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BCM Chess Book Reviews : April 2001

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The Gambit Guide to the Modern Benoni by John Watson, Gambit, 208 pages, £15.99.

The Modern Benoni, although a sharp and fighting defence, has long been out of fashion, but never sufficiently so as to be ignored. A large part of the problem is that the Taimanov variation (1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 e6 4 Nc3 exd5 5 cxd5 d6 6 e4 g6 7 f4 Bg7 8 Bb5+!) is far more than the caveman-like hack that it first appears, and that after 8...Nfd7, Black will have some difficulty disentangling his queenside pieces, while at the same time keeping the e5 thrust under restraint. To avoid this line, Black has usually delayed ...c5 until White has played Nf3 or g3 (for example 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 c5), but this of course means that the Benoni would no longer be a “complete” defence to 1 d4; Black would have to book up on the Nimzo as well. In the early 1990s, attention for White swung towards lines (after Nf3) with e4, Bd3, h3, etc., a formation designed to restrain Black’s counterplay against the e4 pawn, and to prevent the pin along the h5-d1 diagonal.

Both these lines present problems for Black, as John Watson candidly admits. It is difficult, he suggests, for Black to gain full and automatic equality in the “Modern Main Line” with Bd3, but the good news for Black is that the line is no longer terrifying, and that White’s advantage is no more than in most other main line openings, with Black having ample chances to create mischief.

If I were to be tempted into playing the Benoni, what I would want most of all is a good system to combat the Taimanov. Watson recommends systems with ...Qh4+, but as with any openings book worth having, much of the work is original and exploratory, leaving space for the reader to disagree with his conclusions. After for example 8...Nfd7 9 a4 Qh4+ 10 g3 Qd8 11 Nf3 0-0 12 0-0 a6 13 Bd3 Nf6 14 Qb3 Bh3 15 Re1 Ng4 (p.101), Watson dissents from Pigusov’s conclusion that White is much better after 16 Bf1!. He gives 16...Bxf1 17 Rxf1 Qc8 18 h3 Nf6 19 e5 Ne8 as equal, “e.g. 20 g4 Nd7 21 e6 c4 22 Qc2 fxe6 ... with slight edge for Black”, but 20 Kg2!, protecting the h3 pawn and side-stepping ...Qc5+ looks good to me. 20...Nd7 21 e6 c4?? 22 exd7 would now be unplayable for Black. It should be added that Watson gives other tries for Black, including the radical 7...Qe7!?; the viability of the Modern Benoni depends in large part on the validity of these alternatives.

The book is unashamedly written from Black’s point of view, and the author concedes (p.6) that “as time goes on, readers and theoreticians will doubtless find that some of my assessments are too optimistic for Black”. Some of the assessments indeed seem to be dangerously over-favourable to Black. I was for example surprised that the Crouch-Emms game from last year’s British (p.170) was assessed as “slight edge to Black” after 20 moves, even though I was clearly winning well before the time control (and indeed won the game); Watson does not attempt to show how my opponent could have improved. This is maybe not theoretically critical, as Watson recommends that Black varies earlier (after 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 e6 4 Nc3 exd5 5 cxd5 d6 6 Nf3 g6 7 e4 a6 8 a4 Bg4!? 9 Qb3 Bxf3 10 Qxb7) with 10...Nbd7 (instead of 10...Bxg2). I would probably agree, having had a painful experience against Matthew Anderton in this, but I cannot resist pointing out the bizarre possibility of 11 gxf3 Bg7 12 Bf4 Rb8 13 Qxa6 Rxb2 (13...Nh5!?) 14 0-0-0!?, which seems to improve on both 14 Bb5 and 14 Nb5. All in all, a book the reader will enjoy and find interesting. Review by Colin Crouch.
 

Linares! Linares! by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, New in Chess, 126 pages, £9.99.

Firstly, a warning: this book contains next to nothing about the playing of chess itself. There are no game scores, analysis or anything of that ilk. The sub-title is “a journey into the heart of chess”, but the main title encapsulates it perfectly. First and last, the book tells the story of the Spanish town whose name has become synonymous with big-time tournament chess, and paints a vivid picture of all the people – not just players and organisers, but also spectators, journalists, seconds and even hotel staff – who collectively give the event its unique identity.

