I waited and waited, checking Amazon, which reported that the book "Win with the London System" was not yet available. (Gambit. by Sverre Johnsen and Vlatko Kovacevic) Yesterday, on a visit to a local bookstore, I found it. Wow ! I'll leave it to my betters to do a review, but I can assure you that this is a real book, right here beside my typer. And already I'm liking it bunches. How many opening books have you read that give you a good laugh right out of the box ? The book is divided into two parts. The first part consists o 30 illustrative games. Complete. The second, and longest, part looks at opening variations, without complete games. So, as an introduction to the first part, the authors write: "The critical reader may wonder whether the score 30-0 in White's favor objectively reflects the strength of the London System." (Well, I laughed.) They explain this imbalance, saying ". . . there are simply too many ways to play badly in chess." Been there. Done that. I am slow. Very slow. I mean, I gotta set up the board, actually move the pieces and all that. But my initial reaction to this book is very favorable. I don't wanna sound as if I'm writing a blurb on the back of a dust jacket, but allow me one quote from the introduction to the book: "While the professional chess-player maximizes his results by familarizing himself with as many typical positions as possible, this idealistic appraoch isn't realistic for most amateur players. The alternative strategy is to study those positions you are most likely to reach and do your best to increase your chances to get them." Yeah. Sorry for the gush, but I think I'm going to really like this book.
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