Customer Reviews

Play the French

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It is very, very refreshing to see an openings book so specialized and thorough as this one. Watson shows what's going on in addition to providing variations for whatever you are likely to find playing the French:

1. Advance Variation
2. Exchange Variation
3. Tarrasch
4. Winnawer
5. King's Indian Attack

In that sense the book provides you with a repertoire in the French full of VARIATIONS and IDEAS.

Biased? Of course! Objective? You bet! Watson goes as far as telling me, the reader, what was inaccurate in the previous edition of his book! He also encourages me to review other treatises in French in those analyses that he deems incomplete! He warns the reader when he is presenting untested ideas! Can you ask for more?

Despite not having the title "Win with the French" or "Beat anybody with the French" I can say that the text is very, very geared towards showing paths where black can get, if not an advantage, at least a pleasant position from which it will be easy to play.

I am happy with this book and will never cease to come back to it for advice and study. Very independent treatise, very personal, very honest and very objective. Ah! This is nothing like a database dump... Is more than that and I can see that Watson did play through each and every line when writing the book.

It's a pity that John Watson is not as prolific as some of the other chess writers. He is one of the best out there today. The prior edition of this book (1984) was the francophile's bible for many years and made life miserable for many of us 1. e4 players. I, for one, had to buy that damned book just to see what I'd be facing over-the-board. Only the passage of time and the advancement of theory has put that book to rest. Not to worry, though, Frenchies -- Watson has come up with a whole new arsenal with which to annoy the 1. e4 crowd. I especially like the fact that this effort is more balanced than the last one. There are ideas for White here, too. Had I come across this book earlier, I would certainly have won a key postal game where Black (who obviously didn't have the book either) played down an inferior line and should've fallen under a vicious sacrificial attack. Unfortunately, I followed the line suggested in the now ancient BCO2 and MCO13 and ended up with nothing to show for my first-move advantage. If you play the French or play against it, buy this book. No, buy lots of IM Watson's books so that he will be encouraged to write more and we will not have to suffer the efforts of others who do not write nearly as well.

This is a truly outstanding book. I have played the French defence as long as I have played chess, so I was excited when I heard John Watson was writing a new edition of "Play the French."
If you love the French Defence as I do, or if you want an opening book that will give you a complete answer to e4, you cannot find a book as good as this. I am a bit of a chess book junkie, and I buy and read all kinds of opening books. The best books are those that are well researched, objective, and most importantly have plenty of original explanations and analysis. This book gets an 'A' on all counts.
"Play the French" is a repetoire book, designed to give the playerof the black pieces a complete response to e4. Watson is extremely generous though in providing at least two different repetoires for every line! As an example, after 3.Nc3 there is a repetoire for playing the Classical (3 ..Nf6) and the Winnawer (3 ..Bb4) and each system in the Classical and Winnawer is given two lines to choose from. There are four different systems given against the King's Indian Attack, each well researched and with original analysis and ideas! Often Watson uses different lines than he did in previous versions (but he does point out any significant change in the assessment in the previously used line, along with supporting variations).

I'm USCF 2281, but I think this book will appeal to just about all players. Lower (and higher) rated players will appreciate all the written explanations, and higher rated players will appreciate the in depth analysis. If this book is like Watson's previus volumes of "Play the French" then some of the obscure lines he recommends will end up as main lines. Watson freqently starts the discussion of a variation by describing trends and any significant novelties that have changed assessments. Occasionally, he quotes performance rating statistics from Chessbase on a position to demonstrate tournament results. The book is loaded with practical help describing how to play certain types of resulting endgames, how to decide where a bishop should be in a certain line, why a certain move order is critical, and typical methods. The book is a gold mine of opening preparation and French middlegame knowledge. There are many French Defence books on the market right now and I buy them as soon as they are off the press. Not taking away anything from the others (I like Pederson's books) This is the best.