The author, who is the editor of New in Chess, makes the pilgrimage to Linares every year, and is clearly in love with the place and the event. He does not allow this to blunt the sharpness of his observation and objectivity, and the outlines of the people he writes about reveal more than would a long string of biographical data. He adopts an even-handed approach, and is as interested in the bit-part players as in the leading characters in the unfolding drama. It is effectively a series of deftly-written anecdotes drawn from a dozen or so different years, in no particular chronological order; taken together, they go a long way to illustrate the tournament as it has grown in stature.

Much of its tradition is attributable to the colourful personality of its founder and patron, Luis Rentero, but other important factors have been Linares’ perennial star player, Garry Kasparov (who else?), and the town itself which, though architecturally unprepossessing, has a charm all its own, more typical of the real Spain that the holidaymakers never see. Of the author, one can say that, if chess were to be abolished tomorrow, he is one of the game’s few professional writers who would not starve to death: it is so rare for true journalistic skills and instincts, and a knowledge of chess, to come together in the same person. This is a superb evocation of a chess phenomenon, and the people who make it special.
 

Main Line Caro Kann by Neil McDonald, Everyman, 143 pages, £14.99.

The scope of this book is the lines of the Caro Kann following the moves 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3/d2 dxe4 4 Nxe4. Three moves are considered in this position: 4...Nd7 (the Smyslov variation), 4...Bf5 (Classical) and 4...Nf6 (Larsen-Bronstein). There has not been too much literature on the Caro Kann, considering its popularity at all levels of chess. To some extent the opening has become rather less popular since Karpov’s influence has started to decline, but all the lines covered here have seen significant developments in the 1990s, to the extent that the defence has grown away from its former reputation as relatively ‘non-theoretical’. It is certainly no easy ride for Black these days. The Smyslov variation has seen a swing from 5 Bc4 to 5 Ng5, after which there is a welter of modern theory. Similarly the Classical Caro has seen a shift from 7...Nd7 to 7...Nf6, though the older move is still eminently playable, and perhaps safer. 4...Nf6 is a line that aggressive Caro Kann players sometimes go in for, as it carries the fight to the enemy, opting for open files and optimum piece placement in return for a non-ideal pawn structure. Author McDonald is not a Caro Kann player himself, but is even-handed in his assessments and clearly at home in explanations of the more tactical and theoretical lines that the Caro Kann has to offer.



   

Offbeat Spanish by Glenn Flear, Everyman, 143 pages, £14.99.

‘Offbeat’ seems rather an impertinent adjective to describe lines of the Ruy Lopez without 3...a6, especially when one such variation (the Berlin Defence, 3...Nf6) played a big part recently in loosening Kasparov’s grip on his world championship title. But that is what the book is about. It is sufficiently up-to-date to include a consideration of the games from the 2000 Brain Games match between Kasparov and Kramnik, but Grandmaster Flear has resisted the temptation to allow the Berlin Defence to displace commensurate consideration of all the moves that Black has at his disposal. These include the Schliemann (3...f5), the Classical (3...Bc5), the Steinitz (3...d6), Bird’s (3...Nd4), the Cozio (3...Nge7) and the Smyslov (3...g6), as well as a number of odds and ends moves. Each of these systems can claim modern-day adherents at grandmaster level, and the material is fresh and illuminating, well up to the author’s accustomed high standards.






   

Dutch Stonewall by Jacob Aagaard, Everyman, 160 pages, £14.99.

This is another welcome offering from Everyman, plugging another surprising gap in the recent publication of specialised books on the opening. There has been little or nothing on the Dutch Stonewall for many a year, despite its reputation as a solid system for Black, and generous praise for its virtues by occasional practitioner Kramnik in the 1996 book Positional Play by Dvoretsky and Yusupov. Danish IM Jacob Aagaard is a down-to-earth and candid writer on the subject, openly admitting his lack of knowledge in the introduction, but then setting to work with a will.

