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BCM Chess Book Reviews : May 2008Return to the BCM Review Index
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What a treat: the former FIDE World Champion talks us through 16 elite-level games in the sharp line 1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Nc3 e6 5 Bg5 h6 6 Bh4 dxc4 7 e4 g5 8 Bg3 b5. Ever since two Radjabov-Anand encounters in 2006, Anand has defended the honour of Black’s position, and others, including Kramnik and the author of the DVD himself, have joined in on both sides of the debate. The chronological development of this story is gripping, and Kasimdzhanov paces it nicely, spending roughly twelve minutes on each game. He concentrates on the opening and middlegame phases; many endgames reached are fascinating too, but full scrutiny might have resulted in a 20-hour DVD rather than the 3½ hours we enjoy here.
The DVD culminates, however, in some 40 minutes’ fine analysis of Topalov’s sacrifice against Kramnik – 9 Be2 Bb7 10 0–0 Nbd7 11 Ne5 Bg7 12 Nxf7. This move shocked the chess world, but Kasimdzhanov suggests it might have seemed natural in previous eras: reliant on computer programs, ‘we are losing the ability to make intuitive sacrifices’ like this. The author expresses surprise that Black’s defences have endured so long, but considers this a tribute to the richness of chess – and of Anand’s preparation. Kasimdzhanov evaluates many lines cautiously with a verdict of ‘irrational position’ or ‘needs full analysis’. This is often necessary, of course, but the DVD might have been even more valuable to us non-initiates had he sometimes been prepared to speculate or offer eccentric opinions. As he admits, ‘nobody likes to be completely open about his knowledge at the top level’. This is, however, a highly instructive presentation, and one need not be a devotee of the opening to delight in it. Review by James Vigus.
Everyman’s Starting Out books are getting meatier but they are still as readable as ever and good value for money. Andrew Greet’s second book for them deals with a popular system starting 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 g6, and also dealing with the so-called ‘hyper-accelerated’ 2...g6 line. He is as conscientious as on his first book (on the López), and he gives guidance on what he thinks are the best moves in key positions but without going for the full-blooded repertoire approach. Something over half the book is devoted to the Maroczy Bind, a name which traditionally strikes fear into Sicilian players’ hearts. There is some useful general guidance for newcomers to the Maroczy, with ideas about what piece goes where, and to what degree you should exchange minor pieces, etc. Presentation is user friendly, with plenty of diagrams. Opening books are not as intimidating as they were a few decades and there seems no reason why one shouldn’t treat this as a pleasant read, say, on the morning/evening commute to/from work. The target audience is quite wide, from 1400 up to 2300. JS.
This is a straightforward manual which delivers pretty well what it says on the cover, giving players in the 1400-1800 range the basic essentials of endgame play via a description of general principles and fleshed out with plenty of examples. The Greek grandmaster author has a respected track record as author and coach and the book is written in an uncomplicated and accessible way, and enhanced by Everyman’s presentational skills. Of course, the book finds itself in a crowded marketplace, with a number of other equally attractive endgame manuals available from other publishers (and endgame books don’t date). The reviewer was surprised at the identity of the foreword writer – IM Georgios Makropoulos, FIDE deputy president. It struck me as ironic to find one of the people most closely associated with the federation’s move to a much faster time control extolling the virtues of an endgame manual. But don’t let that put you off – this looks like an excellent book. JS.
The first edition of this book was published in 1995 and the new edition, having moved to a new publisher, has been greatly amended and expanded. The reviewer remembers reading the first edition and being positively bowled over by the many fine examples of chessboard beauty and ingenuity he found in its pages, linked together by insightful writing. Practical play, studies and problems are all well served here, and those who concentrate on one of the three one will find themselves pleasurably initiated into the world of the other two. Like many practical players, the reviewer was an infrequent visitor to the world of studies and problems but the book was instrumental in introducing technical terms, and also demonstrated how the different forms of chess overlap and are complementary to each other. The secret of this book is in the good writing. Finally, if you find yourself in one of those periods of disenchantment with chess which we all suffer from time to time, I can think of no better book for perking you up and reminding you of the rich beauty of chess. JS.
