Home Shop
Chess Books Software
Magazine Chess
Sets & Boards Computers
Reviews Ornate
Sets Equipment
|
|
Contact Links
Map Calendar
Britbase Bound
Volumes Bridge
Go Backgammon
Poker Other
Games
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
BCM Chess Book Reviews : November 2004Return to the BCM Review Index
| Search for other BCM reviews by keyword
| More about BCM...
|
TO BUY, CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE SPECIAL KASPAROV BOOK PAGE |
Slightly thinner than the first two volumes, part three of Kasparovs
magnum opus concentrates on Petrosian and Spassky. As with previous volumes,
other players who were contemporary rivals to the world champions are
covered in some detail: here the big names are Gligoric, Polugaevsky,
Portisch and Stein. Kasparov sees the Petrosian/Spassky championship eras
as a continuation of the Botvinnik revolution, its keynotes
being thorough preparation and sharp openings for White and Black. Kasparov
is generally respectful of each of these champions of the past.
Kasparov takes a slightly unorthodox view of Spassky,
veering away from the cliché that he is universal towards
seeing him as having a leaning towards sharp, attacking play, whilst being
somewhat suspect in the opening. So Kasparov brackets Spassky with Tal,
and also with Stein, on whom he lavishes particular praise in an attempt
to restore him to the renown which he feels he deserves. One of the best
features of the book is the way Kasparov completes chapters about players
with a discussion of his own games and experiences with that player, thereby
giving insights into his own play and character as a young man. The annotations
are distilled from many sources, often the players own notes, which
are then topped with essence of Kasparov and you cannot
get better than that. JS
This book derives from a series of ten German language training booklets,
each one covering a particular chess theme, by the distinguished author.
A favourable reception of the booklets prompted the idea of an English
translation, which was done by Daniel King. Each chapter begins with some
study material and then the reader is presented with a diagrammed position
to figure out, followed by worked solutions. There are chapters on back-rank
combinations, candidate moves, wrong-coloured bishops, exchanging pieces
and a number of other motifs. The book itself is very well produced and
the authors name a virtual guarantee of quality. JS
Another useful opening manual from Gambit Publications on a lesser-known but potent sideline of the Nimzo-Indian. 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 f3 goes in and out of fashion, but is still seen frequently in the hands of strong grandmasters. There is an addendum to the book with some illustrative games, including a brilliant queen sacrifice game, Lilienthal-Capablanca, Hastings 1934/5, and Gheorghius win against Fischer from the Havana Olympiad 1966; and, of course, Botvinnik-Capablanca, AVRO 1938. One could hardly doubt the efficacy of 4 f3 with three such gems to its credit. The book comes with a comprehensive index and is generally well produced. JS
This collection contains all the endgame studies (440 in number) composed
by (Karl Artur) Leonid Kubbel (1891-1942) that TG Whitworth has been able
to find. The 1984 edition of this book, based on Kubbels own collections
of 1925 and 1938, gave a substantial collection of the composers
work but the present edition is more comprehensive. This volume is excellently
indexed and produced, and was clearly a labour of love by the author.
JS
This is another high-quality and well-presented biographical work from
Chess Stars. Their subject this time is one of the great masters of the
first half of the 20th century, Efim Bogoljubow (1889-1952). Bogoljubows
life was as interesting and controversial as his chess, and the author
has tried to do justice to its many vicissitudes. The games are annotated
Informator-style, and there is plenty of textual and tabular biographical
material. The translation into English is not everything it might be in
places, but the overall impression is of a well-researched work. JS
This opening book covers the Najdorf with Íe3 and f3: as the
sub-title says, the sharpest and most fashionable way to attack the Najdorf
Sicilian. The author is making his publishing debut: he is a young IM
from Finland. As well as extensive variation coverage, there is plenty
of text devoted to the critical moves of each system. Each chapter is
completed with a theoretical summary, plus hints and tips for both colours.
The author has clearly sifted the voluminous printed material about the
opening. As usual, Gambits back-up support is well in evidence,
with detailed indexes and well laid-out pages. JS
The fourth edition of the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings (ECO),
volume D, covers 1 d4 d5 and 1 d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 followed by 3...d5, i.e.
the Queens Gambit Declined and Accepted, Orthodox, Tarrasch, Tartakower,
Slav, etc, plus the Grünfeld and minor Queens Pawn openings.
The disk contains games and analyses from Informators 1-88, plus further
up-to-date material. You can use the built-in database software (Chess
Informant Expert 5.1) or simply download the PGN database to your favourite
database software. JS
The latest edition of the opening theory periodical has articles on the
Sicilian Dragon, Benkö Gambit, Bogo-Indian, Caro Kann, Kings
Gambit, French Tarrasch and much more. JS
Another hulking tome of chess history research. Amongst the contents:
Reshevsky: Polish Prodigy in USA (Part 3); biographies of Hromadka, Szen
and Geffe; forgotten tournaments: Paris 1930, Illinois 1951; and the Flohr
vs Stolz match of 1931. A must for all keen chess historians. JS
Irish Olympiad player Sam Collins has produced a straightforward repertoire
book based on 1 e4. The word attacking in the title is merely
publishers hype: his recommended 2 c3 against the Sicilian is usually
regarded as a cautious and non-committal approach. Collins makes the point
that the slightly suspect white pawn structure that arises in the c3 Sicilian
makes it important to knock out the opposition fast, so that is his rationalisation
for calling it attacking. Against the French, Collins gives
3 e5 though he is not too specific on how to follow up. Against 1...e5
it is the Scotch, and against the Petroff he advocates 3 Nxe5 d6 4 Nf3
Nxe4 5 Nc3. Against the Caro Kann, Collins goes for the Panov. There is
an interesting mix of games and discussions of opening pawn structures.
Collins suggestions are suitable for an intermediate player wanting
to construct a first repertoire. JS
Two Spanish authors (Arizmendi is an IM and Moreno a grandmaster) have
collaborated on this (relatively) short guide to this most popular system.
There are of course many books written about the opening in much more
detail than this one, but this is more of an introductory guide. 52 recent
master games are analysed in some depth and divided up under eight different
chapter headings. It is a reasonably comprehensive guide to what is a
highly theoretical opening, making it palatable for club and intermediate
players. JS
The usual mix from the US periodical, including Santasiere on the Botvinnik-Tal
match, plus lots of space given over to the vaulting ambition
of Bobby Fischer.
Ulsterman Alexander McDonnell (to give the more usual spelling) was Britains
best player of the 1830s. This a reprint of an 1836 book which consists
almost in its entirety of bare game scores, with a lot of odds chess against
anonymous opposition.
The author is better known as a collator than a writer, so it is not
surprising that, despite the title, he has chosen to collect match reports
and games from events in which Duchamp was involved, rather than concentrate
on the man himself. It does mean that the title is misleading, however.
But the chess historians wont worry about that because it is nevertheless
a solid slab of chess material gleaned from newspapers and periodicals
of the 1920s and 1930s. JS
Not everyone likes to study via CD-ROMs in preference to books, but they
are unquestionably good when it comes to testing yourself. You save all
that time setting up the board, and move seamlessly on to the next quiz
question. Lots of good exercise material. JS
Just in: Wonderboy (How Magnus Carlsen Became the Youngest Grandmaster in the World) by Simen Agdestein, New in Chess, 190 pages, £14.95; Secrets of Opening Surprises, Vol. 2, Ed. J Bosch, 141 pages, £12.95. The Carlsen book has lots of photographs.