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BCM Chess Book Reviews : March 2007Return to the BCM Review Index
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The two Norwegian authors start with separate prefaces. In Johnsens
preface, he explains that he, as the older but weaker of the two collaborators,
did the first sift and collation of material, which he then passed over
to his younger (but GM-titled) colleague for deeper analysis. The book
then evolved via a number of iterations of this sort. The candour of the
two authors is highly commendable. Johnsen admits he struggled with the
Zaitsev material and handed it over to his stronger partner to unravel.
Johannessens preface is much longer 14 large-format pages
but it proves to be a very worthwhile read. Like his colleague,
Johannesen is engaging and self-deprecating. He admits he has only limited
experience as a player of the black side of the Closed Ruy Lopez, but
he goes on to expand on what a player needs to do when choosing and preparing
a new opening. There are some good, practical tips here which have not
seen the light of day before.
So the two prefaces get the book off to a good start. The main body of
the book is a repertoire book based on the Closed Ruy Lopez, offering
Black some alternative lines from move nine onwards, and of course providing
coverage of lines where White diverges first (e.g. the Exchange Lopez).
The two authors provide plenty of textual material, delivered with style
and humour. You soon detect a few Rowsonian touches: the fondness for
quotation and the occasional literary flourish. There are other asides
which seem to owe something to Dvoretsky. Sure enough, the authors soon
confirm the reviewers hunch with a quotation from the British Champions
Chess for Zebras, and tell the story of the Norwegian teams
training session with the great Russian chess educator. But these two
authors are engaging chess writers with a style of their own. The book
is excellent and deserves to sell well. JS.
Another substantial book on the Ruy Lopez, unusually so for this publisher
who tends to produce rather slimmer volumes. The book starts with a foreword
by Nigel Short. It is typically well-written and entertaining as you would
expect from the former world championship contender, and it has the inestimable
value of being relevant to the repertoire being recommended by the author.
The book is a white repertoire book where the ultimate objective is to
steer the game into the Worrall Attack (I e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6
3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 Qe2) an opening
which Short used to defeat Karpov on the road to the world championship
final. So Shorts introductory comments are doubly valuable.
At this point, the reviewer cannot help investigating
what would happen if this white repertoire Ruy Lopez book played
a game against the black repertoire Ruy Lopez book reviewed immediately
above it. Well, here goes... Play The Ruy Lopez has White against
Ruy Lopez: A Guide for Black... 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4
Ba4 Nf6 5 Qe2 b5 6 Bb3 Be7 7 00 00 8 c3 d5 9 d3 Bb7 10 Nbd2
Re8 11 a3! Bf8 12 exd5!? and that final move seems to be a
brand new move dreamt up by Andrew Greet which has not been considered
by the two Norwegians. Im not sure if that constitutes a moral victory
for Greet, in that he has produced an original move unconsidered by the
opposition, or for the Norwegians in that the best chessplayer
in the world, Fritz, adjudicates the resultant position as dead level
(which cant be enough for White when only 12 moves into a Lopez).
Joking apart, Greet has done a conscientious job on
a difficult subject, given that Black has all manner of divergences before
White ever gets in the trademark Worrall 5 Qe2 which have to be covered.
Its a fat book but a very readable one, with plentiful textual advice
and guidance. JS.
The passing of David Bronstein was the saddest chess news of 2006, but at least his many fans now have the chance to read his collection of memoirs and games from his long career. Much of the material appeared in Russian several years ago, but this is the first English translation. Bronsteins love of the game, and his special rapport with chess amateurs, shines through especially strongly. English players will find details of his visits to Hastings, appearances for Charlton in the London League, and friendship with numerous chess fans in the UK. Lovers of more sinister gossip and conspiracy theories will enjoy his account of the alleged shenanigans at Zurich 1953, and his secret preparation with Korchnoi before the latters 1974 match with Karpov. Any lover of chess will find hours of delight in this book, which is a worthy tribute to one of the games immortals. Review by Steve Giddins.
The c3 Sicilian has long since cast off its reputation as a theory-dodgers
system and in recent years a number of books have been written about it.
