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BCM Chess Book Reviews : October 2004Return to the BCM Review Index
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This book is all about how strong chess players find their ideas. As
well as being a FIDE Master over the board and for composition, the Israeli
author is a psychologist. Consequently it is not a surprise to find that
the people he consults for answers to his questions are his fellow countrymen,
including Gelfand, Smirin and Psakhis. Each is asked some questions about
the way he thinks, his games are examined, and then he is given some test
material. Consequently much of the text is in question and answer form.
This works well because Avni is a relaxed and informal interviewer and
gets some straight answers from his subjects, rather than some of the
starchy, pseudo-scientific stuff that often features in annotations. Of
course, there is no single insight to be gleaned from these interviews;
the truth is that some players are systematic in their thinking, others
intuitive, some methodical, others messy. For the last part of the book,
the author draws on his psychological background to discuss and break
down how players think. It is a stimulating and readable book which encourages
the reader to think about the game. The front cover shows a human brain
with arrows pointing to the specific parts which deal with calculation,
visualization, imagination and blunder-check: I don’t think we are
supposed to take this literally. JS
The two Polish authors (one an IM and the other a correspondence chess
specialist) deal with various White systems which avoid the main lines
of the King’s Indian after 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 Bg7 4 e4 d6. There
are chapters on 5 Nge2, 5 Bd3, 5 h3 (Makogonov system) and two chapters
on the Averbach (5 Be2 and 6 Bg5) system. All of these systems lead to
positions which are radically different from classical or main line positions,
hence they will be attractive to those wishing to avoid fashionable theory
and opt instead for a general opening scheme. Altogether 75 games are
analysed in this solid work. JS
The opening periodical contains 501 annotated games and 512 variations and covers events held between 1 February 2004 and 31 May 2004 including Moscow, Linares, Sarajevo, etc. Contributors include Kasparov, Anand, Kramnik, Leko and Svidler. All the usual features plus the best of Judit Polgar’s creative output. JS
This is a very interesting selection of 565 puzzles, with the net cast
wide to include studies, real game continuations, opening traps and more
besides. The author’s name is a virtual guarantee of quality and
he does not disappoint. JS
This is an original idea: to take a specialised sub-set of endgame theory
and present for the intermediate and occasional player. Emms is a down-to-earth
and lucid writer, and presents his material in easily digestible fashion.
Actually, this book will be even more handy for players who are rather
more than ‘intermediate’ but who are turned off by endgame books
which read like university textbooks. Extremely good value. JS
Ever wondered exactly how a world champion prepares for a title match?
This book has the answers and tells you Botvinnik’s thought processes
and work schedule before, during and after his controversial title match
with Bronstein. Translated by Ken Neat and edited by Igor Botvinnik, it
has the world champion’s diary entries during the match as well as
some of his own annotations. He writes his diary as if he were his own
team captain. He gives himself short and pithy exhortations before each
game, sometimes even what amount to stage directions (what did he mean
by “irony and composure”, exactly?), though at other times they
sound more like Marxist-Leninist slogans (“Work and Work! Let’s
Go! Shame!”). Similarly, after the game, he gives himself the appropriate
feedback, often berating himself savagely for his failures. Not surprisingly,
the diary entries give out before the 23rd game as Botvinnik geared himself
up to save the match. Not all the annotations are by Botvinnik; some are
by Flohr, Sveshnikov, Levenfish, Romanovsky, etc. But Bronstein’s
side of the story is not told. This is quite deliberate and not unreasonable.
He has, after all, had every opportunity to do so himself and has done
so.
The appendices are even more fascinating. They contain
Botvinnik’s pre-match battle plan. Bronstein’s style and character
traits are put under the microscope and we read summaries of his performance
in games leading up to his title challenge and his in-depth examinations
of his openings (with Botvinnik’s own prepared responses). Botvinnik’s
assessments are ‘warts and all’ and occasionally make you wince,
though like Cromwell, he can be as hard on himself as he is on his challenger.
A tremendously interesting book which plugs a gap in chess history. JS
This book is a little different from the 1951 book. There are very few
diary entries (given altogether in an appendix) and the bulk of the book
consists of conventional game annotations by Botvinnik himself as well
as Sveshnikov, Razuvaev and others. But once again, the juicy part of
the book consists of Botvinnik’s opening notes for the period from
1960 to 1963 (in the run-up to his Petrosian match), carefully dated and
naming the sources of information (names such as Taimanov, Furman and
Najdorf appear). Not quite as interesting as the 1951 volume, perhaps,
but still fascinating material. JS
Sub-titled ‘learn to identify and exploit small advantages’,
this book takes you on from that annoying cliché that tells you
that ‘... the rest is a matter of technique’. All very well
if you are a titled player, but the rest of us often find it hard to capitalise
on ‘plus over equals’ positions. The Glasgow-resident Danish
IM takes you by the hand, teases you a bit but generally provides you
with some good practical material to think about. JS
More from the prolific pen of Jacob Aagaard, this time on calculation
and thinking in general. Calculation is something that you can practise,
by trying to solve lots of puzzles, and Aagard provides plenty of these.
But it is not just that, and it is also important to know when to calculate
and when not. He has some practical advice about the process of thinking
which are similar (but not identical) to those suggested by Kotov in his
Think Like a Grandmaster book. Aagard is a very engaging writer
and it is not difficult to be carried along by his generally persuasive
style and wit.One slightly irritating habit the author has developed is
to ‘trail’ his other book and database projects, past and future,
in the text. Enjoyable. JS
The QGD Exchange Variation is a reliable weapon which has found favour
with many top players over the years. IM Hendrichs presents 800 annotated
games (155 by himself), and a main database of more than 31,000 games.
As usual there is a training database, which contains nearly 100 training
questions. JS
Training questions are one of the most interesting and instructive aspects
of ChessBase’s range of CD-ROMs on chess, and this disk contains
more than 3,000 of them, concentrating on forced combinations. There are
six themed databases on mate, mate/material, material, perpetual check,
stalemate and miscellaneous. There is no doubt that this way of studying
is infectious and enjoyable – and you don’t have to keep setting
up the pieces. JS
