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March 2007 cover: Teimour Radjabov  ties for first at Corus Wijk aan Zee
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Magazine Chess Book Reviews : March 2007

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The Ruy Lopez: A Guide for Black
by Sverre Johnsen and Leif Johannessen, Gambit, 207 pages, £16.99.

The Ruy Lopez: A Guide for Black by Sverre Johnsen and Leif Johannessen, Gambit, 207 pages, £16.99.

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The two Norwegian authors start with separate prefaces. In Johnsen’s 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. Johannessen’s 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 reviewer’s hunch with a quotation from the British Champion’s Chess for Zebras, and tell the story of the Norwegian team’s 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.






 

Play the Ruy Lopez by Andrew Greet, Everyman, 376 pages, £14.99.

Play the Ruy Lopez by Andrew Greet, Everyman, 376 pages, £14.99.

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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 Short’s 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 0–0 0–0 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. I’m 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 can’t 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. It’s a fat book but a very readable one, with plentiful textual advice and guidance. JS.





 

 

    

Secret Notes
by David Bronstein and Sergey Voronkov, Olms, 232 pages, £19.99.Secret Notes by David Bronstein and Sergey Voronkov, Olms, 232 pages, £19.99.

 

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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. Bronstein’s 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 latter’s 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 game’s immortals. Review by Steve Giddins.









 

 

 

Chess Explained: The c3 Sicilian
by Sam Collins, Gambit, 112 pages, £12.99.Chess Explained: The c3 Sicilian by Sam Collins, Gambit, 112 pages, £12.99.

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The c3 Sicilian has long since cast off its reputation as a theory-dodger’s system and in recent years a number of books have been written about it. This is the latest in Gambit’s 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.








 

Kasparov’s Sicilian Strategies
by Raymond Keene, Hardinge Simpole, 217 pages, £17.50.Kasparov’s Sicilian Strategies by Raymond Keene, Hardinge Simpole, 217 pages, £17.50.

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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.











 

My System
by Aron Nimzowitsch, Quality Chess, 316 pages, £14.99.My System by Aron Nimzowitsch, Quality Chess, 316 pages, £14.99.

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The old Bell descriptive edition, in Philip Hereford’s 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 book’s 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.







 

The Blockade
by Aron Nimzowitsch, Hardinge Simpole, 155 pages, £12.95.The Blockade by Aron Nimzowitsch, Hardinge Simpole, 155 pages, £12.95.

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Die Blockade was Nimzowitsch’s 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 Nimzowitsch’s 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 Nimzowitsch’s revolutionary developments in chess thinking. JS.









 

The Official History of the British Correspondence Chess Association 1906-2006
by D J Rogers, BCCA, 128 pages, £10.00.The Official History of the British Correspondence Chess Association 1906-2006 by D J Rogers, BCCA, 128 pages, £10.00.

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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 Magazine 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.









 

Power Play 3: Pawn Storm
by Daniel King, ChessBase DVD-ROM, £21.50.Power Play 3: Pawn Storm by Daniel King, ChessBase DVD-ROM, £21.50.

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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.







 

EG - Vol. XI, December 2005
Ed. John Roycroft et al., Arves, 565 pages hardcover, £27.00.

Not stocked by Magazine
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 don’t stock this book at the Magazine 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 Magazine'S SHOPPING CART
   Titles now available: The French Advance (2nd ed.) by Sam Collins; Starting Out: The Scotch Game by John Emms; Play the Queen’s Gambit by Chris Ward; Starting Out: Chess Tactics and Checkmates by Chris Ward; Starting Out: The King’s 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).


 

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