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BCM Chess Book Reviews : April 2003

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Shirov’s One Hundred Wins by Sergei Soloviov, Chess Stars, 316 pages, £17.99.

Alexei Shirov is one of the most entertaining chess players in the world. On his day he is a threat to anyone, except perhaps Garry Kasparov who has beaten him so many times. But Shirov was more than a match for Kasparov’s nemesis Kramnik in 1998 when the two were playing a qualifier for a world championship match that never happened. Sergei Soloviov has put together a thorough biographical work featuring 100 games played and won by Shirov between 1990 and 2002. As well as showing “fire on board” (the title of Shirov’s 1997 chess autobiography), Shirov is quite fiery off it, with a turbulent private life, outspoken ideas for the restructuring of chess, and a restlessness which has taken him from Riga to Spain to Poland and then back to Riga (though he retains his Spanish citizenship and registration). This book has some biographical information and a good selection of high-quality photos. As well as games edited by the author, there are annotations from other grandmasters such as Khalifman, Speelman, Motwani, Sakaev, Yudasin and Shipov. An impressive and interesting work.

   

How to Build Your Chess Opening Repertoire by Steve Giddins, Gambit, 144 pages, £13.99.

I wish I had been able to read this book when, as a ‘promising junior’, my reaction to a loss was usually to blame my opening choice and learn yet another new line, so that I ended up with an inconsistent repertoire of dubious sidelines. As Giddins says: ‘young and ambitious players should be prepared to get stuck into main-line openings early in their careers. There is no point wasting one’s formative years on an unsound or dubious opening, which one will be forced to jettison as soon as one starts meeting strong opposition on a regular basis.’ This is typical of the common-sense advice throughout the book. Giddins recommends a narrow rather than a wide repertoire, fidelity to one’s favourite openings, and sensitivity to move-order issues. In balanced fashion he also discusses the attraction and danger of ‘universal’ systems, and the ‘use and abuse of computers’. One of many helpful suggestions is that it is useful to keep two separate databases: a large one to enable preparation for individual opponents, and, to avoid information overload, a small one consisting exclusively of top-level games for training purposes. Well-written and spiced with relevant examples – including analysis of a few grandmasters’ repertoires – this book will be of practical help to most players. Review by James Vigus.


 

BCM Bound Volume for 2002, British Chess Magazine, 672 pages hardcover, £31.95.

A superb record of a year’s worth of chess, all in one top-quality hardbound volume, complete with comprehensive index. Hundreds of annotated games, problems, studies, articles on openings, strategy and chess history. Cover shown is a mock-up - actual cover is in a burgundy red. Check out our full range of bound volumes here.

Play The Classical Dutch by Simon Williams, Gambit, 128 pages, £12.99.

IM Simon Williams is one of the most enthusiastic adherents of the Classical Dutch and here explains the workings of his favourite opening, which provides Black with a complete repertoire against 1 d4. Few opponents will be ready to take on the Classical Dutch, since it has received little attention in chess literature in recent decades. Williams shows how Black can obtain counter-chances against each of White’s main options. He also provides recommendations against all of White’s alternative approaches against the Dutch, including a variety of sharp possibilities after 1 d4 f5. It is certainly a system with great fluidity. Black can play Dutch-style lines against 1 d4, 1 Nf3 and 1 c4 although the strategy has to be varied depending on White’s approach. Williams’ book is particularly good at dealing with these sidelines.


 

Chinese School of Chess by Liu Wenzhe, Batsford, 288 pages, £16.99.

It was an excellent idea on the part of the publishers to commission a book on the growth of chess in China. The author was the first Chinese player to beat a grandmaster (Donner in 1978) and has since become a leading national coach. Wenzhe presents lots of interesting examples of play by modern Chinese players, liberally spiced with anecdotes, background on the players and narrative about the rise of chess in that part of the world. He gives quite a lot of detail about the organisation of chess in China which may or may not be of interest to the general reader.
    But the provocative claim inherent in the title (and the sub-title – “the unique approach, training methods and secrets”) that China has somehow generated a new “school” of chess, based on the ‘art of thinking’ seems rather far-fetched. Certainly they have generated lots of excellent chess players by pumping in lots of resources, organising efficiently and stimulating interest, for which Wenzhe and his fellow administrators deserve high praise. But the facts as laid out are decidedly selective. It hardly mentions the gulf that still subsists between the top Chinese male players and the super-grandmasters at the top of the current world rating list. As for women’s chess: no mention at all of one Polgar sister’s 1996 defeat of China’s top female player, or of the other Polgar sister universally acclaimed as the strongest female chess player who has ever lived. So it doesn’t live up to the hype and you won’t necessarily find any astounding revelations between the covers; but you will still find quite a lot of well-played and well-annotated chess games.



