KampongBoy wrote on 02/17/14 at 17:19:09:
Not damning the book, simply interested in whether anyone else has seen it. I don't mind putting down money for the book, but would rather not do so until I get some balanced reports on its contents. If a new book comes out on any opening I am assuming that the author is offering something new and up-to-date...just wonder what it will be or is it a rehash of past coverage with little or no new insights.
Well it’s not a book on the Classical Dutch is it? To expect it to cover the opening in great detail is a little misguided, I think.
The three ‘main’ games covered are Feller-Williams, 2009; Gordon-Harvey 2012; Aloma Vidal-Moskalenko, 2009. In the
... Ne4 sub-variation the critical
Nxe4 is covered in a note.
But a cash grab? I think not. A sensible allocation of space (assuming that the goal was to cover all three of the main Dutch branches) given the relative popularity of the Classical/Stonewall and Leningrad, I would say.
There is a line of the Leningrad that gets some attention that can also be played via an early ... e6 move-order, but generally speaking I would suggest if your only interest is the Classical Dutch this book probably isn’t worth a punt for you.
You don’t mention Williams’ e-book released last year, his update here from a couple of years ago and his NIC Yearbook survey, but probably all three are more directly applicable to you.
A curiosity, however: Williams’ win over Gelfand appears in The Diamond Dutch, but not the Killer Dutch ebook.
All that said, The Classical Dutch is my main Black against 1 d4 opening too and I don’t regret buying The Diamond Dutch for s second.