This is a traditional puzzle book except for the fact that it is written by Jon Speelman, who is of course one of the most remarkably creative and imaginative chessplayers around. The level of difficulty is quite wide, from the simple/well-known to the highly original/diabolical. He starts with the basics (revolving round the back rank and stalemate) and eventually graduates to what he calls tougher exercises, culled from practical play, studies and his own specially created compositions. A most enjoyable selection. JS.
This book seems very reviewer-friendly, which is useful because we haven’t had long to consider it. After setting out the aim of the book – “My aim with this book and its companion volume [not published yet - ed.] is to teach you everything there is to know about attacking chess. Not a small aim and already by its very definition it is clear that failure in this project is guaranteed.” Then, a page or two later, he summarises what attacking chess is all about (including both “attack the weakest point in your opponent’s position” and “attack the strongest point in your opponent’s position”). He has even specified his target audience – 1700-2500. But what this book – any book of this type – is really about is the quality of the writing and its readability. It is not clear that the “principles” of attacking play can ever be set out in any meaningful or structured way but nevertheless Aagaard has written a book of annotated games in his typically pithy, discursive, controversial and no-holds-barred style – and it is very readable. JS.
This DVD provides more than five hours of instructional video material by English grandmaster and coach Daniel King on significant aspects of pawn play. He examines the isolated queen’s pawn, central passed pawns and also when to exchange (and not to exchange) pawns. These three themes are crucially important to the understanding of positional play and are introduced in easy stages via the examination of standard positions that occur time and time again and in several standard opening complexes. The material presented here will be of most use to players rated between 1400 and 2000. System requirements: Pentium-Processor at 300 Mhz or higher, 64 MB RAM, Windows XP, Windows Vista, DVD drive, mouse, soundcard. JS.
According to the author, this DVD is about the difference between the psychology and etiquette you need for conducting a fight on the chessboard and how this differs from real life. In passing he makes an interesting comparison between professional chessplayers and war veterans in that they often experience difficulties in adapting themselves to normal or domestic life. From that he goes on to enumerate the ruses and tricks which can be used – within the letter of the law – to gain an advantage at the chessboard. The subjects include torture, intimidation; how to give your opponent some rope; exploiting Pavlovian responses; how to insult someone with your moves; time trouble; draw offers; playing to win/draw; the art of defence. The first section, on chessboard torture, starts with a 96-move grind by Tigran Petrosian – quite a brave choice by the author since it could put the viewer off watching the rest of the video, but it is a very realistic of the sort of torture that professional players utilise in their work and delivered with a twinkle in the eye by the presenter. To illustrate intimidation (by which he means both the use of sharp or visually aggressive moves and a super-confident demeanour at the board), he uses as his first example Karpov’s move 11 Ng5 (after 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0–0 Nxe4 6 d4 b5 7 Bb3 d5 8 dxe5 Be6 9 Nbd2 Nc5 10 c3 d4) against Korchnoi in the 10th game of the 1978 Baguio City match. His second example is a well-known trap in the Albin Counter Gambit (1 d4 d5 2 c4 e5 3 dxe5 d4 4 e3 Bb4+ 5 Bd2 dxe3 6 Bxb4?? exf2+ 7 Ke2 fxg1N+ 8 Ke1 Qh4+, etc) which Davies ascribes to an inexperienced White being intimidated by Black’s aggressive defence and strong pawn on d4. The disk proceeds with some well-known examples of the themes (e.g. the chessboard ‘insult’ was Miles’s use of 1...a6 against Karpov at Skara in 1980) mixed with consideration of examples from amateur play, and topped off with Davies’s anecdotes and witticisms. Davies is a relaxed presenter and makes watching the videos an enjoyable experience. It probably suits players in the 1200-1800 rating range. System requirements: Pentium-Processor at 300 Mhz or higher, 64 MB RAM, Windows XP, Windows Vista, DVD drive, mouse, soundcard. JS.
Just In: Beating the Open Games (2nd Ed.) by Mihail Marin, Quality Chess, £17.99. Strategy: Step by Step by Rustam Kasimdzhanov, ChessBase DVD-ROM, £22.99.