Highly regarded author John Watson has updated a classic work. Unlike other repertoire books, he offers the reader a choice of two or three systems which one can play against each main line. Watson covers, in a dozen well-organized clear chapters, the following main lines: Advance, Exchange, King's Indian Attack, Tarrasch (3 chapters), Winawer (5 chapters), Second Move Odds & Ends. NOTE: He does not cover the Classical French (1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Nf6) or the MacCutcheon Variation (1 e4 e6 2 Nc3 Nf6 3 Bg5) but then this is a repertoire book against 1 e4 and not a section of ECO. Watson discusses ideas through variations and move orders with short comments rather than using lengthy prose summaries. So, less experienced players may want something a bit more tutorial oriented - like Mastering The French With The Read And Play Method, which has lengthy discussions of basic goals, reasons for move orders, pawn structures, etc. Don't be put off though, Watson's book is tightly organized and practical for just about everyone.

This, the third edition of Watson's "Play the French", provides an up-to-date repertoire for black with the French Defence. Watson is incredibly thorough and yet presents the material in a clear systematic, and therefore digestible, form. In most lines Watson offers black two systems, but in some there are more, for example he offers black 4 (!) different systems against the King's Indian Attack. The book even features a guest author (Hans Olav Lahlum) who updates one of the chapters from the previous edition (which Watson was originally going to leave out of the third edition).

Against the advance variation (1. e4 e6, 2. d4 d5, 3. e5 the main line of which continues 3. ... c5, 4. c3 Nc6, 5. Nf3) Watson offers 5. ... Qb6 (to be followed by 6. ... Nh6) and 5. ... Bd7.
Against the King's Indian Attack (1. e4 e6, 2. d3 d5, 3. Nd2) after 3. ... Nf6, 4. Ngf3 Watson offers 4. ... Nc6, 4. ... Bc5, and 4. ... b6, and then as a fourth option 3. ... c5.
Watson offers a number of interesting lines against the various incarnations of the Exchange Variation many of which involve early bishop sorties to b4 and g4.
Against the Tarrasch Variation Watson suggests either 3. ... c5, or 3. ... Be7!? (which is better than its reputation).
In the Main Line Winawer (1. e4 e6, 2. d4 d5, 3. Nc3 Bb4, 4. e5 c5, 5. a3 BxN+, 6. bc Ne7, 7. Qg4) Watson recommends 7. ... 0-0, which is now considered black's best, though Watson adds that he feels that his recommendation from the second edition (7. ... Qc7) is still viable. The 6. ... Qc7 system is also covered, but by the guest author. Lahlum is simply not as fantastic an author as Watson, but his chapter is still a solid effort.
Finally, Watson covers the Classical Variation for the first time (1. e4 e6, 2. d4 d5, 3. Nc3 Nf6,) and offers fairly standard looking lines against 4. e5, but the fashionable and unbalancing Burn Variation against 4. Bg5: 4. ... de 5. Nxe4 Be7.

These recommendations are all good systems and Watson's coverage is as thorough as any I've seen. The book includes a great deal of new analysis and many new ideas, some of which are actually improvements over the existing theory. It's hard to find much wrong with this book. I can think of only two things. The first is that in the Advance variation after 1. e4 e6, 2. d4 d5, 3. e5 c5, 4. c3 Nc6, 5. Nf3 Bd7, 6. Be2, Watson's recommendation of 6. ... Nge7, 7. 0-0 Ng6, is not quite as good as he suggests (he acknowledges that the move was considered anti-positional, but not that there was a good reason for this!). On the other hand, he does provide an alternative in the shape of 6. ... f6, so this shouldn't worry the reader unduly. The second minor criticism is that against the Tarrasch 3. ... Be7!? doesn't quite fill the shoes of 3. ... Nf6!?, (which was covered in the second edition). 3. ... c5 won't appeal to everyone and 3. ... Be7 is the sort of move that people either specialise in or consider to be rather suspect. Sticking with 3. ... Nf6!? would have given the repertoire even wider appeal. On the other hand, I rather like 3. ... Be7!?

