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Magazine Chess Book Reviews : April 2009

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Instructive Modern Chess Masterpieces (New enlarged edition) by Igor Stohl, Gambit, 445 pages, £17.99.

The first edition of this book was reviewed in the June 2001 Magazine. It was very well received and won various awards. The new edition has been substantially expanded and, in addition to the 50 games of the original work, now contains 12 games played subsequent to the first edition. As well as these additional games, the author has revisited his original annotations. Though Stohl’s emphasis lies mainly on the later stages of the game, he has also provided a lot of background material on the openings of the chosen games. In summary, it would be very hard to beat this volume for depth of annotation and the care that has gone into its production. It constitutes a modern classic. JS.

Dangerous Weapons: The King’s Indian by Glenn Flear, Richard Palliser, Yelena Dembo, Everyman, 272 pages, £14.99.

This book has a close look at more than a dozen lines for White and Black, including ‘attacking the fianchetto’ (4 g3 c5), some lines in the Four Pawns Attack, the Sämisch Variation with 5 f3 Nc6, 6...Nd7 versus ‘Seirawan’s favourite’ (5 Bd3 Nc6 6 Nge2) and plenty more besides. The book is well set out and easy to navigate. This seems the most stimulating of this month’s new opening books but that may be because the reviewer is a King’s Indian player. JS.

Chess Explained: The Main-Line Slav by David Vigorito, Gambit, 112 pages, £12.99.

This book discusses major lines following the moves 1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Nc3 dxc4 via 25 annotated games. It is a broad overview of a very complex system and fulfils its function very well. Given that it is such a theory-heavy system, it would probably suit players from 1800 upwards. JS.

Starting Out: The Sicilian by John Emms (2nd ed.), Everyman, 304 pages, £15.99.

The first edition of this book was reviewed in the June 2002 Magazine. This new edition contains 130 more pages and the author has added 20 new games and revamped the existing text. It is an excellent overview of a highly important opening system for intermediate or inexperienced players. JS.

New In Chess Yearbook 90, New in Chess, 248 pages, £21.50.

Amongst the features in this issue are Kramnik’s way in the Nimzo/English; the sharpest Najdorf (the legacy of the legendary Bela Perenyi); Sargissian’s ‘Gambit of the Year’; Viacheslav Eingorn on his paradoxical 7...Kf8 in the Winawer French; and dozens of other opening secrets and surprise weapons. JS.




   

Chess Explained: The Grünfeld by Valentin Bogdanov, Gambit, 112 pages, £12.99.

Another opening overview from Gambit: this one covers all the main lines of the Grünfeld. The cover page makes it clear that Viacheslav Eingorn is a contributor to the book. This would probably also suit players of 1800 and upwards. JS.

ZOOM 001: Zero Hour for Operative Opening Models by Bent Larsen and Steffen Zeuthen, Dansk Skakforlag, 364 pages hardcover, £14.99.

Neither a new book nor a reissue but a book published in 1979 of which copies have become available again for reasons unknown to the reviewer. Originally reviewed in the February 1980 Magazine, it is a substantial work on the structure of the Grünfeld, looking at it from both White’s and Black’s perspective. The ‘Zoom’ of the title is a partial acronym – a gimmick, though the book is certainly a serious work. In all there are 451 annotated games played by about 20 of the leading grandmasters of the 1970s. It is an advanced chess book, suiting players of 2000 or higher who are interested in the Grünfeld. JS.





   

Informator 103, Sahovski Informator, 323 pages, £20.95 (for book or CD-ROM edition), £29.95 (for both).

This issue contains 407 annotated games and 511 variations and covers events held between May and August 2008, including Sofia, Sarajevo, Foros, Dortmund, Poikovsky, Biel and the Staunton Memorial in London. The feature article at the back is on Peter Svidler. JS.

Chess Openings for Black Explained by Lev Alburt, Roman Dzindzichashvili and Eugene Perelshteyn (2nd ed.), CIRC, 552 pages, £22.99.

The first edition of this black repertoire book was reviewed in the September 2005 Magazine. The main lines being recommended are the Accelerated Dragon against 1 e4, the Nimzo/Bogo-Indians against 1 d4, and 1...c5 against the English. There are also suggestions for all manner of sidelines with which Black could be confronted. JS.

TOP Theory Novelties 2 (Sept-Dec 2008), Sahovski Informator CD-ROM, £19.95.

This CD-ROM covers tournaments played from September to December 2008 and includes surveys of the ECO codes B12 (Caro Kann 3 e5), D12 (Slav 4...Bf5) and D17 (Slav 4...dxc4). It contains a database of important games played during the period, in four different computer formats (including PGN and ChessBase). JS.

Attacking the King: For Experts by Rustam Kasimdzhanov, ChessBase DVD-ROM, £27.95.

The former FIDE champion looks at attacking games played by the great world champions, from Steinitz to Kasparov. Video running time: 4 hours. JS.

The Scotch Game by Nigel Davies, ChessBase DVD-ROM, £24.95.

Concentrates mainly on White, but the author also suggests lines for Black. Video running time: 5 hours. System requirements: Pentium-Processor at 300 Mhz or higher, 64 MB RAM, Windows XP, Windows Vista, DVD drive, mouse, soundcard. JS.

Just in: Power Play 9: Major vs. Minor Pieces by Daniel King, ChessBase DVD-ROM, £27.95; ChessBase Magazine 128, ChessBase DVD-ROM, £18.95.

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