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BCM Chess Book Reviews : December 2005Return to the BCM Review Index
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This book looks like a collection of loosely related essays about how
to improve at chess. That’s true in a way, but the rich diversity
of ideas is bound by a common theme: thinking differently. Rowson is clear
that it is very hard (especially for adults) to improve, because we bring
so much obstructive mental baggage to the board. Real improvement means
acquiring not more knowledge (opening theory) but more skill – constructive,
unstereotyped habits of thought. We need to respect our game’s infinite
complexity, unlearning the ‘rules’ we are normally slave to.
Rowson points out that chessplayers’ minds create narratives about
how a game ‘should’ go: my opponent’s positional understanding
is poor, I’ll outplay him in the ending and beat so-and-so in the
next round... Such thinking results in myths, e.g. that I have a positional
style. Rowson quotes Karpov: ‘Style? I have no style!’ A typical
self-imposed myth is that of the thwarted genius, who has great ideas
but is the victim of time-trouble and blunders.
There’s no easy solution, but the joy of Rowson’s
alternative approach consists of appreciating the game while you’re
playing it: just playing, not playing for something. He draws on Taoism
to suggest cultivating an attitude of ‘being, not doing’. If
we escape conventional prejudices, not demanding too much of our position
or leaping to analytical conclusions, we can learn to love even the grittier
aspects of chess like defending, grinding and simply playing Black. To
show this Rowson takes some ordinary looking games of Luke McShane and
reveals what is extraordinary about them. The annotations are deep and
instructive. But he also writes with a light touch, confessing his own
shortcomings in an engaging way.
In Rowson’s view the greatest mental block for
most players even up to IM level is materialism. He reckons it’s
routine for a grandmaster to sacrifice the exchange, whereas lesser players
struggle with the idea of giving up material for any reason other than
a direct attack. Like many of his insights this rings true to me. For
instance I found Vladimir Simagin’s idea of ...Bh8 allowing
Bh6xRf8 (see BCM, October 2005, p526) impossible to
take seriously. I even persuaded myself that 1940s chess was pretty limited
if even Panov couldn’t exploit the advantage of an exchange. Reading
Rowson, it’s sinking in that the limitation might be mine and that
I tend to rule out such ideas automatically.
That’s a dull confession, but hopefully it illustrates
what this book can do: Rowson’s concepts seep in, chipping away at
ingrained assumptions. To help the seeping-in process he recommends working
with a new model of chess in which Material is only one of four dimensions
– but you’ll have to read the book to discover that. A major
practical tip is to study actively, i.e. analyse complex positions at
home with a clock ticking. I suppose the problems with this are finding
suitable positions and then working up competitive intensity: perhaps
Rowson will address this in a future work? Meanwhile, Zebras are not the
only animals who will enjoy this fine book – Tigers, Rabbits and
even Heffalumps shouldn’t miss out on the picnic. Review by James
Vigus.
Readers of this book series will know to disregard the misleading title
(the content has only the flimsiest connection with Anand’s repertoire),
but be equally aware of the high standard of opening theory to be found
in each volume. A single line is generally given for White with various
Black options considered. This volume provides specific lines for White
after 1 e4 against 1...Nf6 (2 e5), 1...Nc6 (2 Nf3),
1...b6 (2 d4), plus 1...e6 2 d4 without d7-d5 (further separate volumes
on the French and the Sicilian are yet to be published). It is perhaps
surprising to find Alekhine’s Defence brigaded with other minor first
move options but even some of its major practitioners have admitted their
doubts about its comparative strength. JS.
