Chicot, The Jester. Review

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Chicot, The Jester. ReviewIn some ways this is my favorite Dumas and thus I think that it ranks with the Count of Monte Cristo and the Three Musketeers. The action takes place during Henry III's reign and follows two intertwined plot lines: 1)the adventures of Chicot, the king's "jester," and 2) the love intriques of Bussy d'Amboise and the tragic Dame de Monsoreau. The political rivalries of the various aristocratic court factions is entertaining and interesting and, it is my impression, fairly (but not completely) accurate history. Though Chicot is an invention and the historical Bussy (a footnote character of the period) highly highly romanticised. Who cares if a small liberty or two are taken? Chicot is marvelously drawn, a wonderful character who both loves and despises his weak and highly flawed benefactor, Henry III. Chicot is clever, cunning, brave and decent but interested too in his own interests. He is also a proud but poor Gascon gentleman. He manipulates the king for his own amusment but also for good purpose. Were the book only about him it would be a great read. But even better, Dumas gives us Bussy d'Amboise, Louis de Clermont, Comte de Bussy, the brave, proud, handsome, man of honor who personafies the French aristrocratic (especially the post-Revolution, 19th Cent. Romantic notion of,) ethos. The romance between Bussy and La Dame (Diana) is romantic indeed: he is injured in a cowardly ambush (in which he defends himself magnificantly, of course) Diana nurses him but secretly and her identity remains a mystery for sometime. Poor Diana has a tragic situation and eventually, Bussy manages to find her etc... The ending is unforegettable and provides the basis for the sequal: The Forty-Five Guardsmen: an uneven story with some good moments, but sadly, inferior to this. Note: "La Dame" is the sequal to Marguerite de Valois (see film: La Reign Margot aka Queen Margot) I first read this when I was about 19 and it is still great, great fun 21 years later. If you like any Dumas, you'll like this alot. Technically, of course, this is not great literature but it is great in its own way.Chicot, The Jester. Overview

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Insight Pocket Guide Loire Valley (Insight Pocket Guides Loire Valley) Review

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Insight Pocket Guide Loire Valley (Insight Pocket Guides Loire Valley) ReviewI happen to be a big fan of the Insight guides, my main criticism being that they aren't updated often enough. This Loire guide is the "pocket" version, so it's not comprehensive, but what's there is choice. There are brief descripions and history of the principal sights and chateaux, with very handy suggested itineraries and driving routes. There is very little restaurant and hotel information, but those two items don't happen to be Insight's strong suit even in the larger version. What I like about these guides, either full-size or pocket, is that the prose is clear and user-friendly, there are nice tidbits of history, and the general approach is respectful but not dry. Good information on cities like Tours and Orleans. I wouldn't buy this as my only Loire guide, but it is a useful addition--if Insight makes a full-size Loire guide, go for that one.Insight Pocket Guide Loire Valley (Insight Pocket Guides Loire Valley) Overview

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The Fabulous Budapest Gambit: Much More Than Just a Sharp Surprise Weapon Review

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The Fabulous Budapest Gambit: Much More Than Just a Sharp Surprise Weapon ReviewI used to answer 1 d4 with 1...d5 or 1...f5. But in a couple of tournaments, I decided to try the Budapest Gambit, which I thought was unsound at the time.
It is not unsound. As a matter of fact, my opponents, when they were not busy avoiding my gambit with 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 (which generally led to a Queen's Indian Defense), made a bizarre array of bad moves, hanging material and even getting mated quickly a couple of times.
As Moskalenko explains, the stem game of the Budapest was Adler-Maroczy, in 1896. After 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e5 3 dxe5 Ng4 4 Nf3 Bc5 5 e3 Nc6 6 Qd5 Qe7 7 Nc3 Nge5 8 Be2 d6 9 Ne4, Maroczy could have played 9...Nb4 with an excellent position. In fact, he played 9...Be6 and still won very quickly. In my first game with the Budapest, I played the same initial six moves as Maroczy. The game continued 7 e6 dxe6 8 Qh5 e5 9 Nc3 Nb4 and I won easily against a higher rated opponent. "How come everything is better than what I played?" she asked after the game.
In Adler's attack, a better line is 6 Nc3 O-O 7 Be2 Re8 8 O-O Nxe5 9 Nxe5 Nxe5 10 b3 a5 11 Bb2 Ra6. Yes, that piece on a6 is "Drimer's Rook," or as I call it, the "Budapest Castle." And Moskalenko shows us that once on a6, it tends to sail across the board to h6, where it threatens the White King. An example is 12 Ne4 Ba7 13 Qd5 Rh6 14 Bxe5 c6, which the author tells us about in detail.
I had always thought that Black would be in trouble if White played the following attack: 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e5 3 dxe5 Ng4 4 Bf4 Nc6 5 Nf3 Bb4+ 6 Nbd2 Qe7 7 e3 Ngxe5 8 Nxe5 Nxe5 9 Be2. But Moskalenko has some suggestions here, including 9...d6 10 O-O a5 11 Nb3 a4 12 a3 Bc3 13 bxc3 axb3, which I think is just fine for Black.
Of course, White can play 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e5 3 d5. Here, the author recommends 3...b5. I like this: we continue in the Hungarian tradition by switching to a sort of Benko Gambit!
In one of my Budapest games, White tried 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e5 3 dxe5 Ng4 4 Qd4 d6 5 exd6. Here, Moskalenko wants 5...Bxd6 (if 6 Qxg7? 6...Be5! wins for Black). But I played 5...Nc6 6 Qe4+ Be6 7 dxc7 (if 7 f3 Nf6 8 Qc2 Bxd6 9 e3, I think 9...Nb4 is good for Black) 7...Qd1+ (I found this move, which I called the "Jill Gambit," over the board in an earlier game, unable to resist the prospect of a family plan fork) 8 Kxd1 Nxf2+ 9 Kc2 Nb4+ (it's interesting to see how often Black plays 9...Nb4 in the Budapest) 10 Kb3 Nxe4 11 Nh3? a5! (this mate threat wins material) 12 Nc3? Nc5+ 13 Ka3 Nc2 mate.
In any case, this book is up-to-date and includes a great deal of explanatory material about strategies for both sides in this interesting gambit. I highly recommend it.
The Fabulous Budapest Gambit: Much More Than Just a Sharp Surprise Weapon Overview

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