CHESSBOOK REVIEWS


Latest book reviews of 1 May 2007
BOOKS REVIEWS BY JOHN ELBURG.

Wilhelminalaan 33 

7261 BP RUURLO 

The Netherlands.
John Elburg



                                     Chess Books



San Luis 2005 by Alik Gershon & Igor Nor
2007
442 pages
Price €29,99
ISBN 978-91-976005-2-1

San Luis 2005 shall always be remembered as the one of the greatest tournaments of all time and was hold in the beautiful city of San Luis, Argentina.
This city  is one of the few microclimates in the world, and is known not only for its weather characteristics, but also for the affection of its friendly  people.
This 8-player double round robin was won by the Bulgarian chess Grandmaster Veselin Topalov who showed the chess world that he was at that moment the only really world champion in chess,his excellent performance in the first half of this tournament with just half a point below 100% is the play of  a chess genius.
The total prize fund of this super tournament was good for a total of a small one million dollars so I understand the big smile from Topalov on the cover of this great made tournament book.
There are all kind of tournament books but seldom one have impressed me so much as this heavy weight from the former junior world champion Grandmaster Alik Gershon and Igor Nor,with the in depth analyses from all the 56 games of this important tournament.
For example game 52 of this book Rustam Kasimdzhanov against Veselin Topalv where black went for the Wall in the Open  Ruy Lopez.
Topalov’s first goall was to go for safe because he had enough with a draw to become the best chess player of the world.
But all together this well analysed  game is good for nine pages of this book and that is included the photographs, indeed this book is overloaded with photo’s from the players and the lovely surroundings of  San Luis.
Probaly Rustam Kasimdzhanov was well prepared for the Berlin defence seen that Toplav played it also against Judit Polgar which can be found in  game 24 of this book.
By the way  it is a great pity that there is no game index in this book so you are forced to search throw this heavy work to find  for your favourite opening lines.
But back to the game with  Judit Polgar,this fantastic played game is deeply analysed with nine pages of  text.
Interesting to mention is that Judit Polgar went for the move order:1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nc3 Ne7 10.h3 Ng6 11.Ne4 h6 12.b3 c5 13.Be3 and the latest ECO C sees nothing more in this position as a even game,but the annotations to this game from Alik Gershon and Igor Nor are very interesting; Another plausible move,but somehow white gets a slightly worse game.Althrough all white moves where logical and common for this position, they were not the right way to react to black’s moves and this is the reason many strong players are devotees of this “passive opening “ for black: unless white is focused and alert.Black can even achieve an advantage! Sounds charming indeed…
Interesting was 13.Rd1! forcing the black king to stay in the centre,since after 13..Bd7 white has a typical shot: 14.e6! fxe6 15.h5 with a strong initiative.For example 15…Kc8 {15…h5 16.Neg5} 16.h6 Bc6 17.Re1 Ne7 18.Nxc5 with a serious edge.
Funny enough the wall was also very populair in the first World Championship between Steinitz and Zukertort in 1886 but also Kramnik had a lot of success with it against Kasparov at the Brain Games World Chess Championship of the year 2000.
By the way the best analysed game in this book goes to game 33,Peter Svidler - Rustam Kasimdzhanow with 15 pages of text!
Conclusion: One of those few super made tournament books!



