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Who is Vaidyanathan Ravikumar? Well, according to the back of this book he became India’s second International Master in 1978. In 1991 he won the Dutch Open in Dieren. He has authored several opening books including ones on the Caro-Kann, the Benko Gambit and the Closed Sicilian. Currently he is a coach for juniors in the United Arab Emirates. Since I had never heard of him before, I looked up his games in Chessbase and happened to come across one whose finish reminds me of exactly the kind of puzzles his book contains:
Kavitha,JE - Ravikumar,Vaidyanathan (2350)
Black
to Play and Win In the books introduction, Ravikumar says: Most of my predecessors have grouped the combinations, explaining a few followed by test chapters. I reckon that it is simply not enough to give positions and question the readers. Instead the author should provide additional information and explain briefly the dynamics of the position. Only then the readers will understand the problems and find the solutions. To this end, there is a significant amount of information given along with each problem. Above the diagram along with the player’s name, the tournament the game was played in and the date, is the name of the tactic used, i.e. pin, undermining, fork, etc. Beneath each problem is a paragraph about the position you are being asked to solve. For example, on problem #...?? Two Quality Control Issues Full stop. I have to mention here an extremely annoying flaw in the book’s layout: none of the problems are numbered!? I kid you not. This makes identifying which problem you left off at, or a specific problem you wish to refer to (as in the case here) much more difficult than it needs to be. And figuring out which problem goes with which solution is also a hassle (basically you have to remember the name of the two players and then turn to the back of each chapter and find their names among a list. Not very user-friendly!) Another quibble, albeit more minor, is the quality of the pictures. Each chapter section features a black and white picture of an ancient warrior (in full battle regalia) preparing to do battle, while holding a bow and arrow, spear, sword or other primitive instrument of warfare. While the inclusion of these images is unique and somewhat inspiring (after all, chess is a game based on military strategy), the bit-mapped quality of the images is poor, even by 2004 standards (the date the book was published.) Okay, moving on. The problem I want to show you is on the right side of page 13: Peredy-Malanca
Black to play and win And underneath the problem Ravikumar writes: Black to move has better coordination among his forces with potential threats. Malanca concluded a surprising attack in style and launched his forces against the White King. The reader is requested to solve position (sic) under special condition to improve the tactical vision. Look at the board for 30 seconds and try to memorize the position. Then find Black’s winning sequence in blindfold. Every problem in the book has such a paragraph. The part about solving blindfold not withstanding, some readers will like the amount of information (clues) they are given with each problem and some will feel it gives away too much. Most of the solutions to the problems in the book are 2-4 moves long, with a few being longer. The Bottom Line The Good: I like Ravikumar’s choice of puzzles. They are good for the class player (1300-1800) who wishes to improve his or her tactics. All are from real games and thus very practical. Lower rated players (as well as chess teachers) will most likely find the relatively large amount of clues the author provides both above each problem (its tactical theme) as well as the paragraph underneath it, helpful. The Bad: Quality control - none of the problems are numbered, the quality of the pictures throughout the book is poor, and there are way too many typos and grammatical errors. Also, strong players may feel that too much information accompanies each problem thus making them less challenging. On a scale of 1-10, Chess Tactics Quiz book by Vaidyanathan Ravikumar gets a 6.5
Editor's note: I was able to find this title for sale online at both the British Chess Magazine site (£9.99) and the Australian Chess Enterprises site (AUD $29.95) after just a few moments search in Google.
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