This DVD traces the evolution of the Trompowsky from the early days in
the 70s to the present, summarises strategic themes, then offers a dynamic
repertoire for White, totalling over three hours of instruction. The material
is recent and often sharp, e.g. the new gambit: 1 d4 Nf6 2 Bg5
Ne4 3 Bf4 c5 4 f3 Qa5+ 5 c3 Nf6 6 d5 Qb6
7 e4!? (normal is 7 Bc1 or 7 b3) which has at least one super-GM
scalp. After 2...e6 the recommendation is the deceptively quiet 3 e3,
based on games where White later plays Bxf6 and hurls his g and
h-pawns at Black’s castled king—an interesting idea which viewers
of any level could adopt. The ingredients are good and the presentation
fluent and accessible. So it’s disappointing that Martin is so keen
to make the repertoire seem an ‘easy way’ to success that he
omits some resilient possibilities for Black. After 2...d5 3 Bxf6
exf6 4 e3 Bd6 5 Ne2 Be6 6 Nd2 c6 7 g3 0-0
(7...Nd7 may be more purposeful) 8 Bg2 f5 9 0-0 he gives
9...Re8 without comment, though Tiviakov handles this line by playing
...Nd7-f6-e4 quickly to blunt the g2 bishop, pre-empting Martin’s
idea of playing c2-c4 as a sacrifice. Prepared Black players might not
be so cooperative. Again, following 1 d4 Nf6 2 Bg5 Ne4
3 Bf4 there’s no mention of 3...e6!? which Martin himself
recently suggested as a creative option for Black. And after 3...d5 4
e3 e6 5 Bd3 (which basically transposes to the 3...e6 variation)
Martin gives only 5...Bd6, ignoring the more ambitious 5...b6 as
played in the game Gordon-Martin (!), 4NCL 2004. An enjoyable DVD with
practical sting, but not to be relied on for a repertoire. Review by
James Vigus.
Subtitled A dynamic and hypermodern opening system for Black, this book deals with 1...b6 against all standard White first moves. The author is honest in his assessments and does not claim that it is easy to equalise with this hypermodern approach. Nevertheless he plays 1...b6 himself and there are about a dozen of his own games amongst the 82 analysed in the book. This is Bauer’s first book for Everyman and a most auspicious literary debut. JS.
Trying to encapsulate all the complexities of this theory-rich mega-system
for improvers is a near impossibility. But this is a very good stab, by
an author with a reputation for sensible, plain English explanations.
The reviewer can only regret that this book wasn’t around when he
was a youngster, for he might have read it and got the taste for some
counter-attacking cut and thrust. JS.
The King’s Indian Attack is all about ideas. You can play it even
if you have a defective memory when it comes to remembering specific moves.
However there are subtle differences between the approach required against
French and Sicilian set-ups, and Black has a number of alternative approaches
to make life more complicated. So there is still plenty to learn, and
John Emms goes through it in his customary thorough and entertaining fashion.
JS.
This 1860 history has good and bad points. As Hooper and Whyld say in
the Oxford Companion, ‘[the author] demolished the more fanciful
claims regarding the origin of chess, but used false evidence on which
to base his own claim that the game is over 5,000 years old, and it is
hard to believe that he was unaware of the error.” But it is still
well worth reading. JS.
The title tells you almost everything you need to know about this reprint
of a book first published in 1974. Every chess title for the stated period
is listed, under 55 section headers, and followed by an index of authors,
titles and subjects. Each entry has a brief description of the contents
of the book. This book will be invaluable to chess bibliophiles, collectors
and researchers. JS.
A welcome reprint of the monumental ‘bio-bibliography’ of chess
players, first published in 1987 to great acclaim. It contains around
14,000 entries of chessplayers, with full name, date and place of birth
and death, and is invaluable to researchers and enthusiasts. Also, in
an appendix, is a complete index to obituaries of chessplayers published
in BCM between its origin in 1881 through to 1986. JS.
This is an integrated computer-based course on the Slav, with 500 annotated
grandmaster games, 150 training exercises and a further 200 tasks for
solving. Comes with its own reader software and chessplaying modules.
JS.
Convekta are now putting out a lot of their titles in a format suitable
for handheld computers. This one is a course on playing the endgame. System
Requirements: Pocket PC with Windows Mobile 2005, Windows Mobile 2003
or Pocket PC 2002. Installation requires a PC. JS.
Another Pocket PC course providing lots of instruction and exercises
on standard middlegame structures resulting from openings such as the
Sicilian, Ruy Lopez, French, Caro-Kann, King’s Indian, etc. Same
system requirements as for the previous title. JS.
Another multi-media offering from Andrew Martin, covering the Scandinavian
(Centre Counter) Defence. We’ve not had time to review in depth;
suffice to say that it concentrates on the line 1 e4 d5 2 exd5 Qxd5
3 Nc3 Qd6!? as a repertoire for Black. JS.
