The Bottom Line
(November 2006) 'The Queen’s Bishop Attack Revealed' by GM James Plaskett; Batsford/Sterling; August 2005; 218 pages. • 'The Queen's Bishop Attack is used by bold, enterprising players who want to cut across their opponent's intention to play a Slav or Queen's Gambit. It has long been a favourite of top-rated UK chess players, including Hodgson, Adams and Miles, and this is the first ever book to cover it.' • Contains 58 games, well annotated using figurine algebraic notation.
Pros
- In his prime, GM Plaskett was one of the top players in Britain, a strong chess nation.
- Plaskett sometimes writes well about chess, at other times not so well; here he tends to write well.
- Uses Batsford 'Revealed' format: First Moves, Heroes and Zeros, Strategy, What's Hot?, etc.
- Many anecdotes about contemporary chess players; not particularly relevant, but interesting.
Cons
- As with other books by Plaskett, there are many superficial comments with 3-5 words total.
- 'Revealed' format is used loosely, the three central chapters correspond to variations, not themes.
- Lacks an index of players.
- Bloopers: 'Future PCA World Champion Khalifman' (p.112); guess who the players are (p.76).
Description
- Introduction: 1.d4 d5 2.Bg5, 'A great way to take your opponent out of familiar territory'
- First Moves (5 pages, 1 game): White smashes Black in 20 moves.
- Heroes and Zeros (18 pages covering 7 games): Hodgson, Miles, Adams; losses by Alekhine (W), Euwe (B).
- Strategy (45 pages covering 14 games): 2...Nf6 3.Bxf6 exf6, 3...gxf6; other 3rd moves for White.
- What's Hot? (75 pages covering 24 games): 2...h6 3.Bh4 c6 4.e3 (or 4.Nf3) 4...Qb6.
- Tricks and Traps (37 pages covering positions from 12 games): 2...c5, 2...f6, 2...Nc6, etc.
- Test Positions and Solutions (22 puzzles): Very challenging!
- Details (Index of variations): through 4th or 5th move.
- Before the Fight (2 pages): Summary of current theory.
Guide Review - The Queen’s Bishop Attack Revealed
GM Plaskett, the 1990 British champion, explains his choice of subject with, 'The Queen’s Bishop Attack [QBA; ECO D00] or Pseudo-Trompowsky is a great way to take your opponent out of his familiar territory.' Although the QBA (1.d4 d5 2.Bg5), the Trompowsky (1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5; 2...d5 is the QBA), and the Veresov (1.d4 d5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bg5) are related, this is the first book solely on the QBA. • The book is written for the White player, who wins 60% of the games. The most recent games are from 2004, and about half the games were played after 1998. British players take center stage, with 17 games by Julian Hodgson as White, five by Miles, three by Adams, and four by Plaskett, including one as Black against Hodgson. • 'Strategy' mentions a ChessCafe interview with Genrikh Chepukaitis, who is represented with two QBA games. See our related links for the full interview. • The heart of the book is the 'What's Hot?' chapter, where Black attacks the Achilles' heel of the QBA, the undefended b-Pawn. The notes here range from detailed (Hodgson - Godena) to nonexistent (Hodgson - Khalifman). The most critical lines are covered but there are no recommendations for the QBA newcomer. • Recommended for good players who would like to play the QBA quickly, who can overlook Plaskett's sometimes annoyingly terse annotations, and who can do independent research and analysis to fill in the gaps.
