I have the DVD, I looked at the final odds and ends section, and the Advanced variation parts and the first section from both the Classical and Steinitz variations. Let me say it's a very good DVD, no question about that. However, I think any work is open to some criticism.
I can live with his lack of analysis of the KIA. That was but a minor gripe. You have to admit, however, that he probably should have added something coherent to study. Too many masters produce products with untested suggestions. If you're going to suggest something that has not been played much, then you should present some original work on it.
**Also, I asked to be corrected! In which part of the DVD does he deal with 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Bd3 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ngf3 cxd4 8.cxd4 f6 9.exf6 Nxf6 10.0-0 Bd6 11.Nb3 0-0 ??
Because I'd like to take a look. So far I only see sections involving 7.Ne2. Maybe I need to look at it again. I certainly don't remember him mentioning " At one time 9 Ng5 was thought to be very dangerous for Black but this now seems unsound."
I guess, I'm going to have to buy the Pedersen book.
I certainly do not think Ziegler should do all the work for me. He should, however, point me in the right direction. That's my point. He could have also said "I included a game in the database that demonstrates how to handle this." Time and data-wise, that would have been cheap to do. I'd have to study it, but he would have pointed me in the right direction.
Quote: Sacrifices (e.g. of the exchange) are absolutely key to making many lines viable for Black.
I'm willing to except this in certain lines of the Winawer. That's why I got rid of my copy of "Play the French." Your argument might hold true for GM chess, such as
Quote: It is natural that he concentrates on what are the most theoretically critical lines in master practice, not the bottom division of your local league.
But he is not writing for those people. He is writing for me, the lowly club player. You know, the person who buys 90% of the crap out there? Like I said before, the line is interesting and complex, but perhaps not my cup of tea. I'm also unsure of the stats you raise as there may be some lurking variables.
I do not regard the French as strategically risky, or at least to the extent that Black has to sac to make things happen. More likely, Ziegler chose the line to cut down on the workload in the DVD, which is understandable.
The problem is this: In the KIA, and the Milner-Barry, he gave some alternative lines in case his main choices are somehow rejected by the viewer. He probably should have done that in this instance.
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C00-C19: Ziegler's new Chessbase French DVD (Read 19333 times)