This is the latest in Gambits basic overviews of opening systems,
with Irish IM Sam Collins providing deep annotations to 25 games (all
from the last five years). It is up to date and very readable. JS.
The book is sub-titled Thirty-Nine Steps from the Art of Counterattack
in Chess Opening Play. There are 39 lightly-annotated Sicilians
by Kasparov, together with a brief history of the Sicilian. The overall
impression is of a rather broad-brush and insubstantial work. JS.
The old Bell descriptive edition, in Philip Herefords English translation,
is still available in reprint form, but this is a new translation of the
classic work by Ian Adams. The publishers have used a revised 2005 German
edition as the basis for the translation, done some computer checking
of games and added two essays, by Jacob Aagaard and John Shaw, giving
an assessment of the books relevance in the modern era, and also
a second opinion on some of the assessments contained in the
book. The authors conclude that the book is indeed still relevant and
the reviewer would have to agree with them. This remains a classic work
and the publishers have done a good job of presenting it for the contemporary
reader. JS.
Die Blockade was Nimzowitschs first published book, appearing
in 1925, and it appears here in a modern translation by Philip Hughes
alongside a facsimile of the original German edition and some appendices
in which various other writings by Nimzowitsch appear. It is rather an
exaggeration to describe Die Blockade as a book because
it is 16 pages long, supplemented with nine annotated games. Of course
the theme of the blockade was covered in Nimzowitschs next work
My System (and, coincidentally, a new translation of this
is also reviewed here this month). But it is a worthwhile publication
for those wanting to read more about Nimzowitschs revolutionary
developments in chess thinking. JS.
This is a revised and updated edition of the original (1982) history
of the British Correspondence Chess Association, which was also written
by John Rogers, culled from official records such as those published in
BCM and other contemporary publications. The book also includes
photos of prominent CC players, lists of champions and officials, plus
31 pages of games reprinted from various sources (and in differing notations).
JS.
In this third DVD in the series, Daniel King examines ways to attack
the castled king via a pawn storm. The series is suitable for anyone looking
to improve their chess, but also provides ready-made lessons and exercises
for a trainer. JS.
Not stocked by BCM see note at end |
For those of you who may not know, EG is the name of the endgame study
magazine edited by John Roycroft (and published in the Netherlands) which
has been appearing four times a year since 1965. This volume contains
the four issues from 2005, EG159 to EG162. It is a formidable tome in
weight, well-produced and most important of all packed with
a whole host of studies and awards, plus photos, cartoons, articles of
all sorts and comprehensive indexing. Contributors include John Nunn,
Yochanan Afek, Sergei Didukh and John Roycroft himself, and the subject
matter is very varied. It is a delight to dip into. JS. Note: we
dont stock this book at the BCM Shop. But the good news is that
it can be obtained direct from the publisher at arves@skynet.be
for £27 or 40 euros. Another good idea is to visit http://www.gadycosteff.com/eg/
on the web, where there are links to the EG archive. All EGs from 1965
to 2004 are readable online in PDF format
Just in: Everyman have just reissued ten of their existing
book titles as CD-ROMs, containing ChessBase files with all the text and
annotations from the original paper versions. To read, you will need to
use ChessBase 6 or above, a ChessBase-brand playing engine such as Fritz,
or download a free ChessBase reader from the ChessBase website. CLICK
HERE FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR TO ORDER VIA BCM'S SHOPPING CART
Titles now available: The French Advance (2nd ed.)
by Sam Collins; Starting Out: The Scotch Game by John Emms; Play
the Queens Gambit by Chris Ward; Starting Out: Chess Tactics
and Checkmates by Chris Ward; Starting Out: The Kings Indian
by Joe Gallagher; Starting Out: The Sicilian Dragon by Andrew Martin;
Starting Out: Closed Sicilian by Richard Palliser; Starting
Out: Sicilian Najdorf by Richard Palliser; Play 1 e4 e5! by
Nigel Davies; Starting Out: 1 e4! by Neil McDonald. Price: £17.60
each (plus postage).