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BCM Chess Book Reviews : July 2000Return to the BCM Review Index
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The obvious books to compare this one with are Bobby Fischers My 60 Memorable Games and Garry Kasparovs The Test of Time. Each of these books is a work by an absolutely outstanding player, covering his career to his early or mid twenties. Indeed, it can come as something as a shock that Kramnik, born in June 1975, is still so young, since he has been around at élite level for so long. In 1992 he was catapulted into the Russian olympiad team at the age of sixteen, and scored an astonishing 8½/9. Even so, many were inclined to take it as disrespectful to such talented players as Anand, Shirov, Ivanchuk and Kamsky that Kasparov announced Kramnik as his probable successor to the worlds top spot, but a few years on, it looks as though Kasparov has judged correctly. It is of course a scandal that Kasparov never kept to his promise of a match against Shirov (Kramniks book gives the basic background), but nevertheless it is only Kramnik who could go into a match against Kasparov without being a clear underdog. Whatever ones thoughts about the official status of the match in London later this year, it should be a cracker.
In his book, Kramnik spreads his efforts rather too thinly in giving as many as 178 games and game fragments; I would prefer the more detailed type of coverage and analysis that Fischer and Kasparov gave. A brief sampling suggests that Kramniks notes are not beyond criticism, with doubts possible over the notes to Whites 27th in Kramnik-Adams, Cologne 1998 and to Blacks 22nd in Kasparov-Kramnik, Dos Hermanas 1996. Both cases show Kramnik possibly being over-critical of his own play; there is little of the sense that one sometimes gets in Kasparovs notes that the winner is always right. Indeed, the general impression one gets from Kramniks commentaries is that of laid-back objectivity, rather than say Fischers inward-looking intensity or the young Kasparovs energetic enthusiasm.
What can we tell from the games collection about Kramniks playing
style? As with any current top-level supergrandmaster, he is thoroughly
at home in the most extraordinary complications; his win just cited against
Kasparov is a good illustration. Perhaps to a greater extent than his
main (non-Kasparov) rivals, he grafts this onto a very solid positional
sense, and does not readily lose his sense of balance. His wins as White
against Kasparovs Kings Indians do not come about through the classic
recipe of White storming on the queenside and Black storming on the kingside,
but rather through systems of play in which White tries to hold the balance
of play, and if possible take control of the play, across all the main
sectors of the board. Kramnik did much to put the 9 b4 system on the theoretical
map, and other games are given. There are many quibbles to be made about
presentation, with the absence of a detailed listing of games (opponent,
venue, year) making it at times difficult to navigate through a book which
is not structured chronologically. It also seems strange to give a cross-table
of the life results between Kasparov, Karpov, Kramnik, Topalov, Anand
and lvanchuk for the period up to Las Palmas 1996 (page 63) and not to
repeat the exercise up to 1999. All in all, though, I think that this
is a book that will grow on the reader, and is certainly worth having.
(Review by IM Colin Crouch)
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One of the key aspects of the Sveshnikov Sicilian is the highly imbalanced
pawn structure adopted by Black. It is gratifying to find that the author
addresses this immediately in the first chapter, explaining how each side
tries to alter the basic configuration to his own advantage, and other
important factors such as the battle for d5. Piece placement is also covered
in detail, plus practical examples including some by one of the
Sveshnikovs great exponents, Vladimir Kramnik before plunging
into the theoretical analysis. In fact this book is almost as good a way
to study Kramniks games as his biography reviewed above, given the
Russian leviathans record with the Sveshnikov. Everyman chief
advisor Garry Kasparov will find this book essential reading. Aagaard
is not slow to give his own opinion of the quality of lines presented;
he is also possessed of a pleasantly dry sense of humour which makes this
opening book rather more readable than most of its kind.
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The author was inspired to write this book by an article and competition
which appeared in BCM in 1998 with the same title. On that occasion
a panel of experts voted Shirovs 47...Bh3!! against Topalov, Linares
1998, as the most amazing move of all time. But John Emms noticed that
the moves voted on by the experts were actually very diverse. Here he
has presented 200 of the most amazing moves ever played, including his
nominations for the top twenty, judged on their surprise value,
soundness, only move factor, importance and aesthetic value.
Before seeing the goodies, the reader is invited to find the amazing move
for themselves, with the answer (and full game score) found at the end
of the chapter. There are a few old favourites in here and Emms
votes for Shirovs ...Bh3 as his number one but the overwhelming
majority are fresh and fascinating. The author is also to be commended
for his remarkable modesty; of the examples taken from his own play, he
was the amazee, rather than the amazer, in all
three cases. Hugely enjoyable.
