BCM Chess Book Reviews : March 2000

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Secrets of Pawn Endings by Karsten Müller and Frank Lamprecht, Everyman, 288 pages, £17.99.

The foreword to this ambitious work on king and pawn endings was written by John Nunn, but it is clear from reading it that the part he played in its genesis was more than that. Both Nunn and the authors used computer programs to validate the analysis, though it is fair to say that king and pawn endgames have yet to be exhaustively analysed by computer in the way that other endings have. Rather than ‘another book’ on king and pawn endings, the authors’ intention was to produce a structured textbook based on their own experience as chess trainers.

It is clear that the authors have put their best endeavours into this project and come up with an impressive work to stand alongside other well-known treatises on the king and pawn endgame. The examples are well-chosen and a large number of exercises are placed at the end of each chapter to test the student’s understanding. As regards the textual content, this does not always make for easy reading, and not just because the subject is a complicated one; the rendering into English is rather stilted and occasionally affects clarity. By and large this does not spoil a book which in every other respect can be recommended as a well-structured and systematic study of this fascinating and difficult subject.



 

Play The Open Games as Black by John Emms, Gambit, 224 pages, £15.99.

The book’s sub-title contains an important qualification: “What to do when White avoids the Ruy Lopez”. In other words this is a repertoire book for Black after 1 e4 e5, covering all significant White systems against 1...e5 with the exception of the Ruy Lopez. Consequently there are chunky chapters on what to do in such openings as the Two Knights, Four Knights, King’s Gambit, and the Scotch, as well as detailed advice on lesser systems such as the Danish Gambit and the Ponziani. Giuoco Piano defenders should note that this is not covered as the author is recommending 3...Nf6. As always, Grandmaster John Emms presents the material in a well-organised and thoughtful way, and the analysis is amply fleshed out with helpful textual commentary. Particularly enjoyable was his trenchant advice on how to punish players who opt for 5 Nxd4 after 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bb5 Nd4, but you will have to buy the book to find out what it is. The book is highly recommended for anyone who plays 1...e5 as Black, and also for non-Lopez 1 e4 players, as sooner or later they are going to find themselves at the mercy of an Emms-trained 1...e5 player.



 

101 Attacking Ideas In Chess by Joe Gallagher, Gambit, 128 pages, £12.99.

The sub-title “Aggressive concepts from a grandmaster’s arsenal” describes the content exactly. The now well-established Gambit format of one subject per page with three diagrams makes for easy reading, and is enhanced by Gallagher’s attractive writing style. He includes a number of his own games and positions to good effect. A value for money volume that combines instruction and entertainment in equal measure. (Review by Ray Edwards)









 

The Botvinnik Semi-Slav by Steffen Pedersen, Gambit, 224 pages, £14.99.

Danish IM Steffen Pedersen has produced a major study of the opening starting 1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Nc3 e6 5 Bg5, with most of the book dedicated to the red-blooded Botvinnik System (5...dxc4), as championed by Kasparov, Kramnik and Shirov, but also 60+ pages on the more pacific Moscow Variation (5...h6). This system is not for the timid, and results in a highly imbalanced position. The author gives examples of some staggering ideas that have emerged in recent years, including Ivanchuk’s famous 21 Qg7! against Shirov at Wijk aan Zee 1996 (which placed second in BCM’s ‘Most Amazing Move’ competition in 1998), and Sergei Ivanov’s remarkable 22...Rh5!! against Aseev, St Petersburg 1997, which might well have placed in the MAM competition had it been better known. Until recently Black had been able to side-step the mayhem by playing the Moscow Variation: but new life has been breathed into the ‘Anti-Moscow’ (6 Bh4!?) allowing White some sharp gambit play if so inclined. All in all, this is a superbly indexed and organised work on an opening that is the choice of champions.





 

King’s Indian Defence: Modern Practice by Alexander Kalinin, Teach Yourself In Chess Openings (Moscow), 255 pages, hardcover, £13.99.

This book is presented and annotated Informator-style with virtually no textual commentary. 456 annotated games are included, up-to-date to 1999, and there are 50 set positions for the reader to find the right continuation, with solutions at the back, along with an adequate index. Generally the book is well laid-out and user-friendly as a reference work.



 

American Chess Bulletin, Vol. 27 (1930), Moravian Chess, 200 pages, hardcover, £19.50.

A further reprint of the US magazine founded by Cassel and Helms in 1904; there is much to be enjoyed in this volume with its lively coverage of the international chess scene as well as domestic US news. Events covered in 1930 include Alekhine’s overwhelming win at San Remo and the International Team Tournament (Olympiad) in Hamburg. There are a great many photographs but the reproduction is, for the most part, poor.



 

American Chess Bulletin, Vol. 28 (1931), Moravian Chess, 208 pages, hardcover, £19.50.

The 1931 volume has coverage of Hastings 1930/1, where Capablanca lost to Sultan Khan and had to be content with second place behind Max Euwe. Euwe is criticised by HT Bland for agreeing a 16-move draw with Sir George Thomas in the last round, thereby securing outright victory: “There is far too much of that sort of thing nowadays, those draws where neither try to win if a draw will suffice. It is not fair to the other competitors.” The July/August edition proudly reports the USA’s first place in the International Team Tournament in Prague, to which HT Bland appends a celebratory poem.



 

All Reviews by John Saunders except where otherwise indicated