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Last update: Friday June 3, 2005 9:44
by Lasha Janjgava
Gambit; 192 pages;
£14.99
For those who like to learn their
openings from books containing lots of useful explanatory text, such as Sadler's
Queen's Gambit Declined, steer well clear of learning the QGD from this Georgian
GM's effort. Janjgava provides very thorough coverage, in the style of a Burgess
and Nunn Classical King's Indian effort, but does completely neglect typical
structures and strategical ideas for both sides. With some openings this might
not be too large an error, but the QGD is an opening which relies as much on
understanding as on memorising theory. That said, those who do study all the
variations in each chapter will find this knowledge out for themselves and thus
gain crucial QGD positional understanding, whilst also learning lots of QGD
theory.
Janjgava's coverage is fairly up to date, but his own analysis is variable, with the analysis of improvements varying from being very detailed to just a single move. Janjgava does aim to provide two lines against most of White's set-ups, which is good as it allows readers to play the line that suits them best. There is a choice between the Lasker and Tartakower defences in response to the Classical QGD, whilst against the Catalan both 4...dxc4, intending 5...a6, and 4...Be7, intending 5...dxc4, are given. Janjgava does, however, emphasise that the Exchange variation is much more comfortable for Black after 3...Be7 (the Alatortsev variation) than after 3...Nf6, but gives much more coverage to the Exchange variation after 3...Nf6, which all confirms that 3...Be7 is a better move-order for Black. Jangjava's coverage of White's less popular options is usually fine, but his treatment of the dangerous 5.Bf4 reveals that he has not read Colin Crouch's excellent The Queen's Gambit Declined 5 Bf4!. There is sadly a serious omission of any bibliography, but Janjgava does not appear to leave important flaws in his lines in other chapters as he does in the chapter on 5.Bf4.
Overall Janjgava does a good job at providing very thorough theoretical coverage of these solid systems for Black, but some explanatory text would be much welcomed by those readers below 2000 (BCF 175).
Review by Richard Palliser