Meine grossen vorkämpfer by Garri Kasparov
6 Robert James Fischer

2007
Edition Olms
http://www.olms.de

Price €39,95
ISBN 978-3-283-00475-0

This German edition of My great Predecessors is more than a simple translation of the Everyman books,even that both work starts with the legendary American grandmaster Samuel Reshevsky and ends as  the English edition with the great chess legend Robert Fischer.
But first tot his fine made Olms edition where Kasparov writes on Fischer :Fischer grew up without a father, which, I think, left a tragic imprint on his entire life.
When he was already at a mature age he said once in a interview:’ My father left my mother when I was two years old.I have never seen him.My mother has only told me that his name was Gerhardt and that he was a German desident.Children who grow up  without a parent become wolves.
Funny enough there are some interesting crossings between Reshevsky and Fischer,when Samuel Reshevesky just had won the 3rd Rosenwald tournament Donald Byrne was beaten by a 13 year old boy named Robert Fischer.
This game is analysed by Kasparov and his companion who is unfortunately only mentioned  at the last page of this book and named Dmitri Plisetzki.
Fischer only finished eight but his game against Donald Byrne was for many Fischer fans the best  game he ever played.
This game appeared in chess magazines around the world, provoking the delight of the public and the amazement of the experts.
Averbakh recalls: After looking at it I was convinced that the boy was devilishly talented.
But probably Fischer’s greatest success in 1956 was his meeting with the trainer Jack Collins,who pupils had also included such talented players as the Byrne brothers and William Lombardy.
For the interested chess reader please also see the book from John W Collins: My seven chess prodigies, Simon and Schuster New York 1974.
Garry Kasparov has divided over 276 pages of this book and 56 deeply annotated games {from the 106 complete games in this book} to Fischer.
At this moment Fischer has lost his glance but when you open this book you meet the real  chess hero Fischer with his so outstanding  play that fascinated millions of people all over the world.
Included in this book are his famous candidate wins again Larsen 1st & 2nd  match game, Fischer – Petrosian Buenos Aires 1971 and the of course the famous world championship match with Spassky who many chess players consider as the chess match of the century.
When I compare the analyses from the match with for example the 2002 reprint from Max Euwe & Jan Timman, Fischer World Champion! {New in Chess}game 10 with the idea after 29…Rad8 than it is clear Kasparov’s analyses are the ones where you go for!
Included in this book is a lot of extra background information on Fischer as his famous telephone conversation with President Nixon.
This Olms has besides the finest paper  some extra’s as photographs but also an extra chess CD with 6907 games from Reshevsky,Najdorf,Larsen and Fisher.
Conclusion: One of those chess books that you really must have!



Capablanca in the United Kingdom (1911-20) by Vlastimil Fiala
2006
Ol
omouc
Moravian Chess
http://www.moravian-chess.cz
379 pages
Price £24.95
ISBN 978-80-7189-569-5

J
ose Capablanca 1888-1942 belongs to one of the greatest legends in chess.Born in Cuba but was educated in America where he spend nearly all his free time playing chess against every chess  masters he could find in New York.
In  1901 Capablanca was considered as the century’s  first great chess prodigy and the first world champion in chess  who achieved the celebrity status of a movie star,but at the age of 54 he was stricken with a cerebral hemorrhagic while watching a chess game at the Manhattan Chess Club.
The chess historian Vlastimil Fiala who is a big admirer of Capablanca  has spend a lot of his time compiling this hard cover book on Capablanca’s visit’s to the United Kingdom of the years 1911-1920.
These visit’s from Capablanca are on the first place for  important tournaments but this book is above all overloaded with  simultaneous Exhibitions,enjoyable anecdotes but also forgotten lightning tournaments!
All together there are around 122 complete  games in this book where many carry excellent annotations,included is an excellent bibliography,a list of periodicals and Newspapers,Index of Capablanca’s opponents and consultation partners,Opening index and a index of simultaneous exhibitions.
It is unbelievable what Cabablanca traveld around,from Dublin to London and winning one game after the other!
Some times he even made 39 points out 40 games! He was certainly one of the greatest chess players of al time.
Conclusion: A great read on Capablanca!

Praque 1905
The first congress of the central association of Czech chess players Praque 1905
by Vlastimil Fiala
2006
Olomouc
Moravian Chess
http://www.moravian-chess.cz
158 pages
Price €25,00
ISBN 80-7189-562-2

The chess historian Vlastimil Fiala covers in this beautiful printed hard cover bookthe first congress of the central association of Czech chess players that was held in Praque of the year 1905.
Besides the interesting historic information about this congress there was also a very strong main tournament of the UJCS which had  important  players as Duras and Treybal.
All games of this tournament are well recovered in this book but also the secondary tournament which was won by Stanislav Sery is pleasantly presented with all the played games.
Sery won before Hromadka and  was very surprised that  Stanislav Sery is not mentioned in the work Chess Personalia from Jeremy Gaige.
Interesting to mention is that some players from the country gave the name of the Prague chess club as there club because in those days it was common for country players to be registered in the exciting and officially acknowledged clubs of Praque.
There was also an interesting contest in the speed solving of two problems,authord by the well known P.K.Traxler.
Included is an impressive Bibliography,name index,general index,openings and players index plus a index of the games of the Secondary UJCS tournament.
Conclusion: A very nice collectors item!

