ECO - where to buy/dl/get?

Hi guys

Trying to pick up the full 5 volume Encyclopedia of Chess Openings.

Wondering what the best way to go about acquiring this is. Good sites to purchase from ... Place to DL from ... etc?

http://www.chessinformant.org/

IMHO hardly worth the money nowadays.

Yeah, you don't want those now with all the stuff online.  You should be more focused on Opening, Middlegame, and Endgame books that actually give some form of instruction, not just symbols.

For example, you'll get a lot more out of reading "Chess Developments:  6.Bg5 Najdorf" than you will trying to read B90 thru B99 full of tables and symbols.

Plus, while I don't advocate the 20-minute U-Tube videos on openings as most of them are by people that don't know what they are talking about, and often cover sub-par variations, when it comes to ECO Code sites, those you can for the most part trust.  No need to buy 3000 pages of that junk any more - we are well past the 80s.

What about people who don't have computers though ?   

I recommend they join Weird Al for an Amish Paradise and discontinue chess.

Otherwise, this is 2015, not 1970.  99.99% of people have either a computer, a laptop, a tablet, or a smart phone (I have 3 of the 4, I don't own a tablet, and already people consider me behind the times).  Any of the 4 would work.

I have 4 of the 5 ECOs and they have seen heavy use over the years but I have first editions from the 70s ,  I didnt have a computer until 96 and no chess stuff on it until after 98 . I find that I retain more when I study the old fashioned way  than when I use the computer though using the computer is easier/more convenient .  I think a lot of players starting out don't realize that most chess opening " bibles "  are just reference books and dont really teach at all . 

Indeed. I have the small ECO (ABCDE in one volume) and I think is more than enough.

I have the second edition of each from the mid-90s.  Used them back then.  For the last 10 years or so, they've done nothing but collect dust.

@Thriller  Take care of them and they might be worth some money someday to collectors . I never purchased Volume A and never felt I needed it but now wish I had bought it just to complete the set . Do you wanna sell volume A  ?  Is it hardback ?   

It is hardback - If I were to sell one day, I'd probably want to sell the whole set as selling one would make it harder to sell the rest.

It's funny - unless you play a wide diverse set of openings, it's actually difficult to make all 5 editions relevant to your repertoire.

Volume A applies to all Repertoires - You can't stop White from playing something other than 1.e4 or 1.d4 (A00 thru A39) when you are Black.  Otherwise, all non ...d5 players against 1.d4 have A40 to A49 to deal with.  Then your Mexican, Old Indian, Benko, Benoni, and Dutch players also apply, along with those that play 1.d4 and 2.c4 as Black could play any of those last 5 listed defenses.

Volume B applies to those that play 1.e4 or those that respond to 1.e4 with anything other than the e-pawn.

Volume C applies to those that play 1.e4 as White or 1...e5 or 1...e6 against 1.e4 as Black

Volume D applies to d4 players along with those that respond 1...d5 or Grunfeld against 1.d4

Volume E applies to d4 players along with those that play Nf6/e6 setups (Nimzo, Queen's Indian, Catalan, Bogo) or the King's Indian

So just curious how you figured A wasn't needed back then.  No way to avoid A.  My current Repertoire actually involves all 5, but E is rare:

W: 1.e4

B: Najdorf and Taimanov against 1.e4, Grunfeld and Dutch against 1.d4, occasionally the Fianchetto lines, especially if played in a different move order but also sometimes voluntarily, lead me to play the KID instead of the Grunfeld, but other than the Fianchetto KID, E is pretty much irrelevant in my case.