DANGEROUS WEAPONS: THE FRENCH
Author: John Watson
Everyman Chess (www.everymanchess.com
314 pages
$25.95

Reviewed by John Donaldson

Following on the success of The DANGEROUS WEAPONS books on the Sicilian and Nimzo-Indian, Everyman Chess has a new one out on the French by John Watson. The Nebraska IM, who is known for his advocacy of the French for over thirty-years, has produced a 314-page whopper of a book for a very reasonable price.
 
The guiding idea behind the DANGEROUS WEAPONS series is the idea that the reader can add a new variation for White or Black in just a few hours. Sometimes the lines are brand new, other times forgotten and in some cases a little dodgy and not intended for repeated use -- a clever chart at the end of each line chapter points to the variations level of risk and positional/strategic nature among other factors.
 
Watson offers the following lines.

FOR WHITE:
 
McCutcheon: 6.Be3
Classical: 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.Bxe7 Qxe7 7.Qh5
Winawer: 4.e5 c5 5.Qg4 and 4.exd5 exd5 5.Qf3
Tarrach: 3...Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Bd3 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ndf3 and 5.f4 c5 6.Ngf3 Nc6 7.Nb3
 
FOR BLACK:
 
3.Nc3 Nc6
Winawer: 4.e5 c5 5.a3 cxd4 and 4.e5 Bf8
3.Nc3 h6
Advance: 4.c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Nh6
Classical: 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Ng8
3.Nd2 a6
3.Nd2 Nc6
 
Looking at the table of contents, I must confess that I was more than a bit puzzled to see the anti-Winawer line 4.exd5 exd5 5.Qf3 listed. Everyone has known for a long time that this variation was in the doghouse because of the discombobulating 5...Qe7+, right? Wrong! It turns out that after 6.Nge2 Nc6 White has the strong and far from obvious move 7.Qd3, which has been little played but is well analyzed by Watson. A similar attempt at rehabilitation is made with the Winawer sideline 3...Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 cxd4.
 
I don't expect to see either of these lines enjoying widespread popularity but Watson's final chapter on the Guimard (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nc6), the ugly step sister of 3...Nf6 and 3 c5 in the Tarrasch French, might well spark a revival.
 
If you play the French or are looking to combat it, DANGEROUS WEAPONS: THE FRENCH offers plenty of food for thought and complete repertoires for either color against main lines.

Recommended.

Click to buy (or get more information about) DANGEROUS WEAPONS: THE FRENCH

If you're a fan of the French Defense, then another must buy is Watson's classic PLAY THE FRENCH