Description
Book SynopsisThe variation of the French that starts 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 (or 3 Nd2) 3 ... dxe4 is often called the Rubinstein Variation. It is a great way to simplify the position and ensure that the middlegame battle rewards strategic understanding rather than rote memorisation of opening moves. It is also a very useful weapon to defuse the attacking intentions of aggressive White players who plan an all-out assault in the main lines of the French Defence. An important feature of the lines after 3...dxe4 4 Nxe4 is that Black has various different ways to continue. 4 ... Nd7 is the most common but 4 ... Bd7 (planning ... Bc6 – the Fort Knox Variation), 4 ... Be7 and 4 ... Nf6 are all possible. All these lines are covered in the book. Finally, White can, of course, avoid the 3 ... dxe4 variation with (amongst others) the Advance Variation, 3 e5. Martin provides antidotes to all these possible sidelines and so the variations in the book provide a complete repertoire to meet 1 e4.
Table of ContentsContents About the Author 3 Introduction 6 Part One: 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Ìc3/Ìd2 dxe4 1 Overview of the Variations 7 2 Rubinstein: Introduction 55 3 Rubinstein: Main Line with 7 Íd3 62 4 Rubinstein: Main Line with 7 Íg5 89 5 Rubinstein: Main Line with 7 c3 112 6 Rubinstein: Main Line with 7 Ìe5 131 7 Rubinstein: Main Line with 7 Íe3 and 7 Íc4 137 8 Rubinstein: 6 Íd3 148 9 Rubinstein: 6 Ìg3 and Rare Knight Moves 157 10 Rubinstein: 6 Íg5 162 11 Rubinstein: White Fianchettos 171 12 Rubinstein: Other Ideas for White 177 13 Fort Knox: Introduction and Main Line 182 14 Fort Knox: Main Line without 7 0 0 212 15 Fort Knox: Loose Ends 235 16 The Modest 4...Íe7 242 17 The Sharp 4...Ìf6 258 18 Other Fourth Moves for Black 282 Part Two: Lines without 3 Ìc3 and 3 Ìd2 19 Advance Variation 288 20 Exchange Variation 312 21 King’s Indian Attack 326 22 Rare Lines 340 Index of Variations 352 Index of Complete Games 364
