French Defence: Steinitz, Classical and Other Variations (Paperback)

This is the fourth and final volume of Lev Psakhis's monumental work on the French Defence. Following on from his survey of the "Winawer Variation" (Volume 3), the author here analyses Black's alternative responses to 3 Nc3. In addition to the Steinitz Variation (3...Nf6 4 e5) and the Classical System (3...Nf6 4 Bg5 Be7), this volume incorporates the Rubinstein, Burn and MacCutcheon Systems, all of which have seen an upsurge of interest in recent years. The book presents a wealth of illustrative games by Viswanathan Anand, Alexei Shirov, Alexander Grischuk, Jan Timman, Viktor Korchnoi and other leading players, critically annotated with the most up-to-date theoretical refinements. An enthusiastic devotee of the French Defence for over 20 years now, Psakhis remains strictly objective in his judgements, so whether you play the French for White or Black, this is the most authoritative and comprehensive guide available today.