GMTonyKosten wrote on 02/19/14 at 10:39:35:


Well, now you know who's a subscriber and who's not . 

proustiskeen wrote on 02/18/14 at 15:32:19:


I don't know what this refers to.

Quote:


This is typical for every opening book i have seen. Playing in corr chess here is the bottom line regarding "improvements" and "novelties" (out of 12 games - different openings and books):

- position worser: 2
- with white only equal game: 3
- better postion: 1
- variation not covered: 2

The only game were i am heading now in much better endgame was the game where i analyzed the whole variation very carefully and found an effective setup. That was bad luck for my opponent because he played to quick and prefered to play soon outside the main line so that i had all time to analyze carefully (with the result that i ignored the GM adivce).

Keano wrote on 02/14/14 at 20:18:08:


I picked and I have played all of the lines Watson gives for Black in that line.  I feel Black is fine in all of them.  I certainly do not like playing these lines as White because White's task is awfully hard in these lines compared to the main line winawer.

ErictheRed wrote on 02/13/14 at 15:55:14:



I do own Play the French 4, which is his latest work, a super book, and I have read, analyzed, reanalyzed the book over and over and I am still doing it.  I have not completed everything in it.

In the exchange and in the Winawer exchange, Watson holds nothing back and there is a lot of stuff and a lot of options.

I have used his recommendations in correspondence play and I agree with him, and I would put my hands to the fire for his content on those two areas of the French.

Nothing specific, just remember I found his analysis in general very optimistic for Black and underestimating Whites chances.

The 2 Berg volumes are excellent btw, very objective.

Just checking what he thinks about this Winawer exchange line and interestingly he also likes this ...0-0-0 plan for Black, but if Rb1 and ...b6 are flicked in earlier he thinks kingside castling may be safer.

Keano wrote on 02/13/14 at 08:57:20:

While that's certainly true, especially in his discussions of the Winawer main lines, I didn't see that flaw in his analysis of the Exchange. I didn't look too closely at his analysis of the Exchange in the Winawer lines though.

Did you have something specific in mind where Watson was overly optimistic in one of those two variations?

I read and study and analyze and review and reanalyze "Play the French 4" by IM John Watson.  He is THE BEST author on the French defense, and he is, arguably, the best opening book writer, a living legend among chess writers.

He covers the 4th and 5th move deviations by White against the Winawer, including the 4.exd5 and he does a great job at it.
He also covers the exchange variation.

His work is a masterpiece.