Morphy’s Match Games by Charles Henry Stanley
2006
Olomouc
Moravian Chess
http://www.moravian-chess.cz
108 pages
Price £18.99

This lovely made facsimile reprint  from the original 1859  work from Charles Henry Stanley on the match games from the phenomenal  Paul Morphy.
In the preface Stanley writes that Morphy was  descended from Spanish ancestry but he also had Portuguese,French and Spanish background in his family.
Stanley: Mr.Paul Morphy,on the paternal side,is descended from a Spanish family-one of his ancestors having emigrated from the land which lent its aid to Columbia’s first discover,and his father having been born at Charleston,South Carolina. This gentleman having contracted marriage with a lady of French origin, named Le Carppentier, resident in the state Louisiana.
According to his uncle, Ernest Morphy, no one formally taught Morphy how to play chess. Ernest wrote that as a young child, Morphy learned on his own from simply watching the game played. His uncle recounted how Morphy, after watching one game for several hours between his father and him, told him afterwards that he should have won the game. Father and uncle were surprised, as they didn't think that young Paul knew the moves, let alone any chess strategy They were even more surprised when Paul proved his claim by resetting the pieces and demonstrating the win his uncle had missed.
Please also see http://en.allexperts.com/e/p/pa/paul_morphy.htm
There are 61 of Paul Morphy’s games in this book all in the old English notation and divided in
Morphy – Lowenthal match,Paris blindfold match,Morphy – Harrwitz match,Morphy – Anderssen match,Birmingham blindfold match and miscellaneous games.
This is a book that you buy for the atmosphere of that time and Fiala has managed to created a lovely chess book with the young Paul Morphy on the hard cover of this 108 page hard cover work.
Conclusion: A lovely reprint!


A memorial to William Steinitz by Charles Devide
2006
Olomouc
Moravian Chess
http://www.moravian-chess.cz
 99 pages
Price £18.99

A other interesting reprint from Fiala is this 1901 reprint from Charles Devide on a memorial to William Steinits where some readers will recognize it as the same work which Dover reprints brought on the market under the title William Steinitz selected chess games Dover Publications 1974.
The slight difference between these two books is that the Dover edition was expanded with a new preface by David Hoop,but that where only six extra additional games.
This 1901 reprint starts with a eight page biographical overview and covers around 74 games where the annotations to the games are much more intensive than the above mentioned book on Morphy.
So this book tell his Steinitz story at the hand of a biography and games chronologically arranged with an analyses of play as Devide describes it in this book.
Included in this book is one of his most beautiful games and well against Russian Mikhail Chigorin where Chigorin was supplied with free brandy and Steinitz with free champagne.Steinitz explained later that he drank champagne to handle his nerves.
Conclusion: Small but beautiful work on Steinitz!



Encyclopaedia of chess openings vol.C5th edition by
Aleksandar Matanovic.

