|
|
|
|
||||||||||
Magazine Chess Book Reviews : February 2009Return to the Magazine Review Index
| Search for other Magazine reviews by keyword
| More about Magazine...
|
||||||||||
| To buy this item - click here |
Take a look at that front cover: anything familiar about the typeface, with the prominent word ‘predecessors’? And of course the man himself and his name. Is this another ‘Predecessors’ volume? No, and it’s not by Kasparov nor the same publisher. Batsford are being a bit cheeky here, mimicking rival publisher Everyman’s famous series of books by Garry Kasparov. The authors explain in the preface that this started as a bit of friendly leg-pulling and was intended as a satirical magazine article, but that it grew and grew until they had enough material for a book. The authors even present the annotations in the first person as if Kasparov had written them (which he hasn’t). Well, let’s hope that the good people at Everyman see the joke. In actuality it is an enjoyable and light-hearted look at some Kasparov games (and those of other leading players of various eras) as if they had been annotated by ‘Virtual Garry Kasparov’ (as the blurb calls the fictionalised author), who loses lots of games but systematically places the blame on his (not so great) predecessors for misleading him about the nature of chess. It’s a one-joke book but not at all bad for reading on, say, April Fool’s Day. JS.
| To buy this item - click here |
The sub-title, An Essential Guide to Pawn Structures, gives the clue to the approach of the Dutch/Bosnian grandmaster who passes on many tips on the special aspects of the game imparted by the presence of doubled pawns, isolated pawns, hanging pawns and a central pawn majority. As Michael Adams comments in his sympathetic foreword, Sokolov’s appreciation of the nuances of pawn play provides much useful material for aspiring club players, since a structured approach to correct assessments helps resolve many dilemmas which recur regularly in practical play. Highly recommended. Review by Bernard Cafferty.
| To buy this item - click here |
The layout of the latest volume has been improved somewhat and there are some more fascinating and unorthodox lines to pick from. There are some distinguished contributors. David Navara writes on a tricky line in the Slav (1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Nf3 e6 5 Bd3), Igor Khenkin looks at a ‘flexible Caro Kann’ (1 e4 c6 2 Nc3 d5 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 e5 Ne4), Sergey Tiviakov considers the Queen’s Indian double fianchetto (1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 b6 4 a3 Íb7 5 Nc3 g6) – and Or Cohen looks at the ‘Petroff for Beginners’ – 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 Nxe5 Nxe4). Well, the reader might well be sceptical about this attempt to breathe life into something so discredited (even more so when the author claims that “[Vladimir] Afromeev is one of the great specialists of the Damiano Gambit”). But, don’t worry, there are plenty of other chapters to choose from. JS.
| To buy this item - click here |
Reading this after Tim Taylor’s more light-hearted concoction makes chess seem a serious business again. Two ex-Soviet grandmasters are at work here, analysing 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 b6 4 a3, a system which has gained ground since the 1970s and is now mainstream theory. It is a typically workmanlike Chess Stars production, with plenty of explanatory text and a good index. Queen’s Indian aficionados will wish to own this book. JS.
| To buy this item - click here |
IM and former US Open Champion Tim Taylor annotates some 27 of his own games and tells many a witty and informative story along the way. Some of his stories are very funny, such as the time when his opponent, the French grandmaster Robert Fontaine asked him to “Please stop breathing”. Of course, something had been lost in translation and the Frenchman’s true meaning was not as unfriendly as it sounded: he was objecting to the loudness of the breathing (Taylor had just returned from a post-time control sprint to the toilet – anyone who says chess is not a sport should have modern time controls explained to them). Taylor is obviously a very decent player and has an eye for a good story. This is a good book and we would be glad to read some more books by this entertaining author. JS.
| To buy this item - click here |
The number of pages and price tell you straightaway that we are dealing with no ordinary book. This is a classic McFarland book: a deeply researched, lovingly produced and definitive enquiry into an area of chess with a view to being the last word on the subject. The book goes into every area of blindfold chess, its history, the philosophy and mind techniques involved, the statistics and 444 annotated games. JS.
| To buy Vol.2 - click here |
| To buy Vol.1 - click here |
Two books by a Kiev-born New Zealand chess trainer with mainly four large clear diagrams to a page. Four volumes in all are planned for the series. Most of the themes and terminology will be familiar, though the occasional martial name may surprise: the Point Blank Shot, the Torpedo Attack and the Trapeze Attack Combination. Review by Bernard Cafferty.
| To buy this item - click here |
Subtitled The Unreal Chess of Andy Rea, this book contains 69 annotated games by a US player of peak 2200 strength. But they are not real games, they are made up with a view to being instructional. At least I think that is what Alex Shabalov is saying in the preface. It may be a useful book in some ways but I found the unclear description of what the book purported to contain rather infuriating. JS.
ABC of the Leningrad Dutch by Andrew Martin, ChessBase DVD-ROM, £24.95
ABC of the Anti-Dutch by Andrew Martin, ChessBase DVD-ROM, £24.95