 

Mastering Checkmates by Neil McDonald, Batsford, 160 pages, £13.99.

This book presents fundamental and familiar checkmating motifs, starting with the beloved back rank mate via the Greek Gift to killer pawns. At the end of each chapter there are a few examples of the genre to test your newly-acquired skill. The material is well chosen and bang up to date to the end of 2002, and the book is a good choice for elementary players wishing to brush up their tactics, or those who cannot get enough ‘Spot The Continuation’ type material.






 

Simple Chess Tactics and Checkmates by Tony Gillam, Batsford, 160 pages, £11.99.

This book is designed for those who have just about mastered the moves and can read chess notation, and introduces them to what club players generally refer to as ‘cheapoes’. Well, you have to learn the cheap stuff before graduating on to more ‘expensive’ tactical tricks, and this is as good a place as any to start. Four exercise positions appear at the top of each and you have to train yourself not to peek at the answers at the bottom of the same page before deciding on what you think the best move is.

American Chess Bulletin, Vol. 48 (1951), Moravian Publishing, 140 pages hardcover, £19.50.

The reprints of this periodical are now approaching the present day quite rapidly. It includes games played by James T Sherwin in his US college days. He is still as active as ever on this side of the Atlantic, some 53 years later. Santasiere provides the flowery and quote-littered notes to the Botvinnik-Bronstein match.







 

The Chess Player’s Scrap Book Vol. 1 (Jan-Jul 1907), Ed. Emanuel Lasker, Moravian Chess, 112 pages hardcover, £24.99.

The aim of Lasker’s new periodical, based in New York, was to “reproduce classical games, annotations, problems, endings, etc, so as to provide amusement”. There is no general chess news, but many of the games are liberally annotated by leading players. The sad death of Pillsbury is marked by the inclusion of several of his games annotated by the likes of Lasker, Steinitz, Tarrasch and Schiffers. Meaty stuff in chess terms, but the book is rather thin for the price.

The Chess Amateur, Vol. 4 (Oct 1909 – Sept 1910), Moravian Chess, 384 pages, £24.99.

A close-printed hotch-potch of everything happening in chess during the period in question, with a bias towards the minutiae of club chess but not neglecting the doings of the top players.

The Chess Amateur, Vol. 5 (Oct 1910 – Sept 1911), Moravian Chess, 384 pages, £24.99.

Another volume of the lively, gossipy British chess periodical. Lots of detailed news items about British clubs as well as many overseas chess events, with many minor but interesting games that may not be found on databases. A ripe source for chess researchers.

The Franco-Benoni by Don Maddox, ChessBase CD-ROM, £18.50.

As the name suggests, the Franco-Benoni (1 e4 e6 2 d4 c5) is a cross between the French and the Benoni, and has been championed by Barcza and Larsen. The author claims it can be used as a universal black defence against 1 e4, 1 d4 or 1 c4 and as such would suit the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach of many players who want to cut down on opening study. Is it that simple? Well, not quite. You may need supplementary openings if, for example, the game starts 1 d4 e6 and your opponent plays 2 c4 (the author goes for the Nimzo-Indian or the Dutch). A look at the bibliography, with references to opening books on the c3 Sicilian, English Opening (and Defence), Benoni, etc, gives a clue to related openings into which the Franco-Benoni can transpose. But don’t be put off. The disk has a database of 13,000 plus games (800 annotated). The texts cover the basic ideas and patterns. It also includes an openings tree and 37 training positions.



 

ChessBase Magazine 92, ChessBase CD-ROM, £17.50.

As well as the latest batch of games (1,460, of which 500 are annotated), there are features on the Grand Prix Attack and the Jänisch Gambit, the endgame (by Hecht) and tactics (by Atlas). There are two video features: there is coverage of the Bled Olympiad and an interview with Ray Keene, mainly talking about Fritz and computer chess.

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