Catastrophe in the Opening Paperback – July 1, 2005

I've been really enjoying this book! It's above my level so I have to think hard to follow along, but sometimes a challenge is a good way to learn. Lakdawala is a delight to read and the games are very instructive.The real frustration I have is that as I bought it from here I only got the book in Amazon's proprietary ebook format. I later decided to buy some other books from everymanchess directly and was delighted to find that they provide the books along with PGN and CBV files including both the games and Lakdawala's annotations. Following along with the games SO MUCH EASIER when I can simply open up the provided PGN file rather than copying the moves in manually or follow on my own board. I'm looking into if I can use my proof of purchase to still get the PGN but odds are Amazon wouldn't be forthcoming because PGNs can't be DRM locked.

My previous "study" of the French Defense left me feeling that "this is probably great but I don't think I'm ready for it yet". During this pandemic isolation, a computer-less club mate of mine and I have been playing chess by telephone. He always opens 1 e4. I'm trying to keep him engaged and have tried never to play the same opening twice (on either side of the board). Well, the time came to return to the French. When looking to dive more deeply into this opening system, whom do I see with a book on this very subject?: Mr. Cyrus Lakdawala who instructed and delighted me with "Play the London System" some years ago. In "Opening Repertoire: The French Defense", entertaining metaphors amuse and italicized entries the start "Principle..." reinforce and add to our collection of guideposts in assessing positions and planning.I'm completing my second reading (and playing through, of course) of this book and will probably get others. I think I have grown sufficiently to appreciate this defense. I think I'll be staying here a while.

I recommend this book as a worthy addition to any serious club level student of the French defence. Though it may be true that not everyone may share in the authors occasional attempt at humor, I am okay with that, and that is fine with me, since that is who Cyrus is in real life and a pleasant individual to exchange comments with. Regarding the material presented in this book, it is useful, thoughtful, and relevant to the subject being explained to the reader. This is an excellent introductory book for club level tournament chessplayers on an interesting repertoire played by strong Grandmasters, but not always sufficiently covered in other French Defence literature. Good job Cyrus! (I am +2300 FIDE rated, and etcetera.)

I liked it, being a French Defense player. i would have like to have seen more on the Qc7 variations, but otherwise, an excellent book for french players.

I own the Kindle version of this book.The good news is that the chess content is interesting and worth close study.The bad news is that the presentation of the book is a disaster. Diagrams hide the moves so you do not know what move was made. Font sizes change mysteriously to various sizes throughout the text. Finally, what finally got me to write this review is that diagram after diagram is wrong. One or two I understand but it seems unending.Everyman Chess dropped the ball on this one. The quality i normally expect from them is totally lacking. Too bad because the content on the French is good.Slow down and do it right the first time!P. S. I am almost finished now and the number of incorrect diagrams is totally rediculous! So. I lowered my rating to 1 star which is not really fair to Lakdawala but honestly Everyman Chess did a rotten job on this ebook.

Cyrus lakdawala is the writer ever!!

As usual, Cy covers the major options well. Only wish this was free... :)

Not a repertoire. Just a collection of games that leaves the reader all over the place. Most disappointing is the exchange section where Cyrus just keeps writing break the symmetry for nine games . The games are played to an exhausting finish and take great space where more variations of the beginning move order could have been discussed. To make matters worse, there are comments throughout the book making me feel as if I paid to see a third rate comedian. Not recommended by me.