2006
Beograd
http://www.sahovski.com
671 pages
Price £23.95
ISBN 86-7297-054-3


This fifth updated and expanded edition of the most famous ECO of chess openings has gone from the 4th edition with it's 567 pages to 671 pages and that is exactly counted 104 full more pages of latest chess theory.
The main source of these encyclopaedia’s are all published chess Informators  and that are all issues till Informator 96 so it is all very up to date.To keep abreast of new developments please start with reading Informator 97.
But to be honest I have been impressed by the extra included  publications as latest  correspondence games but the reader shall also find hundreds of latest innovations all between the lines of this heavy loaded book.
Seldom played openings don’t get much attentin in a ECO of Chess Openings but I was surprised that even the rare Calabrese Counter gambit is still mentioned here and it runs with the moves: 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 f5 3.exf5 which reaches also the oldest game that I could find in this encyclopaedia and well thegame  Meyet – Hanstein Berlin 1837.
Gary Lane wrote not so long ago a book on the Bishop’s opening but did not mention in his book the possibility of 3.exf5 and that dear reader is poor.
But you buy the encyclopaedia for latest developments as for example section C45 The Scotch game which is good for a 47 and a half page and that is more than twice so much chess information as the fourth edition with it’s  20 pages.
And that is  more openings  information than any other available openings book on the Scotch!
For example please look at a exciting idea from Mark Hebden in the Mieses variation: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5 Qe7 7.Qe2 Nd5 8.c4 Nb6 9.Nd2 a5 10.b3 a4 11.Bb2 axb3 12.axb3 Rxa1+ 13.Bxa1 Qa3 14.Qd1 Bb4 15.Bd3 Qa5 16.Ke2 d6 17.f4 Not mentioned in John Emms work Play the open games as black but a lot of his other analyses in this book still stand the test of time.17…dxe5 18.fxe5 Bg4+ 19.Nf3 Nd7 20.Kf2 Nc5 21.Bc2 Ne6 with a complete even position,Macieja- Kosten 2004.
It was Kasparov who was responsible for a injection of new ideas in Mieses variation, by the way Mieses has the credit of having revived this variation but it is not sure that the move was an original invention of him.
In the Marshall gambit we see more modern lines as 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6 12.d4 Bd6 13.Re2 and 13.Re1 Qh4 14.g3 Qh3 15.Re4 g5.
Pleasant enough the classics are not forgotten and a nice example is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6 12.d4 Bd6 13.Re1 Qh4 14.g3 Qh3 15.Be3 Bg4 16.Qd3 Rae8 17.Nd2 Re6 18.a4 Qh5 19.axb5 axb5 20.Qf1 Rfe8 21.Bxd5 Qxd5 22.h3 Bh5 23.Qg2 Qxg2+ 24.Kxg2 f5 25.Nf3 f4 26.Bd2 fxg3 27.Rxe6 Rxe6 28.Ra8+ Bf8 29.Ne5 gxf2 30.Kxf2 Re8 31.Ra6 Bd6 32.Bf4 Bxe5 33.Bxe5 Re6=,Polgar – Adams,San Luis, 2005.
Indeed the Marshall has been employed by many leading players for the forced drawing lines.And this is probably the main reason that Kasparov with white never allowed the Marshal gambit.
All together the good old Marshall section C89 is still doing a small twelve pages and that is two more pages as the last encyclopaedia.
Not really discovered by the Masters and GM is the Ponziani opening section C44 even that I found a game played here in the book by the great Velimirovic.Funny enough it was once well analysed by Ponziani back in 1769.
For all newcomers all lines that arise after 1. e4 e5 and that includes all the Ruy Lopez lines but also French, Petroff, King's Gambit, Two Knights', Philidor,Latvian, Italian, Scotch etc can be found in this heavy weight.
The encyclopaedia makes use of a unique developed chess openings code system which helps you to find all openings of this encyclopaedia in no time!

Conclusion: A monumental work on chess openings!  


                                     Chess CD's


Rybka 2.3 UCI & Chess Openings 2007 on DVD!

2007
Convekta
www.chessOK.com
Price € 48,96
System requirements: IBM-compatible PC, 128 MB RAM, Hard Disk (1 GB of free disk space), VGA graphics, Windows 2000/NT/XP/Vista, DVD-ROM drive

There are several reasons to considers this exciting soft where package from Convekta first there is a impressive Chess Openings Encyclopaedia overloaded with latest openings novelties yes it did need 4,29 GB of my hard disk and that is included the over the 3 million chess game file but there also a lot of excellent annotations in his openings database devide by the well known openings expert Grandmaster Kalinin,this all good for around 8000 annotations and over 500.000 expert evaluations to key openings positions.
In one click you can see the best move possibility which all read as a  encyclopaedia of chess openings {The opening table mode}.
In this easy playing  mode you can easy navigate between several positions while you are analysing your games.
Chess Openings 2007 is a standalone program based on Chess Assistant 9 which offers the user impressive analysing and playing chess opportunities, for example multi variant and infinite analysing possibilities but it does not allow you to open new databases, so I prefer to use these files from Chess Openings 2007 in my Chess Assistant 9 program.
Included in this package is also the strongest chess engine in the world Rybka 2.3 made by the father of modern computer chess the  International chess master V Raijlich.
Not only the playing strength of Rybka 2.3  is improved with a small 20 percent when we compare it with his former version 2.2 but it has also some exciting features as “Randomizer” In big lines it remembers positions but also the search and evaluation heuristics have been very improved. Please see
for your self at  http://chessok.com/doc/rybka2_3_uci.html
I saw that Rybka 2.3 is leading the CEGT list with a impressive 3028!
The pleasant site of this package is that Rybka 2.3 runs with out problems in Chess Assistant 9 but you have to use a patch which is included on this DVD.
Please read the text file first before you run it because you have to use your original Chess Assistant 9 CD and registration number  if you don’t want to end with a irritating run time error.
By the way it is also very easy to include Rybka  in Fritz and ChessBase all under the section UCI engines.
For all who don’t have one or other version of Fritz Rybka also runs perfectly  in Arena.
Arena is a free available Graphical User Interface (GUI) made by Martin Blume.Please and for more info please see http://www.playwitharena.com/
Included on this DVD are versions from Rybka for 32 and 64 bit processors.
Conclusion: Go for the incredible openings files and best chess engine in the world!
 

