Rating: 
Summary: Ideas and, yes, variations!
Review: It is very, very refreshing to see an openings book so specialized and thorough as this one. Watson shows what's going on in addition to providing variations for whatever you are likely to find playing the French:1. Advance Variation
2. Exchange Variation
3. Tarrasch
4. Winnawer
5. King's Indian Attack In that sense the book provides you with a repertoire in the French full of VARIATIONS and IDEAS. Biased? Of course! Objective? You bet! Watson goes as far as telling me, the reader, what was inaccurate in the previous edition of his book! He also encourages me to review other treatises in French in those analyses that he deems incomplete! He warns the reader when he is presenting untested ideas! Can you ask for more? Despite not having the title "Win with the French" or "Beat anybody with the French" I can say that the text is very, very geared towards showing paths where black can get, if not an advantage, at least a pleasant position from which it will be easy to play. I am happy with this book and will never cease to come back to it for advice and study. Very independent treatise, very personal, very honest and very objective. Ah! This is nothing like a database dump... Is more than that and I can see that Watson did play through each and every line when writing the book.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Book on the French Available
Review: It's a pity that John Watson is not as prolific as some of the other chess writers. He is one of the best out there today. The prior edition of this book (1984) was the francophile's bible for many years and made life miserable for many of us 1. e4 players. I, for one, had to buy that damned book just to see what I'd be facing over-the-board. Only the passage of time and the advancement of theory has put that book to rest. Not to worry, though, Frenchies -- Watson has come up with a whole new arsenal with which to annoy the 1. e4 crowd. I especially like the fact that this effort is more balanced than the last one. There are ideas for White here, too. Had I come across this book earlier, I would certainly have won a key postal game where Black (who obviously didn't have the book either) played down an inferior line and should've fallen under a vicious sacrificial attack. Unfortunately, I followed the line suggested in the now ancient BCO2 and MCO13 and ended up with nothing to show for my first-move advantage. If you play the French or play against it, buy this book. No, buy lots of IM Watson's books so that he will be encouraged to write more and we will not have to suffer the efforts of others who do not write nearly as well.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is a good way to pick up the French
Review: One problem that many of us face when playing the French against under 1800s is that our opponents don't play into main line Winawer or Tarrasch systems, but instead head into odd exchange, Labourdonnais, advance, and Qe2 systems. Watson offers solid lines against all the major/minor systems, and sharp yet solid lines in the Winawer and Tarrasch lines. The French is a fascinating,if demanding, opening--a dynamic sharp defense rather than either a passive response or a mere counterattack. If you've always thought it might be for you, John Watson's book will get you started.
Rating:
Summary: The French Player's Bible
Review: That's what they are calling this carefully researched book. About the only complaint anyone might have about Watson is that his work is so thorough and excellent, he doesn't seem to have time to write a lot of books. A pity, since there aren't more than a dozen writers who can claim to equal the quality of his work.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent revision of earlier strong efforts
Review: This is a truly outstanding book. I have played the French defence as long as I have played chess, so I was excited when I heard John Watson was writing a new edition of "Play the French."
If you love the French Defence as I do, or if you want an opening book that will give you a complete answer to e4, you cannot find a book as good as this. I am a bit of a chess book junkie, and I buy and read all kinds of opening books. The best books are those that are well researched, objective, and most importantly have plenty of original explanations and analysis. This book gets an 'A' on all counts.
"Play the French" is a repetoire book, designed to give the playerof the black pieces a complete response to e4. Watson is extremely generous though in providing at least two different repetoires for every line! As an example, after 3.Nc3 there is a repetoire for playing the Classical (3 ..Nf6) and the Winnawer (3 ..Bb4) and each system in the Classical and Winnawer is given two lines to choose from. There are four different systems given against the King's Indian Attack, each well researched and with original analysis and ideas! Often Watson uses different lines than he did in previous versions (but he does point out any significant change in the assessment in the previously used line, along with supporting variations). I'm USCF 2281, but I think this book will appeal to just about all players. Lower (and higher) rated players will appreciate all the written explanations, and higher rated players will appreciate the in depth analysis. If this book is like Watson's previus volumes of "Play the French" then some of the obscure lines he recommends will end up as main lines. Watson freqently starts the discussion of a variation by describing trends and any significant novelties that have changed assessments. Occasionally, he quotes performance rating statistics from Chessbase on a position to demonstrate tournament results. The book is loaded with practical help describing how to play certain types of resulting endgames, how to decide where a bishop should be in a certain line, why a certain move order is critical, and typical methods. The book is a gold mine of opening preparation and French middlegame knowledge. There are many French Defence books on the market right now and I buy them as soon as they are off the press. Not taking away anything from the others (I like Pederson's books) This is the best.
Rating:
Summary: A real gem
Review: This is a truly outstanding book. I have played the French defence as long as I have played chess, so I was excited when I heard John Watson was writing a new edition of "Play the French."
If you love the French Defence as I do, or if you want an opening book that will give you a complete answer to e4, you cannot find a book as good as this. I am a bit of a chess book junkie, and I buy and read all kinds of opening books. The best books are those that are well researched, objective, and most importantly have plenty of original explanations and analysis. This book gets an 'A' on all counts.
