Virosax wrote on 11/27/17 at 18:42:06:
Hi everyone,
I wanted to ask if anybody had purchased the electronic version of Kornev's Caro Kann book (or had the paper copy) and how they are finding the content?
Thank you.
I've just received my copy. Just couple of first impressions:
- Classical variation - author does his best to be original, but it seems that abundance of existing material (Schandorff, Houska, Lakdawala...) leaves little space for creativity. So he more or less follows their path (curiosly, all the authors mentioned give the same treatment for classical
). So minor tweaks here and there, but generally the same (quite satisfactory, frankly speaking) recommendations.
- Advance - at first sight seems similar to Houska's content. What I like is narrower choice of lines to examine (comparing to Houska), making repertoire easier to grasp (apparently his analysis are supported by some strong engine, so I believe all critical lines are covered). I need to spend more time on that chapters to tell more about concrete recommendations.
- Panov - Quite interesting stuff indeed, regarding not the best reputation of the Panov fianchetto. I'm not an expert in this line, but his recommendations look solid. Perhaps some more advanced member can pinpoint currently topical choices for White, so as I can check whether they are covered. Slight similarities to Houska too (some minor lines overlap).
- Fantasy - I like his combative treatment with ...e6. His coverage is detailed enough to takes the initiative against not-so-well booked opponent. I also appreciate the decision to abandon most widely recommend ...exd4/e5/Bg4 in favor of more dynamic (if messy) line
- Non e4 - It seems he repeats his recommendations from KID/Pirc books against offshots (b3/b4/f4 etc.) Perfectly OK with this, though I'd rather expect some less memory-demanding options (all in all it is 'Practical Repertoire'
)
General impression is that he makes heavy use of corr base + engine combo, that allows to believe there is no major holes in his recommendations. Also author is quite modest, using '!?' rather than 'TN' symbols