| Review of Dangerous Weapons: The French Following on the success of The Dangerous Weapons books on the Sicilian and Nimzo-Indian, Everyman Chess ( www.everymanchess.com) has a new one out on the French by John Watson. The Nebraska IM, who is known for his advocacy of the French for over 30 years has produced a 314 page whopper of a book for a very reasonable price of $25.95. The guiding idea behind Dangerous Weapons series is the idea that the reader can add a new variation for White or Black in just a few hours. Sometimes the lines are brand new, other times forgotten and in some cases a little dodgy and not intended for repeated use - a clever chart at the end of each line chapter points to the variations level of risk and positional/strategical nature among other factors. Watson offers the following lines for White: McCutcheon 6.Be3 Classical ( 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.Bxe7 Qxe7 7.Qh5 Winawer 4.e5 c5 5.Qg4 and 4.exd5 exd5 5.Qf3 Tarrach 3....Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Bd3 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ndf3 and 5.f4 c5 6.Ngf3 Nc6 7.Nb3 For Black: 3.Nc3 Nc6 Winawer 4.e5 c5 5.a3 cxd4 and 4.e5 Bf8 3.Nc3 h6 Advance 4.c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Nh6 Classical 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Ng8 3.Nd2 a6 3.Nd2 Nc6 Looking at the table of contents I must confess that I was more a bit puzzled to see the anti-Winawer line 4.exd5 exd5 5.Qf3 listed. Everyone has known for a long time that this variation was in the doghouse because of the discombobulating 5...Qe7+, right? Wrong! It turns out after 6.Nge2 Nc6 White has the strong and far from obvious move 7.Qd3 which has been little played, but is well-analyzed by Watson. A similar attempt at rehabilitation is made with the Winawer sideline 3...Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 cxd4. I don't expect to see either of these lines enjoying widespread popularity but Watson's final chapter on the Guimard ( 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nc6) , the ugly step sister of 3...Nf6 and 3..c5 in the Tarrasch French, might well spark a revival. If you play the French or looking to combat it Dangerous Weapons: The French offers plenty of food for thought and complete repertoires for either color against main lines. Recommended |