Watson's Repertoire

[notyetagm]

http://www.gambitbooks.com/books/strategic.html

A STRATEGIC CHESS OPENING REPERTOIRE FOR WHITE (John Watson)
208 pages (248 mm by 172 mm).
£16.99/$26.95/€22,95
Forthcoming.
May 2012

"widely regarded as one of the most influential chess writers in the world." - IM John Donaldson, Former USA Team Captain

"arguably the most important writer in American chess history." - Pete Tamburro, Chess Life

Such has been the acclaim for John Watson's ground-breaking works on modern chess strategy and his insightful opening books, that it is only natural that he now presents a strategic opening repertoire.

It is the chess-player's holy grail: a flexible repertoire that gives opponents real problems but doesn't require masses of memorization or continual study of ever-changing grandmaster theory. While this book can't quite promise all of that, Watson offers an intriguing selection of lines that give vast scope for over-the-board creativity and should never lead to a dull draw.

The repertoire is based on 1 d4 and 2 c4, following up with methodical play in the centre. Watson uses his vast opening knowledge to pick cunning move-orders and poisonous sequences that will force opponents to think for themselves, providing a true test of chess understanding. Throughout, he discusses strategies for both sides, so readers will be fully ready to pounce on any inaccuracies, and have all the tools to decide on the most appropriate plans for White.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF REPERTOIRE

White avoids an early Nf3 in most lines, to give maximum flexibility, especially vs the QGD, Nimzo, KID and Grünfeld. Move-order issues are given great prominence, even potentially awkward sequences that as yet have not been tried much in practice. In most cases, more than one option is presented for White, and there are a great many additional suggestions that the reader may wish to investigate. Material is scrupulously researched and up-to-date. Many ideas for Black are discussed, and remedies proposed, even when they have not yet caught on in practice as yet, thus future-proofing the repertoire to some degree. Dangerous gambits and sharp counterattacking lines are dealt with, as far as possible, in ways that avoid excessive complications. The overall aim in each opening is to reach an interesting position (ideally with some advantage, of course) where there is scope to outplay the opponent, while avoiding getting embroiled in a do-or-die tactical battle.

QGD: Exchange with Nf3/h3 (Karpov/Yermolinsky)
QGA: Main line with 7 Bd3
Slav: 3 Nc3 and 4 e3
Semi-Slav: Anti-Meran system with an early b3
Tarrasch: Main Lines with g3
Nimzo-Indian: 4 e3 with 5 Ne2 (in most cases)
King's Indian: 5 h3 with Be3 or Bg5
Grünfeld: Exchange with 7 Qa4 or 7 Bg5
Modern Benoni: Bd3, h3 and Bg5
Benko: 4 Qc2
Dutch: 2 Nc3 (but all move-orders covered, and therefore some lines with c4)
Modern: 2 c4 and 3 e4
English Defence: 3 a3
1...e6 2 c4 Bb4+: 3 Nc3
1...d6 2 c4 e5: 3 d5

International Master John Watson is one of the world's most respected chess authors. In 1999, his Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy won 'Chess Book of the Year' awards in the USA and the UK. He reviews chess books for The Week in Chess and hosts a weekly radio show on the Internet Chess Club. His bestselling four-volume work Mastering the Chess Openings has reaffirmed his reputation as a perceptive and authoritative chess opening writer.

[gleperlier]

Seems great

[jefk]

talking about copyrights, the title isn't very original:



the move 1.d4 isn't very original either, but ok i agree its
fundamentally strong and talking about move orders
and transpositions the book looks interesting indeed.
Probably oriented at players like me, below master level
anyway most other IM's know this stuff already i've noticed,
but not always write about it..
Watson is a prolific writer indeed; an engineer, IM and
highly productive writer about chess. Wondering how he
makes the time for all such stuff, looks like quite
an energetic / smart guy indeed

jef

[Dr.Wael Deeb]

1. e4 1-0

[jdart]

Yeah, I guess he doesn't like 1. e4. But overall it seems reasonable. The only thing that seems strange is recommending the QGD Exchange, which is not that popular recently, instead of something like the Catalan, which is.

--Jon

[notyetagm]

Yeah, I guess he doesn't like 1. e4. But overall it seems reasonable. The only thing that seems strange is recommending the QGD Exchange, which is not that popular recently, instead of something like the Catalan, which is.

--Jon

What could Watson say about the Catalan that has not already been said by Avrukh?

[shiv]

Yeah, I guess he doesn't like 1. e4. But overall it seems reasonable. The only thing that seems strange is recommending the QGD Exchange, which is not that popular recently, instead of something like the Catalan, which is.

--Jon

What could Watson say about the Catalan that has not already been said by Avrukh?

Avrukh's book is very good. However, there are holes in many of his suggestions at this point (I can almost quote one from every chapter). None of them leave white with a worse game but make it hard to get more than equality. This is not the fault of Avrukh but the fault of the evolution of theory and the fact that even Avrukh's suggestions aimed for a slight edge. Having a perfect white repertoire is an impossible task.

Watson could certainly have elucidated on a different Catalan repertoire. However, that does require a lot of work.

To recap: I am not discrediting Avrukh's book, it is a fantastic book and one of the most detailed repertoire books I have seen. However, there is certainly scope for further work. Theory is not set in stone.

[jefk]

[quote="shiv"][quote="notyetagm"][quote="jdart"]
To recap: I am not discrediting Avrukh's book, it is a fantastic book and one of the most detailed repertoire books I have seen. However, there is certainly scope for further work. Theory is not set in stone.[/quote]

yep, what i've found , with Houdini2, is that Black is
equalizing against the Catalan with the move order d4 d5
c4 e6 Nf3 Nf6 g3 because of Bb4+ Bd2 Be7! and so on.
Avrukh wrote a chapter on that in GM repert 1, but admits
its probably the most solid defense for Black. So in such
a case 2.Nc3 might be fundamentally better. In the move
order d4 Nf6 (c4 e6) the Catalan might be more interesting,
for reasons i'm not giving here, but then there is the
Gruenfeld, like Avrukh wrote about in another good
book, namely GM repertoire 9.