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Three Queens A review by Rick Kennedy
The publisher has worked hard to bring the venerable QGA/QGD opening into the light, publishing a series of books over the last decade or so:
Recently released is Dangerous Weapons: The Queen's Gambit (2008) by Glenn Flear, Richard Palliser and Chris Ward. With all of that information already “out there,” and with a good number of the reviews of the above books pointing out that lines, by design or error, were still open to further exploration, it is clear that Everyman had two choices to make the workload of today’s books’ authors manageable (three, I guess, if you include the new Dangerous Weapons line of books): to write a repertoire book, or write a basics (i.e. Starting Out) book.
Ward breaks his task down this way: he devotes about 50 pages to the Queen’s Gambit Accepted, an equal amount to the Queen’s Gambit Declined, and about half that much each to the Semi-Slav and Slav, leaving about 15 pages for other Black second moves. The section on the QGA starts off confidently:
The author shows in illustrative games (his format for presenting information in each chapter is to start with theory and then follow up with annotated games) that the e-pawn often doesn’t stop there, but charges on to e5, and occasionally further, to e6. White has plenty of play in the center, although he does sometimes actually have to gambit a pawn to get it. Against the Queen’s Gambit Declined, Ward offers the QGD Exchange Variation, a solid line with good winning chances, based on his own experience (“I have had numerous wins, not many draws and, as far as my records go back, only one loss…”). He gives solid “+/=” lines against the Tarrasch, Slav and Semi-Slav defenses as well. They “feel” a good bit different than the play in the Queen’s Gambit Accepted lines, as the white e-pawn usually takes a more supportive role at e3, rather than ranging far afield. Ward also tackles the less mainline defenses:
Play the Queen’s Gambit has a lot going for it, starting with the author’s enthusiasm, experience and insight into 1.d4 d5 2.c4. Club players who have hesitated over that d-pawn can now move it with confidence – and possibly get the e-pawn moving as well.
The format of Starting Out: QGA is similar to other Everyman Starting Out books: introductory (that is, the fundamentals of play for Black and White) text is presented with about two diagrams per page; there is good use of font size, white space and bolding; and the book is sprinkled with many bolded icon & educational tid-bits: light bulbs for Tips, clipboards for a Notes, a Skulls and Crossbones for Warnings. This is the book for getting started on the QGA. The Contents read like an outline for course work:
A very helpful feature of each chapter are the “Theoretical?” and “Theoretical Status” comments as a line of play is presented. The first indicates to the reader how much “theory” will need to be memorized; the second, how well Black is likely to fare. For example, on 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 Nf6:
Note Raetsky and Chetverik’s conservative assessment in “Theoretical Status” – they are not rashly saying that this (or any) following line2…dxc4 refutes the Queen’s Gambit, only that it will give the second player a decent game. For those who quiver and quake at the sight of 1.d4, Starting Out: Queen’s Gambit Accepted provides plenty of solace, “with good chances for counterplay.” By the way, what will happen if a club player clutching Ward’s Play the Queen’s Gambit sits down against one hanging onto Raetsky and Chetverik’s Starting Out: Queen’s Gambit Accepted? I think the better player wins, because chess is a whole lot more than just “the opening”; although the player who understands what is going on in the opening better than his opponent should in general have the edge. That means both players would have to read and understand their books, not just flip through them and put them up on the shelf… (You knew I was going to say that, right?)
Uh, notice the asterisk (“*”) in that last sentence? That’s because McDonald whittles down the amount of the Queen’s Gambit Declined that he will address by leaving out the Tarrasch and Semi-Tarrasch Defenses (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 and 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 c5), the Ragosin and Vienna Defenses (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bb4 and 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e4 Bb4), and the Slav (1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6) and Semi-Slav (1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 with an early …e6). He mentions this in the Introduction in “A note on content,” something that might have more fairly appeared on the back cover as well to alert readers (this is not the author’s fault) – he will focus in the book on QGD structures built around …d5/…e6/…Nf6/…Be7. That is quite enough to keep the reader occupied. McDonald then sets about teaching the basics of the Queen’s Gambit Declined, using the occasional “light bulb” Tip and “clipboard” Note that is pretty standard in Everyman Starting Out books. What really sets Starting Out: Queen’s Gambit Declined apart is the author’s approachable writing style, his focus on pawn structure and Black’s “imprisoned Bishop” (at c8), and the use of “Historical Interludes” and classic games (annotated) to illustrate (and lubricate) the concepts he is touching on. After a chapter on “Starting Moves and Strategy” McDonald considers:
That’s a whole lot of QGD to cover (arguably much of the history of grandmaster chess), so it is fitting that the author works on introducing and clarifying information (rather than fussing over the latest Theoretical Novelty at move 17 or 18). Here’s a walk-through on how he handles the chapter on the Exchange Variation: Chapter Six: The Exchange Variation If you’re a club player looking for a solid defense to the Queen’s Gambit – and especially if your defense against 1.e4 happens to be the French Defense, where similar pawn structures can arise – GM McDonald has a real good “starter” book for you. This trio of books from Everyman Chess should be on the shelf of every chess club – but not for too long, of course: the players who give any (or all) of them due attention will show significant gains in their play.
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