"Play the French" is a repetoire book, designed to give the playerof the black pieces a complete response to e4. Watson is extremely generous though in providing at least two different repetoires for every line! As an example, after 3.Nc3 there is a repetoire for playing the Classical (3 ..Nf6) and the Winnawer (3 ..Bb4) and each system in the Classical and Winnawer is given two lines to choose from. There are four different systems given against the King's Indian Attack, each well researched and with original analysis and ideas! Often Watson uses different lines than he did in previous versions (but he does point out any significant change in the assessment in the previously used line, along with supporting variations). I'm USCF 2281, but I think this book will appeal to just about all players. Lower (and higher) rated players will appreciate all the written explanations, and higher rated players will appreciate the in depth analysis. If this book is like Watson's previus volumes of "Play the French" then some of the obscure lines he recommends will end up as main lines. Watson freqently starts the discussion of a variation by describing trends and any significant novelties that have changed assessments. Occasionally, he quotes performance rating statistics from Chessbase on a position to demonstrate tournament results. The book is loaded with practical help describing how to play certain types of resulting endgames, how to decide where a bishop should be in a certain line, why a certain move order is critical, and typical methods. The book is a gold mine of opening preparation and French middlegame knowledge. There are many French Defence books on the market right now and I buy them as soon as they are off the press. Not taking away anything from the others (I like Pederson's books) This is the best.
Rating:
Summary: Detailed, up-to-date, penetrating analysis. Fantastic.
Review: This, the third edition of Watson's "Play the French", provides an up-to-date repertoire for black with the French Defence. Watson is incredibly thorough and yet presents the material in a clear systematic, and therefore digestible, form. In most lines Watson offers black two systems, but in some there are more, for example he offers black 4 (!) different systems against the King's Indian Attack. The book even features a guest author (Hans Olav Lahlum) who updates one of the chapters from the previous edition (which Watson was originally going to leave out of the third edition).
Against the advance variation (1. e4 e6, 2. d4 d5, 3. e5 the main line of which continues 3. ... c5, 4. c3 Nc6, 5. Nf3) Watson offers 5. ... Qb6 (to be followed by 6. ... Nh6) and 5. ... Bd7.
Against the King's Indian Attack (1. e4 e6, 2. d3 d5, 3. Nd2) after 3. ... Nf6, 4. Ngf3 Watson offers 4. ... Nc6, 4. ... Bc5, and 4. ... b6, and then as a fourth option 3. ... c5.
Watson offers a number of interesting lines against the various incarnations of the Exchange Variation many of which involve early bishop sorties to b4 and g4.
Against the Tarrasch Variation Watson suggests either 3. ... c5, or 3. ... Be7!? (which is better than its reputation).
In the Main Line Winawer (1. e4 e6, 2. d4 d5, 3. Nc3 Bb4, 4. e5 c5, 5. a3 BxN+, 6. bc Ne7, 7. Qg4) Watson recommends 7. ... 0-0, which is now considered black's best, though Watson adds that he feels that his recommendation from the second edition (7. ... Qc7) is still viable. The 6. ... Qc7 system is also covered, but by the guest author. Lahlum is simply not as fantastic an author as Watson, but his chapter is still a solid effort.
Finally, Watson covers the Classical Variation for the first time (1. e4 e6, 2. d4 d5, 3. Nc3 Nf6,) and offers fairly standard looking lines against 4. e5, but the fashionable and unbalancing Burn Variation against 4. Bg5: 4. ... de 5. Nxe4 Be7.
These recommendations are all good systems and Watson's coverage is as thorough as any I've seen. The book includes a great deal of new analysis and many new ideas, some of which are actually improvements over the existing theory. It's hard to find much wrong with this book. I can think of only two things. The first is that in the Advance variation after 1. e4 e6, 2. d4 d5, 3. e5 c5, 4. c3 Nc6, 5. Nf3 Bd7, 6. Be2, Watson's recommendation of 6. ... Nge7, 7. 0-0 Ng6, is not quite as good as he suggests (he acknowledges that the move was considered anti-positional, but not that there was a good reason for this!). On the other hand, he does provide an alternative in the shape of 6. ... f6, so this shouldn't worry the reader unduly. The second minor criticism is that against the Tarrasch 3. ... Be7!? doesn't quite fill the shoes of 3. ... Nf6!?, (which was covered in the second edition). 3. ... c5 won't appeal to everyone and 3. ... Be7 is the sort of move that people either specialise in or consider to be rather suspect. Sticking with 3. ... Nf6!? would have given the repertoire even wider appeal. On the other hand, I rather like 3. ... Be7!?
Watson provides excellent analysis and insightful explanations which should serve any French Defence Player well. Those fighting against the French may also want to take a look as they are likely to be facing Watson's lines over the board for many years to come.
Rating: 
Summary: The most biased opening book I have ever seen.
Review: Watson delivers a helpful, if not completely comprehensive, treatise on this stout defense. Don't buy the book expecting to learn all the possible lines. Watson's aim is to provide the reader with a solid system that contains playable counters to all of white's best replies. This is a great book for anyone who struggles to win with black. At the very least, it will get you into the middlegame with a fairly even position. What you can accomplish from there is up to you.
Rating:
Summary: Don't be afraid to play black!
Review: Watson delivers a helpful, if not completely comprehensive, treatise on this stout defense. Don't buy the book expecting to learn all the possible lines. Watson's aim is to provide the reader with a solid system that contains playable counters to all of white's best replies. This is a great book for anyone who struggles to win with black. At the very least, it will get you into the middlegame with a fairly even position. What you can accomplish from there is up to you.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic... again
Review: Watson is at it again! Not suprisingly, he has succeeded once more. Not only is this book easy for the veteran French player to adopt into his or her repotoire, but it also contains fantastic analysis for the newcomer. Raving aside, "Play the French" can mold the wandering novice into a killer! Really, I am a 1300 player and I can crush Class A players quite quickly with this defense(in combination with the Dutch Stonewall too...). Simply put, I would encourage anyone to buy this book. The second edition was great, and this edition is also.
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