This
is one of those books where the author really
loves the opening he is writing about. Each and
every line is given in detail and Mr.West isn't
afraid to challenge known evaluations by giving
his own analysis. In fact, his own games and analysis
are peppered throughout this book.
Because the author has made use
of many other sources, his work is useful for
a player who wants to prepare for either side
of this rather dubious opening. Unfortunately,
I can't recommend the book for anyone under 2300
strength for the following reasons:
- There is very little explanatory
prose. This means that tactical ideas, plans,
and assessments have been largely ignored (aside
from the usual informant style codes). A strong
player will have no problem understanding the
tactical ideas inherent in this system, but
non-masters will not be able to learn much;
it's either memorize endless reams of moves
or fall by wayside in confusion.
- There are some typos that would
cause many amateurs endless trouble. Here is
one example: On page 17, 1) 17.Bf8 is given
without supporting analysis. It is far from
clear that the continuation of this move is
offered in Variation 3) 17.Bf4 (after the unclear
sign). Masters will be able to figure this out,
but others might just look at it cross-eyed
and turn to the next page. Of course, one can't
blame the author for this kind of error. Typos
appear in virtually every book, and it's up
to the proofreaders and typesetters to root
them out.
- In his zeal for the variation,
Mr. West has tried to rehabilitate lines that
older theory has frowned on. Most authors don't
go to this kind of trouble (and Mr. West deserves
a lot of credit for putting out this kind of
effort. The majority of grandmasters and big-name
authors don't bother.), but this very positive
feature is also a major pitfall. Original analysis
is only useful to the weaker player if it is
done by a player of sufficient strength; if
it is given with detailed explanation of tactical
motifs and plans; if it is done by someone who
isn't blinded by his desire to see the variation
live (this leads to faulty evaluations). Sadly,
Mr. West recommends lines that are virtually
losing. For example, one critical line goes
as follows: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.dxe5
fxe4 5.Ng5 d5 6.e6 Nh6 7.Nc3 c6 8.Ngxe4 dxe4
9.Qh5+ g6 10.Qe5 Rg8 11.Bg5 Bg7 12.e7 Qd2+ 13.Kxd2
Bxe5 14.Bxh6 g5. Now Mr. West says: "After
14...g5!, White has several tries for advantage,
but Black seems to get a satisfactory position
in each case."
Really? Black's development isn't
anything special, White has the two Bishops, and
White's extra pawn on e7 can easily turn out to
be very threatening. As Jack Peters said, "Even
if Black regains his pawn, he will still be worse."
Nevertheless, a first glance assessment by Silman
and Peters isn't sufficient reason to throw the
line out with the dishwater. We have to prove
ourselves with analysis. White has several possibilities
here, but I like the one recommended by Watson:
15.h4 gxh4 16.Rxh4 Rg6.
This position simply has to favor
White. In the book, 17.Bf8 is the main line, though
17.Bf4 Bxc3+ 18.Kxc3 Rg7 19.Bd6 also looks pretty
miserable for the second player (Mr.West claims
an unclear position after 19...Bf5. The only thing
that's unclear is how Black intends to survive.).
Anyway, back to Watson's analysis:
17.Bf8 Rd6+ 18.Ke3 Bxc3 19.bxc3 Bf5 20.Be2 Nd7
21.Bh5+ Bg6 22.Bxg6+ Rxg6 (Watson told me that
he also analyzed 22...hxg6 is detail, but Mr.West
doesn't share this material with us) 23.g3. Watson
felt this position was highly favorable for White,
but Mr.West claims counterplay for Black after
23...Rf6 24.Rxh7 Rf3+ 25.Kxe4 Rxf2 26.Rh8 Kf7.
While a non-master might trust this assessment
and happily go into a losing line, a stronger
player would recognize that 27.Ke3 leads to a
White wet dream: 27...Rf5 (White wins instantly
after 27...Rxc2 28.Rf1+ Kg6 29.Bg7!) 28.Rd1! when
all of Black's replies are losing:
A) 28...Nf6 29.Rd8 ends
things quickly.
B) 28...Rd5 lets White try for
a quick knockout with 29.Rf1+ or a simple, two
pawn up endgame with 29.Rxd5. Nobody would want
to play this position for Black.
C) 28...Nxf8 29.exf8=Q+ (actually,
29.Rd8! Re5+ 30.Kf2 is crushing, but let's pretend
that this tactic doesn't exist) 29...Rxf8 30.Rd7+
Ke6 31.Rxf8 Rxf8 32.Rxb7 and White is two pawns
up in the endgame.
D) 28...Re5+ 29.Kf4 is the end
of the road for Black.
All in all, I can recommend this book to master
players because the original analysis gives them
food for thought and forces them to explore the
line in more detail. However, non-masters, who
tend to trust book analysis, would do best to
avoid this variation (and Mr.West's book) completely.
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