Lakdawala - The Classical French move by move

Premier volume - on dira d'introduction - d'un cours complet en six (trois sont sortis, les trois autres doivent suivre dans quelques mois) dû au plus célèbre joueur américain actuel. Le plan du livre est original : il consiste pour l'essentiel en quatre chapitres consacrés chacun à l'un des aspects fondamentaux du jeu : Force, Temps, Espace et Structure (de pions évidemment). De nombreux exercices animent l'ensemble, qui s'achève par huit parties complètes commentées. Un très bon ouvrage pour débutants... anglophones.

Allereerst komen de oefeningen met bekende thema's uit Stap 5 en een enkele uit een lagere stap op een hoger niveau:mat (in drie en in het eindspel) pionneneindspel klein plan aftrekaanval penning toren tegen pion sterk veld verdedig tegen vrijpi

Naast opgaven staan er in het werkboek geheugensteunen. Dit zijn korte samenvattingen voor de leerlingen van de les uit de handleiding.Er zijn 11 geheugensteunen:Materiaal en tijd Het gebruik van pionnen Wedren Aftrekaanval Toren tegen pion Sterk

Although known for a long time, the London started to catch up in popularity just in the last decade or so. I guess the reason for this is probably the desire of many players to focus more on the practical side of chess, with less use of engines and less memorization of long theoretical lines, and more about positional understanding of game. I must say, it received a huge boost not only in the number of games but also in a deeper understanding of the positions arising from the opening. In the past it was used from time to time, but only a few players employed it on a regular basis, such as grandmasters from former Yugoslavia, Milorad Knezevic and Vlado Kovacevic, and the English GM Tony Miles, who used it often.
Today, Kamsky is one of the players who uses it very often, and of course Magnus Carlsen, but we have many other grandmasters and non-grandmasters who now have it in their repertoire on a regular basis. I must say that it’s also important to emphasize the move orders of the line, and due to that we have an immense number of transpositions, which you don’t find so much in other openings.
My experience with the London is good and bad: after I lost a game to grandmaster Volkov in the Rilton Cup, I decided that such positions are not exactly my cup of tea, but in 2019 I picked it up again in one game in a World Senior tournament and produced a very good game. So, as in any opening, good and bad games can happen, but the London itself became a very important part of 1.d4 theory.
Milos Pavlovic, 2024  248 pages Hardcover