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Magazine Chess Book Reviews : September 2008

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Adolf Albin in America by Olimpiu G Urcan, McFarland, 278 pages hardcover, £34.95.

A very interesting book on someone who is best known to us as the man after whom the counter-gambit 1 d4 d5 2 c4 e5 is named but, as the accomplished author makes clear, is worthy of our attention in so many other ways. As is typical of the US publisher McFarland, it is a very thorough and comprehensive work on the talented Romanian master Adolf Albin (1848-1920) and in particular his stay in America for a few years in the 1890s. With its plethora of line drawings and photos, and stories of other chess masters of that era, the book conveys the atmosphere of late 19th century chess in New York and elsewhere. An excellent work which we can highly recommend. JS.

Secrets of Opening Surprises Vol. 9 by Jeroen Bosch, New in Chess, 144 pages, £13.99.

The latest in this series brings a whole new range of new opening wrinkles, including Daniel Stellwagen on the Two Knights, Adrian Mikhalchishin on the Bayonet Attack King’s Indian, Glenn Flear on the Grünfeld and many others. JS.

Play 1 b3! The Nimzo-Larsen Attack by Ilya Odessky, New in Chess, 258 pages, £17.99.

This is an opening book with a difference, because Ilya Odessky is a chess writer and journalist who injects a lot of humour and human interest in his writing and a wry outlook on life (e.g. his chapters headed “there is happiness in life”, followed by one entitled “there is no happiness in life”). As entertaining and original an opening manual as we have seen in years. JS.

222 Opening Traps after 1 d4 by Karsten Müller and Rainer Knaak, 148 pages, £14.99.

Not to be confused with the same authors’ 222 Opening Traps after 1 e4 (it would be easy to pick the wrong book off the shelf and buy it as they have very similar covers). Nothing too well known here; it concentrates on lines where you simply have to know what comes next or you are sunk. There are a surprising number of these around. Be very afraid – especially if your opponent has read this book and you haven't. JS.

Streetfighting Chess by Andrew Burnett, Trinity Knight Publishing, 185 pages, £15.99.

By ‘street-fighting’, the Scottish author (with a number of regional tournament successes) means the practical business of playing attacking chess. He fleshes out his chess philosophy via the annotation of (mainly) his own games, which include a number of grandmaster scalps. It is an enjoyable and well-presented work. JS.

The Genius and the Misery of Chess by Zhivko Kaikamjozov, Mongoose Press, 223 pages, £13.99.

This is a book of potted biographies (with examples of play) of some 50 chess players from As-Suli the Exile (880-946) to Magnus Carlsen, taking in most of the famous (not all: there is no Lasker, for example) and some more obscure ones. The ‘misery’ in the title refers to some of the tragic figures of the game – many of the players portrayed have presumably lived happy lives. The author is a former manager of the Bulgarian Chess Federation and coach, so his observations about fellow Bulgarians are perhaps the most interesting. JS.

The Flexible French by Viktor Moskalenko, New in Chess, 279 pages, £17.99.

Sub-titled Strategic Explanations and Surprise Weapons for Dynamic Players, this is a repertoire book for both colours by a former Ukrainian champion and grandmaster who goes into some depth in a large number of French variations, explaining the principals of each system. JS.

Chess Instructor 2009, Ed. Jeroen Bosch and Steve Giddins, New in Chess, 218 pages, £17.99.

A very interesting book which discusses the whole question of chess tuition and coaching, with 16 chapters written by a host of different authors, including Mark Dvoretsky, Simen Agdestein, Richard James and others, including one article with which Magazine readers may already be familiar – Alexander Vaisman’s advice on becoming a strong grandmaster, which appeared in our August 2005 issue. JS.






   

100 Endgames You Must Know by Jesus de la Villa, New in Chess, 240 pages, £17.99.

The author has collected together the 100 endgames that in his opinion occur the most frequently in practice, and he provides a clear exposition of the most important endgame ideas, with exercises to test your knowledge. JS.







   

Modern Chess Openings 15th Edition by Nick de Firmian, McKay, 739 pages, £19.99.

The old single-volume opening warhorse makes another appearance, in an era where most players buy specialist volumes on their favourite openings rather than expecting comprehensive coverage between the covers of one book. It’s well produced and up to date. JS.







 

Fighting the Anti-King’s Indians by Yelena Dembo, Everyman, 206 pages, £19.99.

The Greek IM author has put together a very useful work on how to combat those numerous systems which are used to divert King’s Indian Defence (and in some cases Grünfeld and even Benoni) players from their desired openings. The main one is the Trompowski, and Dembo provides a repertoire based on 2...c5, and she also supplies incisive ways of countering the Veresov, the Torre, the Barry, the Colle, the London systems and many other systems. It really is very comprehensive and well thought out. JS.







   

Informator 101, Sahovski Informator, 366 pages, £20.95.
The Best of the Best 1000, Informator, 560 pages, £29.99.

Two new books from Informator: the latest issue of their main publication, covering September to December 2007; a collection of the best 1,000 games as published over the past 40 years. JS.







   

Just in:
My Best Games in Spanish Vol. 3 by Alexei Shirov, ChessBase DVD-ROM, £24.95
Pocket Fritz 3, ChessBase DVD-ROM, £39.99
Quarterly for Chess History Volume 14, Ed. Vlastimil Fiala , Moravian Chess, 2008, 514 pages, hardback, £24.95

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