl

The Pterodactyl (1…g6, 2…Bg7, 3…c5 and an early …Qa5) is one of the most exciting new chess openings. Used experimentally in the 1950s and 1960s, it has only gained true popularity in the 21st century. With the structure closely resembling the Sicilian Dragon, Black relies on a very powerful Bishop and active Queen to put pressure on White's position. The opening has been played by many grandmasters and the formation has been seen in over 20,000 games, yet until now there has been no in-depth study of the Pterodactyl.

FIDE master Eric Schiller presents the opening in all its glory with detailed opening analysis and over. The complete illustrative games in this book you will find all you need to know to take up it as black and confront your opponents from the very earliest stages of the game. The author has played the opening frequently and successfully even against Grandmasters and has many insights into past that were geared more unexplored. At the same time, this remains a new opening, so there is still room for plenty of original play. So explore this exciting opening and use it to confound your opponents no matter how they choose to open as White.

Eric Schiller (born March 20, 1955 in New York City) is an American chess player, trainer, arbiter and one of the most prolific authors of books on chess in the 20th century. In 1974, Schiller was the Illinois Junior Champion. Schiller played for the University of Chicago team several times at the Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship. He was an organizer of the Hawaii International chess festivals 1994-98 including 1998 US Open California Champion 1995. Later that year, he appeared as a chess adviser for the music group Phish on some of the stops for their "Chess Tour" where they played an ongoing game of two chess moves per tour stop and some "band vs. audience" partial games as part of their stage performance.

Schiller was an arbiter at several notable games and championships including the FIDE World Chess Championship 2000. While Vladimir Kramnik and Garry Kasparov opted not to participate in the event, they had both endorsed Schiller for this sensitive role during the planning stages. As of April 2009, Schiller has a FIDE rating of 2166. He is also an International Arbiter and International Trainer. Schiller's expertise and publications in the Flohr-Zaitsev Variation made him a sought-after expert when Gary Kasparov used that opening at the second game at the World Chess Championship 1990.