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Magazine Chess Book Reviews : March 2009

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Playing the Queen’s Gambit by Lars Schandorff, Quality Chess, 248 pages, £17.99.

This is a repertoire book for White, providing guidance to reasonably advanced players on main lines of the Queen’s Gambit. After 1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Nf6, the author recommends the line beginning 4 cxd5 exd5 and aiming to play f3 and e4 à la Botvinnik. Against the QGA the chosen line is 3 e4. In the Slav main line (1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Nc3 dxc4 5 a4 Bf5) the line is 5 Ne5. Against the Semi-Slav (4...e6) the choice is the aggressive 5 Bg5. That is not an all-inclusive list but the basic thrust of the author is to go for tried and tested – but also aggressive – choices. The content of the book is delivered via annotated games, which means that the book can also be enjoyed as a collection of high quality games in their own right. The Danish grandmaster author has produced a very worthwhile book which provides a lot of educational content delivered in humorous and readable prose. JS.

Batsford's Modern Chess Openings (15th ed.) by Nick de Firmian, Batsford, 748 pages, £17.99.

The theory of every opening in a single book – whoever would have believed it possible? Seriously though, the day of the single-volume opening book may seem to have passed but the legendary MCO still packs a punch. Obviously it can’t hope to be anything like comprehensive but it can be useful to have such a book to hand, if only as an index to (or overview of) the full range of chess openings. For what is an enormous book, the price tag seems remarkably reasonable. There is quite a bit of white space but that might even be a positive advantage for those of us well stricken in years who find the small print and crowded figurines of many chess books something of a trial. Still popular after all these years and rightly so. JS.

Fischer World Champion! by Max Euwe and Jan Timman, New in Chess, 175 pages, £18.99.

First published in Dutch in 1972 and in English in 2002 (reviewed in our June 2002 issue), this new edition features a tribute by Garry Kasparov and an essay by Jan Timman on the life and chess of the late champion, both of which were published in New in Chess shortly after Fischer’s death. It remains one of the best and most insightful accounts of Fischer the chessplayer. JS.

Opening for White According to Anand 1 e4 (Vol.11) by Alexander Khalifman, Chess Stars, 444 pages, £22.99.

This is a particularly fat tome on the Sicilian Dragon (both accelerated and normal), as might be expected for such a highly theoretical and popular opening. Another book in the Chess Stars catalogue (‘Kramnik’ 1 Nf3, volume 3a) deals with the Maroczy Bind but this one has analysis of the line with 5 Nc3 Bg7 6 Be3 Nf6 7 Bc4 (sometimes known as the Yugoslav Accelerated Dragon). As the author acknowledges, Magnus Carlsen’s recent dalliance with the Dragon has complicated their task but they manage to update the book to include the latest (2008) analysis. The book would probably be of more benefit to advanced players rather than intermediate or club players. JS.

Play the Queen’s Indian by Andrew Greet, 256 pages, £14.99.

This is a repertoire book for Black by the English IM. There are quite a lot of diverse choices in this particular opening, hence a good deal of theory to expound but Greet does this carefully and authoritatively. The Queen’s Indian Defence always strikes this reviewer as a relatively ‘high-brow’ opening which is not best suited to club players but this is a brave stab at making it comprehensible at that level. JS.




   

Chess Secrets: Great Attackers by Colin Crouch, Everyman, 269 pages, £14.99.

The structure of this book is an interesting one: it falls into four main sections, on famous attacking players at a time when they produced a particularly noteworthy streak of attacking games. Specifically: Kasparov in 1975-78, Stein in 1972-73, Tal 1978-79; and then Kasparov again in 1978-82. The author provides deep coverage of 22 games, sifting and re-evaluating other annotators’ comments. It is a very well written book. It is especially good to have Colin Crouch writing again after a debilitating illness which badly affected his eyesight. JS.

Sharpen Your Tactics in Seven Days by Gary Lane, Batsford, 224 pages, £12.99.

This is a frothy, fun book for intermediate or younger players. It explains some general principles of tactical play and accompanies them with humorous anecdotes and entertaining chessboard episodes. JS.





   

The ABC of the Sicilian Dragon by Andrew Martin, ChessBase DVD-ROM, £24.95.

Should club players tinker with such a dangerous and unpredictable weapon as the Sicilian Dragon (which can easily blow up in your face)? Presenter Andrew Martin’s answer is an unqualified ‘yes’ – and, for what it’s worth, this reviewer agrees with him. If you are thinking of riding the Dragon (in the non-drug-abusive sense of that phrase), then this is an ideal starting point. Four hours of entertaining video material, concentrating on the understanding of ideas rather than hard theory, and well worth the price. JS.

New York 1924 by Alexander Alekhine, Russell Enterprises, 352 pages, £22.95.

This famous tournament ended in a great victory for recently-dethroned world champion Emanuel Lasker and featured Capablanca’s first game loss in something like eight years (to Réti). The classic book by the future world champion has been translated into algebraic notation and given some more diagrams but the original text is largely unchanged in this modern edition. JS.

John Nunn’s Chess Puzzle Book (new enlarged ed.) by John Nunn, Gambit, 335 pages, £14.99.

This book first came out in 1999 but has been expanded to contain 50 new puzzles and correct some errors identified in the first edition. It contains more than just puzzles: there is a cogently-argued essay comparing the strength of the great masters of the past with modern players, with some surprising and challenging conclusions. JS.

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