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What makes a good author though? It was much later that I started to form questions like this. In chess the great authors are players who have been able to articulate what or how they think, or should think, at the board. Readers gain an insight into the intricacies of play as well as establishing a confidence in their own understanding. To me John Watson is such a writer. His 4-volume set on the English Opening established a standard for opening books in English that lasted for over a generation, and his work on Chigorin's Defense was a masterpiece ahead of its time. Here we have books that educated the reader with more than merely move sequences, illuminating the depth of thought which is required to become a titled player. These were and are simply marvelous books. The third volume of Mastering the Chess Openings is my first encounter with Mr. Watson's current series. In my opinion it certainly meets the level he had set before. In the first paragraph of the introduction Watson determines the goal: "1.c4 is not only the logical partner to 1.e4 and 1.d4, but in itself a wonderful grounds for the study of positional ideas that encompass the entire range of chess practice." Watson's approach is to introduce a variation by touching on basics and then expand a level by explaining more complex or detailed ideas. An example of this appears on page 175. Discussing the Symmetrical variation (1.c4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7) the move 5.d3 is encountered and explained with "White is waiting to see what Black plays and will usually respond by transposing into another system via e3, e4 or Nf3." A simple enough move that would not cause a reader any great loss of time, normally. Then Watson continues; "A unique plan is 5...e6 6.Bxc6 as in Larsen - Markeluk Buenos Aires 1991." Further, he explains that White's idea is to restrict the mobility of Black's center pawns to limit the function of the Bc8 and further to gain operations on the dark squares with two knights versus two bishops. Here is an explanation of a strategy initiated at move six by one of the most innovative players ever. This is special because explanations like this usually come in game anthologies where a player is playing the breadth of their repertoire. Here we have that level of insight for a complete opening! This is simply a wonderful find. Mastering the Chess Openings vol. 3 is neither a repertoire book nor a compendium. It embraces a fuller view of the opening, like a compendium, but focuses on the motifs and ideas behind the variations much like a repertoire book. There are some lines that get little coverage - one of my negatives is that 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.cxd5 Nxd5 4. g3 g6 doesn't get the coverage I expected, but I harken back to the point that this isn't a compendium. A small complaint, but who is perfect?
This book sets out its
goals and meets them. In fact if the reader takes the time to work
through the book I feel there is an immense amount of value in this book
beyond simply learning to play the English. This book, and likely this
entire series, deserves to go alongside Watson's other classics. Chess
is an easy game for a few of us, but books like this help a lot.
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