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BCM Chess Book Reviews : June 2002Return to the BCM Review Index
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Translated into English for the first time by Karen Taylor, and edited
by Dale Brandreth, Jack OKeefe and Richard Cantwell. The Soviet
player Rashid Nezhmetdinov (1912-1974) was 'only' an International Master,
yet competed at the highest levels and played many games of rare brilliance.
His emphatic plus-score against Tal and his beautiful sacrificial king-hunt
against Polugayevsky brought Nezhmetdinov fame: but generally his games
have unfortunately not been widely circulated in the West. This edited
translation of the Russians own annotations to his selected games
is therefore very welcome. The first five chapters present 72 games in
chronological order, interspersed with brief passages of autobiography.
Finally there is a chapter to illustrate certain positional and tactical
themes, with emphasis on the endgame. Every page brings a new explosion
of creative tactics, and the annotations are good quality: concise prose
explanations are backed up by substantial but not excessive variations.
The editors have made various minor analytical corrections while mostly
allowing Nezhmetdinov to speak for himself. Even though this means that
the opening notes in particular are often dated, readers with a taste
for sharp Ruy Lopez, Sicilian and Kings Indian positions are sure
to find inspiration here, and the authors own accounts of his preparation
are worthwhile.
In fact Nezhmetdinovs commitment to
preparation surprised me, given the reputation he seems to have now as
an erratic gambler. The autobiographical sections at times resemble a
religious confession: the author becomes aware of his deficiencies first
in general strategy, then in the opening, then in the endgame, and so
on. The cure always involves hard work, healthy eating and regular exercise,
a regime which took its toll if Nezhmetdinovs dour expression in
the two photos is anything to judge by. But even if parts of the book
are dry, the games themselves make this a thoroughly entertaining work.
Both for the savage onslaughts of his early career and the sophisticated
attacking concepts of his prime, Nezhmetdinovs collection deserves
to be read and re-read. Review by James Vigus.
The latest Informator covers top-level chess played between October 2001
and January 2002. It contains 584 annotated games, with such names as
Kasparov, Kramnik, Anand, Adams, Ponomariov and Ivanchuk included amongst
the annotators. Tournaments include the World Team Championships, the
FIDE world championship, the European Team Championship, the Kasparov-Kramnik
match in Moscow and Corus Wijk aan Zee. There is a biographical retrospective
on Jan Timman, plus the usual best games and best novelty features. Still
the best way to stay up-to-date and keep abreast of the opening theory.
The best game from the previous edition was Kramniks win over Anand
from Dortmund 2001, and the best theoretical novelty was Rogozenkos
14 Qb1 against Filipenko from the WICC 2001.
Another prodigious new tome from Moravian Chess, which rather belies
the title (publication is becoming rather more leisurely than the projected
'quarterly'). This issue kicks off with 122 pages on HN Pillsburys
European activities of 1902/3, compiled by the editor, followed by 24
pages on Bernhard Horwitz, and further biographies of Hromádka
and Morris Freed. The chapter on 'forgotten tournaments' features Amsterdam
1911 and 1923, and the 8th American Congress, Atlantic City 1921. That
only takes us up to page 230; there is much more besides in this mighty
volume.
The exclamation mark might draw a wry smile; the great US players
elevation to the highest title hardly rates as a surprise 30 years on,
and an 'instant book of the match' this is definitely not. But it is the
first time the book has appeared in English, and the conjunction of the
two greatest names in Dutch chess provide us with a feast of good chess
writing. The then president of FIDE, Max Euwe covers the wretched
business (his words) leading up to the start of the match, and,
given his central role in the match, is able to dispel many of the myths
that have grown up around it. Timman gives a brief sketch of what happened
during the match before getting down to his main role: game analyst. In
the preface he acknowledges help from Andersson and Donner. Timman was
not yet 21 when he co-wrote the book, but already his style was mature
and objective. He does not get caught up in the hype surrounding the match
and is not blinded by the dazzling light of Fischer. His deep and insightful
approach helps to put these famous games into perspective. All in all,
a delightful read.
SOLD OUT |
A brand-new, 2002 edition of one of the five volumes which make up the
world-famous ECO: volume B covers lines beginning 1 e4, excluding 1 e4
e5 and 1 e4 e6 (which form part of Volume C). No serious chess player
will want to be without this definitive work.
This is a new translation of Dvoretsky's Secrets of Chess Tactics,
originally published by Batsford in 1992 and reviewed on page 630 of BCM,
December 1992. Dvoretsky draws on his vast training experience
few can boast a pupil list as impressive as his to put together
an advanced manual on the subject of chess tactics. This is a superbly
written and produced book. As our original review said: "there is
so much meat in this book that a close study of it will take months, and
should make one a better player".
The selling point of this book, for elementary or weak club adult players,
is the fact that the author has improved his own play by more than 400
USCF (50 BCF) rating points in 12 months using his own work plan. Theres
some advice about concentrating on tactics to the exclusion of all else,
then some drills and exercises designed to improve visual skills, and
feedback from players who have followed the authors plan. It is
persuasively written, and might provide the necessary stimulus for underachieving
adult players who wish to get serious.
This, together,
with John Emms book on the Sicilian (see below), is the first of a series
of opening books pitched at elementary or junior players, or perhaps those
who fancy a change of opening repertoire. The emphasis is on user-friendliness,
with lots of hints, tips and summaries to ease the readers way.
British champion Joe Gallagher is the ideal author for this book on his
favourite Kings Indian Defence, and stronger players might also
be tempted to read it for his illuminating annotations of the 68 illustrative
games included.
See the above review for comments on the books general lay-out
and target audience. A 174-page book on the Sicilian can hardly claim
to be comprehensive (and the author makes no such claim), but this provides
a broad and well-written overview and much general advice on the vast
range of Sicilian variations for the improver or stronger non-Sicilianists
who are considering a change of opening and wondering which system would
suit them best.
The January issue opens: What happened to
our Christmas number? Come with us into the silent and impenetrable wildwood....
The editor goes on for 160 or so words, with references to whippowills,
gibbets and ravens, in order to explain that the printing press had broken
down causing the issue to be late. Edgar Allan Poe it isnt, but
its lively and readable.
"It's
basically the English team together with a few foreigners... we occasionally
allow other nationalities in, but prefer to keep it a bit exclusive":
John Nunns comment, not on Beeson Gregory in the 4NCL, but Lübeck
in the German Bundesliga. This latest edition of the CD-ROM magazine has
some excellent multi-media material: a 25-minute interview and analysis
session with Nunn, plus no less than 56 minutes with Peter Svidler, who
talks about chess, books, humour, cricket and the reason why he played
in last years 4NCL (answer: so that he could watch the world snooker
championship on TV).
The author
was a pupil of the late Moldavian coach Chebanenko, who gave his name
to the variation (1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Nc3 a6) which, until now,
has been poorly documented in chess literature. Theres much more
besides: a 32,000 game database, a tree of variations plus a training
database of 22 exercises, plus ChessBase reader software.
The title and
blurb hint at study material for the Nimzo-Indian, but the 17 introductory
texts (in indifferent English) do not contain much content, but are little
more than lead-ins to certain games within the 345-game annotated database.
Comes with a 35-game training database, and a 47,000 database of unannotated
games.