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Sub-titled Winning with the Hungarian Attack, this is a study
of an underestimated side-line in the Kings Indian where, after
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 Bg7 4 e4 d6, White continues with 5 Nge2 and play
often continues 5...0-0 6 Ng3 e5 7 d5 before play diverges into a number
of different lines. Unlike most ways of ducking mainstream theory, this
one is more potent than most, particularly against an unwary player who
proceeds mechanically with a traditional f7-f5 based Kings Indian
plan. Much of the book is taken up with a consideration of such lines
following 6...e5. However there is little new material on more circumspect
and flexible black plans such as 5...c6 followed by ...a6 and ...b5, as
also examined in Joe Gallaghers 1996 book, Beating the Anti-Kings
Indians. These systems are frequently played at master level and White
has scored rather badly in practice. However it is valuable to have on
record the analysis of the more static lines following 6...e5 because
Forintos is undoubtedly the world expert on this system. The Hungarian
Attack has all the hallmarks of a dangerous system at club level.
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This is a repertoire book for Black which aims to supply a system for
each White try against the Classical Sicilian (1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4
4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 Nc6). First the author considers Boleslavsky-type positions
which occur after 6 Be2, 6 Be3, 6 f3 and 6 f4, then Dragon-type positions
after 6 g3 g6, before going on to consider the Sozin and Velimirovic variations
after 6 Bc4, and the Rauzer after 6 Bg5. This is a lot of ground to cover
in 128 pages; but the author provides an authoritative overview which
will be valuable to someone planning to take up this challenging variation.
For those unfamiliar with the authors name, Finnish Grandmaster
Jouni Yrjöla has been a leading exponent of the Classical Sicilian
throughout his career.
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A beginners chess book marks a new departure for Dr John Nunn,
who usually writes books for advanced chess-players. Not many readers
of BCM will want this book for themselves; but most chess players are
occasionally obliged to explain the rudiments of the game to a close friend
or relative, or recommend a suitable book to a learner. There is the added
stimulus of seeing how a celebrated player, writer and former Oxford academic
goes about the task of explaining the knight move or the en passant
rule. In fact he takes a no-nonsense approach and is at great pains to
clarify the great quantity of bewildering jargon facing newcomers to the
game via logical explanation and thorough testing. Slightly smaller than
a normal Gambit book, and suitable for the pocket in more ways than one.
OUT OF PRINT |
The Morra Gambit scarcely exists in master chess, but it has always been
a dangerous weapon at club level, not least because many amateur Sicilian
Defence players are unprepared for it. The Finegold Defence purports to
offer Black a way to throw the Morra Gambiteer off balance. Its keynote
move is actually a keynote non-move: it is based on not playing an early
Ìc6 against the Morra. The book is unindexed and is largely unstructured.
Nevertheless there are some interesting ideas that might suit a club player
who is looking for a cohesive system to counter the Morra horror.
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A facsimile reprint of the second volume of Hoffer and Zukertorts
new periodical, which was soon to run into stiff opposition in the shape
of the British Chess Magazine, whose launch was generously announced
on page 167. BCM was referred to as an enlarged continuation
of the Chess Department of the late Huddersfield College Magazine.
But Hoffer could not resist a dig: We will, therefore, refrain from
expressing our opinion. The only question we may ask at present is, why
such a deal of space is wasted with enormous diagrams on small pages illustrating
an indifferent position....
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The third volume kicks off with some wonderful bickering. Editor Leopold Hoffer lambasts the chess editor of the Illustrated London News (who, though unnamed here, was PT Duffy). Answering a readers query about English chess periodicals, Duffy responded: There is only one English chess monthly we know of the British Chess Magazine. The ILN is then reported as compounding the felony by claiming to know nothing of Mr Hoffer, going on to be very rude about The Chess Monthly. Though named in dispatches, the BCM seems to emerge unscathed from the cross-fire. Thereafter Hoffer and Zukertort were embroiled in a much more protracted antagonism with the editor of The Field, Wilhelm Steinitz, who took exception to criticism of his annotations of a match between Zukertort and Blackburne.
The backbiting and provocation, always expressed in the most grandiloquent
tones, continue in every issue to the end of the year. Wonderful stuff
but thank heavens modern-day chess editors arent obliged
to behave like this.
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First, readers should note that the reprint of Volume 31 has been issued
in advance of Volume 30 which has been temporarily held up. This volume
includes coverage of the 1934 Alekhine-Bogolyubow match, and has an obituary
of Tarrasch. Former BCM owner and editor Isaac M Brown also received
a fulsome obituary, though another correspondent of the BCM touched
a nerve when making reference to players skittling games at
the New York State Congress. Publisher Hermann Helms felt obliged to speak
up for the good organisation of the event, but his contradiction of the
BCM story is delivered in typically mild and courteous language.
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The magazine edited by JB and EM Muñoz was now into its third
year and apparently thriving. The number relating to November 15, 1884
contained a most unusual score not of a chess game but of a piece
of piano music dedicated to Paul Morphy, composed by Sig. Giuseppi Liberali,
of Patras, Greece, who elsewhere composes problems for the magazine. There
is much excellent reporting of world events, including full crosstables
of English and Scottish tournaments.
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This CD-ROM, with material written and edited by the editor of Canadas
national magazine, En Passant, covers the French Defence opening
that fall within the C10-C19 classification on ECO. There is a database
of 44,000+ games, of which 3,600 are annotated, plus 23 training positions.
An enjoyable instructional CD-ROM and the training positions are as ever
highly addictive.