Playing 1.e4 - French Defence & Sicilian Sidelines

Playing 1.e4 - French Defence and Sicilian Sidelines

This is the second volume of John Shaw’s acclaimed three-part White repertoire after 1.e4 (Volume 1 covered the Caro-Kann, 1...e5 and minor lines). Here the focus narrows to two big jobs: the French Defence in full, and the first instalment of the Sicilian.

Against the French, Shaw advocates his own favourite weapon, the Tarrasch Variation (3.Nd2). He covers the entire French landscape through that lens — the various 3rd-move tries, the ...Nf6 main lines, the ...c5 systems with both recaptures on d5, and the solid Rubinstein and Fort Knox set-ups after 3...dxe4 — giving a clear recommendation and the plans behind it in each case.

The final section opens the "mammoth task" of the Sicilian by mopping up the tricky sidelines: Black’s rare second moves and the various 2...e6, 2...Nc6 and 2...d6 move orders that try to avoid the main roads. These get tidy, ready-to-use answers so nothing catches you off guard.

A serious, fighting repertoire for club players and above. With Volume 1 and the concluding Volume 3 (the main-line Sicilians), it forms one of the most respected complete 1.e4 repertoires available.