Watson provides excellent analysis and insightful explanations which should serve any French Defence Player well. Those fighting against the French may also want to take a look as they are likely to be facing Watson's lines over the board for many years to come.

If you are a French player who sometimes gets frustrated and feels that he/she should be getting more out of the opening than he/she is, or that you get the feeling that white shouldn't be sitting on your king but you can't quite figure out how to get him off your back, this book is for you!!! I have played the French all my life, and thought I was familiar with it.....but after buying this invaluable book, MINE EYES HAVE SEEN THE GLORY!!! I never realized what a bitter, nasty, spiteful defense the French can be when used correctly...learn how, and BUY THIS NOW!!! After learning this, there is nothing, NOTHING, white can do to stifle your counterplay. Exchange variation? JUNK ...Kings Indian Attack? TRASH ...you'll pray white plays 1.e4 and bashes his brains out on a wall of pawns afterwards as you dart in and out, hacking up his center. Love this book? I live this book...trust me, seriously, give up the memorization of a billion book lines in the sicilian and all the surprise weapons white pulls...its not worth it...play the French secure in the fact white can do nothing to surprise you...you will learn there is are very few curveballs white can toss at you...safer than the sicilian, less to memorize, and with EVIL counterplay...I made a 2000 rated ICC player change his repertoire with the knowledge contained in this book, he swore off 3.nc3 after repeated thrashings in the Winawer....convert to the French and BUY THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!

I have been an e4 player as White since I began playing chess, and I have searched high and low for a good weapon against the French. This latest edition of Watson's classic opening repertoire book convinced me to just give up and start playing the French myself! I have always been an attacking player and always thought the supposedly stodgy opening just wasn't for me. But Watson's repertoire turns it into a great attacking line. Even in the Exchange Variation, which often discourages people who hate draws from considering this opening, he has many ideas to make the game interesting for the second player. I have since looked at some of his games (which you can find in the ChessBase Database online, for example) and I see that he practices what he preaches, often devoloping wonderfully speculative attacks along the f-file after the f6 break, for example.

Granted, this book has some of the standard problems of coverage that you find with any repertoire book. It is focused mostly on the Winawer system. But it does a lot more than most, offering at least two lines of play (such as both the popular 3...c5 and the new 3...Be7!? against the Tarrasch Variation) where most books stop at one and at least covering other lines even when they don't seem to fit the system he proposes. You get an excellent chapter on the currently popular Burn variation, for example, that offers more coverage than any other works I've seen, yet Watson clearly prefers the Winawer. I'm also impressed by how much he has done to improve his work to keep it up to date and even ahead of theory to some extent. I own the second edition and have looked at the first, and I must say that this is one of the most impressive revisions I've ever seen. Watson is not only up-to-date but ahead of theory in many places and so this is a must for anyone playing the French from either side of the board.

One problem that many of us face when playing the French against under 1800s is that our opponents don't play into main line Winawer or Tarrasch systems, but instead head into odd exchange, Labourdonnais, advance, and Qe2 systems. Watson offers solid lines against all the major/minor systems, and sharp yet solid lines in the Winawer and Tarrasch lines. The French is a fascinating,if demanding, opening--a dynamic sharp defense rather than either a passive response or a mere counterattack. If you've always thought it might be for you, John Watson's book will get you started.

Watson delivers a helpful, if not completely comprehensive, treatise on this stout defense. Don't buy the book expecting to learn all the possible lines. Watson's aim is to provide the reader with a solid system that contains playable counters to all of white's best replies.

This is a great book for anyone who struggles to win with black. At the very least, it will get you into the middlegame with a fairly even position. What you can accomplish from there is up to you.

In the past, I never purchased this book because it lacked coverage of the Classical Variation (which I play), and beat readers over the head with the Winawer. I would have given previous editions 3 stars because of that fact alone.

However, Watson completes his ever-popular work with the Classical, and of course updates the other parts as well. He includes a lot of sidelines that are normally left out of monographs, and this is appreciated.

The most complete coverage of the French Defense you will find anywhere. NOW it truly is the Francophile's bible.