Dangerous Weapons: The French: Dazzle Your Opponents [Paperback]

John Watson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2007 | Series: Dangerous Weapons

In Dangerous Weapons: The French, John Watson takes a revolutionary look at one of the most famous and widely-played chess openings: the French Defence. Instead of travelling down well-trodden and analyzed paths, Watson concentrates on fresh or little-explored variations of the French, selecting a wealth of ‘dangerous’ options for both White and Black.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Do you need a well-deserved break from your normal chess openings? Are you tired of constantly having to keep up with modern chess theory? Or perhaps you simply wish to try out something new and exciting, but cannot decide between the embarrassment of choices available? Look no further for the answer!
In Dangerous Weapons: The French, International Master John Watson takes a revolutionary look at one of the most famous and widely-played chess openings: the French Defence. Instead of travelling down well-trodden and analyzed paths, Watson concentrates on fresh or little-explored variations of the French, selecting a wealth of ‘dangerous’ options for both White and Black. A study of this book will leave the reader confident and fully-armed, and his or her opponents running for cover!
Dangerous Weapons is a brand-new series of opening books which supply the reader with an abundance of hard-hitting ideas to revitalize his or her opening repertoire. Many of the carefully chosen weapons are innovative, visually shocking, incredibly tricky, or have been unfairly discarded; they are guaranteed to throw even your most experienced opponent off balance.

*The French Defence in a whole new light
*Packed with original ideas and analysis
*Ideal for ambitious and adventurous players

John Watson is a highly-skilled and award-winning chess writer, whose books have received much praise from reviewers and players alike. Previous works for Everyman Chess include his much admired and best-selling Play the French.

About the Author

John Watson is a highly-skilled and award-winning chess writer, whose books have received much praise from reviewers and players alike. He is resident in the US.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Everyman Chess; 1st edition (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857444353
• ISBN-13: 978-1857444353
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #270,308 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Useful refreshment of french repertoare, June 1, 2007

By 

I. Knezovic (Croatia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dangerous Weapons: The French: Dazzle Your Opponents (Paperback)

Written with his usual good mix of quality and charm, John Watson didn't want his good name tarnished writing his latest book, about his favorite opening. This is the first time he wrote a French book with two perspectives in mind, the black, as well as whites; so the first half of the book is written with innovative ideas for white side, and he didn't shy away to write about variations he found bothersome from the black perspective. He did a fair work in a first half of the book to actually help white stir the game in some unique waters, giving us black French players additional headaches to worry about. To be precise, out of total 320 pages of this book, 143 pages are written for white. Within that there are 6 chapters of novel ideas. Black gets 8 chapters and 177 pages.
Let me mention one chapter for example. Chapter 7 (first chapter for black) is called "Swearing in church" and its full 30 pages are all about variation 1.e4,e6 2.d4,d5 3.Nc3,Nc6. Firstly, he gives us the explanation about the logics of that particular variation in two pages, than he moves to heavily annotated and textually explained typical games for the variation (usually some of them are played by super GM`s), and finally, he has a "Looking a little deeper" sub chapter with theory we are used to in some regular opening books.
So, very nice book. It is aimed at white and black side of French, and I would probably use its theory in peculiar tournament situations when I need a full point and when risk needed outweighs the safety of the French opening proper.
Recommended!

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific look at less-usual lines, August 24, 2007

By 

David Gertler (Delaware, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dangerous Weapons: The French: Dazzle Your Opponents (Paperback)

John Watson is famous as an excellent writer and book reviewer. This title should further enhance his reputation.

For each of the 14 variations he has chosen, Watson supplies high-level annotated games; summaries of the existing "book" knowledge; and some fresh ideas from his own fertile brain. These aren't necessarily better than the more standard variations, but they appear to be sound, and they are likely to baffle a booked-up opponent.

You can choose lines that are likely to lead to closed positional maneuvering (such as 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nc6, or 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. exd5 exd5 5. Qf3), or lines that can produce wild attacks and counterattacks (such as 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. Qg4). Some chapters examine lines often played by Grandmasters, but still offering creativity and surprise value (such as 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 a6); other chapters cover rarer and stranger stuff (such as 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 h6). In all cases, Watson writes clearly and energetically, and his long-time experience as a leading French Defense authority shines through on every page.

If (like me) you don't want to spend countless hours learning the usual overplayed book lines, this book is a great resource for playing either side of the French Defense.

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars No surrender from this Frenchophile!, December 13, 2007

By 

Marty Marion (Maryland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dangerous Weapons: The French: Dazzle Your Opponents (Paperback)

Years ago I was a purely Sicilian player who would rather fight than switch. However, as time went on, I found that I could not keep up with the theory-funny how work,wife,and family claim 90% of your time.

After adding the Modern Defense to my repertoire(similar in some aspects to the Sicilian Dragon I played), I then wanted something more solid(and less time consuming!) that did not give the White player all the fun. Calling Dr. Watson!

I have thoroughly enjoyed this book so far(not finished is the only reason it's getting 4 stars). John explains the plans for Black, what to look for depending on your opponents moves, and the reasons behind your moves.

I have no other books on the French and yet feel totally prepared. In fact, @ my local chess club, no one will play into my French-all the e4 players are opting to start with d4 against me-which I absolutely love as I play d4 as White.

You will need to play over the lines(set them up physically or on computer) so you can 'see' what you are looking at and what you are looking for.

I feel like I should be purchasing his other book on the French-but first I will give this my full concentration. He has lines that are not covered in MCO-14, nor on the French Defense CD by Ari Ziegler for Chessbase. If you play the French, you need this book! If you are thinking of playing the French or are looking for a solid defense that will last you your entire chess career, buy this book.

Drive those playing White crazy-and get this book.


Marty Marion(uscf 1707)