Customer Reviews

Mastering the Chess Openings, volume 3

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I've been out of chess for about ten years and so I thought I'd make a comeback and learn the English opening. I bought four different books on the subject. I had intended to use Watson's book to give me a good understanding of the strategy and then use the other books to work out a repertoire. But the more I studied all the books, the more I ended up using Watson's almost exclusively.

This book is enormous, it gives an excellent survey of the current state of the English, it is full of the authors analysis and suggestions, and has great explanations of the strategy and tactics.

I had played the English a long time ago when I was a C-player (I'm 2281 now, or was when I last played) and I had a pet line, a temporary pawn sacrifice that I liked (I had got it from Nigel Povah's book on the English, written in the 80s). It was the first thing I looked up in Watson's book to see what he said. Although it is a real sideline, Watson analyzes it in detail showing why it doesn't give white an advantage. In addition to the standard 'refutation' of this line, he gave two different suggestions of his own for playing against the line. This is typical of the whole book.

The book is in a large format, about 10" tall, and thick - 351 pages.
The book has 12 chapters. It starts out with an introduction followed by an in depth discussion about viewing the English as a reversed Sicilian. This is quite interesting and a recurring theme in the book. White would always like to have on of the better Sicilian lines but with a tempo up. The following ten chapters each discuss various English systems in detail. The opening is explained using individual games which includes a great deal of discussion and analysis. Every game includes a great deal of discussion of both White and Black's plans and tactical ideas (the book isn't written from either sides perspective).

I highly recommend "Mastering the Chess Openings 3" For anyone who is interested in the English Opening as either White or Black, or someone who just wants chess strategy explained at an advanced level.

John Watson continues to write original and thoughtful works about chess theory and openings. His third volume of Mastering the Chess Openings discusses the English Opening. I must confess that I have not read the entire work; however, the material that I have read presents some new ideas and themes about this complex opening. I highly recommend Chapter 1,Introduction, Chapter 2, Reversing the Sicilian, and Chapter 3, Introduction to 2.Nc3: Black Plays Flexibly. I especially enjoyed the sections on the Improved Alekhine-Sicilian in Chapter 1 and The Ultra-Flexible 2..d6 in Chapter 2. This particular section. pages 45 through 63, is fantastic!! The move 2..d6 contains a lot of potential poison!! I am looking forward to reading the rest of this ground-breaking work.

Watson wrote THE series on the English Opening back in the 1970's and early 1980's. It was four books and around 800 pages, but its still considered a classic.
To this day, people still refer to those books when they want to learn how to play the English. I know that I did.
However...theory moves on, of course, and so some of the lines are outdated or simply not relevant any more.
Here comes Watson to the rescue!

This book is a large 350 pages filled with brilliant analysis and lucid explanatory prose.
I simply love this book. Its like taking a college course on 1.c4 with an excellent professor to guide you.

Watson covers a lot of minor deviations and early stuff in order to ground the reader as to WHY they're not considered best.
This helps you understand WHY the main lines represent the critical tries. Once you understand that, you can keep up with the latest trends thanks to a solid foundation.

To make a long story short:
I recently lost this book when I moved, and when I found out it missing...I ordered it AGAIN from Amazon.com
Its so good, its worth buying twice.
Get it.

This is an exceptional examination of the English Opening by a great chess writer. I read the introductions in the bookstore, and the author's explanation of how the English is like and unlike the Sicilian, and how the extra tempo can sometimes be disadvantageous due to how it reveals information to the black player, and I had to have it.

The book is very deep, and yet very readable. Large portions of the book are readable without an analysis board handy.

If you wish to play the English, buy this book!

John Watson has lived up to his reputation as one of the best Chess authors and has produced another complex yet readable and informative tome on openings .... all players should have at least two of this guy's works on their shelves!

I would recommend this book to any chess lover who would like to improve upon opening skills.