Neil McDonald
I haven't read all of McDonald's 42 books, but I've seen reviews of most that I haven't read.
Neil McDonald is an excellent writer, but his opening books are hit and miss. Just about every one of his books are good, but not the best in the specific opening. His analysis is often a bit superficial.
Generally, his books are good for a player rated ~1400-1800 USCF. They generally offer good overviews of the opening, but not enough information to play competitively. You may find his books useful in correspondence, but be aware that there are omissions and holes that strong CC players will punish.
If you are interested in a specific book by McDonald, there are plenty of reviews available.
Thanks so much Smyslov,
my post, i confess, was a rapture at reading (catching??) some beautiful game by Kasparov. And yes, maybe i like Mc Donalds's books so much because he is not toooo deep or toooo superficicial..ideal just for my humble rating.
one more; any advice?...at my level too much opening theory would be always too much, but i apreciate any book/working recomendation....
Know this thread is supposed to be for McDonald maniacs and all but I've a question too (Heisman, on his most recent show, recommended him highly for players around my strength). What is your favorite McDonald book?
Giants of strategy, or his other books in Bastford; nontheless the tittles of the books , all of them are just well annotatted games collections; i love the way he does that; very fine his move by move on the Lopez, too.
on the other hand i dont't like so much his books just on opennings; maybe just because that is not my cup of tea, yet...
I think McDonald is a fine author, but the publishers of his
Play the Dutch: An Opening Repertoire for Black based on the Leningrad Variation
did a miserable job in the Kindle version. They removed the index of variations! If you know how to contact him, please tell him what they did to his book! Thanks.
The index of variations is in place in the hardcopy version, but I agree that it is a problem.
More seriously, it looks as if an entire chapter has been left out! The 7 . . . Qe8 variation is one of the three main variations of the Leningrad, and currently more popular than the other two. Although McDonald acknowledges this, there is no other reference to this variation in the entire book! The only explanation I can imagine is that the chapter was somehow omitted.
Don't you love every Neil McDonald's book??