I think your approach is probably quite sensible.  In a way I would prefer it if Marin were to spend a little less time showing lines that are good for white, and a little more time identifying key resources for black that white is going to need to be ready to deal with.  If at the end of a short piece of analysis I have an obvious list of issues which I am going to need to research and address myself (in order to try to make the author's bespoke analysis work) then I think the work is incomplete.

I'm not saying an author needs to cover every line, but in this series of books Marin frequently suggests that the reader should rely on his original analysis as the route to an edge in particular systems (which have previously been known to be difficult for white), and then fails to address obvious alternatives for black.

I actually don't even mind if black equalises in such analysis; what I care about is knowing that the author has considered such issues and has a plan (even only an outline of a plan) for dealing with them.  Not an unreasonable expectation given the cover price of €35.99.

I would be very cautious of any book that claims to find an edge against all lines starting from move 2.  There is a lot of great analysis in Marin's books, but the more I read them the more I get the impression that Marin is almost willing white to be better.

I have just been flicking through volume 2 (particularly relevant to me as I have played both sides of a lot of these lines) and I have already found several lines where I would question the assessment of a white edge (generally because some sensible move for black has been ignored).

FYI, I really doubt that white has any kind of an edge in the line 1.c4 Nf6 2.g3 c6 3.Bg2 d5 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.0-0 Nbd7 6.Na3 Nb6 7.Qc2 Qd5 8.Ne1!?

What does Marin recommend against 1 c4 e6 2 g3 d5 3 Nf3 or 3 Bg2 (I don't know which move Marin recommends here) 3...dxc4?

I wonder if 1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.Qc2 Qd5!? is covered? (There is a separate thread on this line here somewhere).
If not - how does he avoid this anoying moveorder?

I sincerely doubt if 6.d2xe4 has been played in GM games.

Quote:


Volume 2 is great for Reti players. I love it very much!

I glanced through the two new volumes yesterday. I liked what I saw. I've played the g3 lines for 10 years now. Before reading the three books from cover to cover, I'll have a look at what I've met and see where I should focus my studies.

any more user reviews?