The book starts with an unusually lengthy introduction (50 pages) which goes into the history of the Dutch Stonewall and outlines the general plans for White and Black. The main body of the book then concentrates on main lines after 1 d4 f5 2 g3 Nf6 3 Bg2 e6 4 c4 c6, with the sixth and final chapter examining lines where White plays his light-squared bishop to d3 or e2. Aagaard’s book is bang up-to-date with references to games from 2000; look out in particular for Anand-P.Nikolic, Wijk aan Zee 2000, which casts a shadow over the Bd7-e8 plan after 5 Nh3 c6 6 0-0 Bd6 7 Qc2 0-0 8 Nd2.




   

Ultimate Dragon, Vol. 1 by Eduard Gufeld & Oleg Stetsko, Batsford, 269 pages, £16.99.

Ultimate Dragon, Vol. 2 by Eduard Gufeld & Oleg Stetsko, Batsford, 160 pages, £14.99.

In this two-volume set, the authors present a complete coverage of the Dragon Sicilian. Volume One concentrates exclusively on the Rauzer Attack, with all other white options dealt with in Volume Two. The books undoubtedly contain a good deal of material, with little wasted space and few, if any, lengthy prose explanations. In addition, the English is considerably better than in many recent publications by foreign (especially Russian) authors, despite the fact that I could find no reference to a translator.

My initial impression was that there were not too many post-1998 references, but when I checked for specific recent games which I knew were of theoretical importance (namely, Fedorov’s defeats against Ivanchuk and Movsesian at Polanica Zdroj 2000) I duly found them both, together with suggested improvements. Experienced Dragon players are likely to find little of interest here, but these two volumes appear to be a reasonably good reference source for somebody who is looking to take up the Dragon, and wants a fairly comprehensive summary of the current state of theory. Where the book is perhaps weakest is in its lack of explanation of positional and structural themes behind the opening, and in that respect newcomers to the opening would probably do well to add Chris Ward’s outstanding (if somewhat outdated) book to their shopping list: Winning with the Dragon, 1994. Nevertheless, without by any means being a classic, this is a production which goes some way towards repairing the damage done to the authors’ reputation by some of their previous opening books. Review by Steve Giddins.

 

The Chess Player’s Chronicle, Volume 1 (1853), Moravian Chess, 384 pages, hardcover, £24.99.

A hardcover reprint of Howard Staunton’s famous chess periodical, which went through a ‘rebirth’ in 1853, the volume numbering starting again from ‘one’ despite a periodical of the same name and editorship having existed for more than ten years. This is a particularly excellent volume, starting with a very detailed annotation of a recent game: no less than the ‘Evergreen’ Anderssen versus Dufresne game from 1852. There is much else to enjoy in rest of the book, including an informative article on chess outside the metropolis of London, in the course of which Staunton puts forward the idea of an annual match between Oxford and Cambridge Universities.


 

London 1866 and Dundee 1867: Transactions of the British Chess Association, Moravian Chess, 131 pages, hardcover, £14.99.

Another fascinating reprint from Moravian: after a short preamble on the activities and membership of the British Chess Association, the bulk of the book is given over to the extant game scores, with notes, of two significant congresses that the BCA patronised: London 1866 and Dundee 1867. Among the participants in these events were Steinitz, Blackburne, Neumann, de Vere and MacDonnell. There are also game scores from various handicap tournaments in which Steinitz and others took part, plus the July 1867 match between Steinitz and Anderssen.



 

British Chess Magazine Bound Volume 2000, 672 pages, hardcover, £31.95.

Another superb record of the year in chess for your library. The year started with a string of Kasparov successes in Wijk, Linares and Sarajevo, and ended in sensation as he lost his version of the world title to Kramnik in London. There is in-depth coverage of all these events, particularly the world championship match, with annotations by a team of grandmasters headed by Peter Svidler. There is much else besides, including an article by world number four Michael Adams on his match against Seirawan in Bermuda, plus more than 60 pages of full colour photography from the world’s top chess events. The magazine celebrated its own longevity with a series of articles entitled 120 Years of BCM, charting its history decade by decade, with contributions from twelve distinguished chess authors. It may seem a little immodest, but we really have no rival as a fully-indexed annual reference work for what is happening in chess. Check out offers on other bound volumes.



 

All reviews by John Saunders except where otherwise indicated.

 

JUST IN: 4...Qh4 In The Scotch Game by Lev Gutman, Batsford, 272 pages, £17.99, up-to-date to October 2000.

 

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