 
Opening Encyclopedia 2007 on DVD

2007
ChessBase
ChessBase http://www.chessbase.com
E-Mail info@chessbase.com

Price € 99.90
ISBN 978-3-86681-027-3
System requirements: Pentium Prozessor 300 MHz or higher, 64 MB RAM, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, DVD-ROM, drive, mouse, sound card
 

This latest chess opening Encyclopaedia DVD covers all opening sections from A00 till C99 all with uncountable openings surveys.
For example section A00 starts with a openings survey from Ftacnk on the rare Grob and section C99 and ends with some  surveys and a lot of games  based on the famous closed Ruy Lopez.
Between this lays around 4200 openings surveys,77000 annotated games and 285 theory databases which are all taken from the well known and highly wanted  ChessBase magazines.
The newer theory databases on this DVD starting with CBM 74 are placed in the directory theory and the older ones starting with number 55 can be found under the section theory old.
Also there are over 2.78 million games on this DVD so it is certainly the most extensive database that money can buy!
For example the line: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6 12.d4 Bd6 13.Re1 Qh4 14.g3 Qh3 15.Re4 A which is an old idea from the Russian  chess master Sakharov,someway it looks crazy to move the rook again, however the point is that 15...Bg4 is prevented and if 14...Bf5 or 14...f5? 16.Rh4 and catches the queen.
I found one impressive survey and four excellent annotated games with this strange looking e4 rook  move and around 392 games with out any comments.Many lines on this DVD are well analysed  as for example: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5 Qe7 7.Qe2 Nd5 8.c4 Nb6 9.Nc3 Qe6 C45 with 21 heavy loaded annotated games  and 160 games with out any comments.
But there is more as a openings key CTG from 3,07 GB, created  from all the games that you can find in this opening Encyclopaedia file,
which is an excellent tool for inviting statistics  and please don’t  forget the free included  ChessBase reader which is able to open database files!
A new version of Opening Encyclopedia 2007 costs €99,90but a update from 2006 edition costs only € 49,90!
Conclusion: The best annotated chess DVD that I ever had in my drive!


Chess Endgames 4 by Karsten Müller on DVD
Strategical Endgames
2007
ChessBase
 http://www.chessbase.com
E-Mail
info@chessbase.com

Price €29,99
System requirements: Pentium-Processor at 300 Mhz or higher, 64 MB RAM, Windows 98 SE, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Media Player 9.0, DVD drive

Many older chess players have grown up with books as Basics of Chess endings from Rueben Fine and the dry books from Cheron but the modern chess does not need to touch these books anymore because he he has now Karsten Müller and his highly instructive made endgame multimedia DVDs where one of the greatest endgame experts of all time explains you all the secrets of endgame strategy.
In this fourth volume of endgame series GM Karsten Müller explains you more complicated endgames and important endgame basics plus a lot of minor piece endings.
So it is clear this DVD is well loaded with around 6 hours of highly interesting endgame entertainment.
Many important basic endgame  positions as the one from Philidor {Rook plus King against Rook,Bishop and King} taken from the year 1792 yes more than two and a half centuries ago but still belongs to one of the most important endgame learning positions.
Karsten Müller explains you as no other how to work with short cuts and how to explore the power of the Bishop.
When the defending rook is on the seventh rank we have the position of Lolli but this is of course no problem for Karsten Müller not even to explain it all in two perfect speaking  languages!{German and English}
Conclusion: If you are interested in endgames than please go for these end game DVD’s from GM Karsten Müller!


A World Champion’s Guide to the Petroff by Rustam Kasimdzhanov on DVD
2007
ChessBase
http://www.chessbase.com

E-Mail info@chessbase.com
Price €29,99
System requirements: Pentium-Processor at 300 Mhz or higher, 64 MB RAM, Windows 98 SE, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Media Player 9.0, DVD drive

The phenomenal Rustam Kasimdzhanov,yes dear reader his name speaks out as “Kah-zeem-jha-nov” from Uzbekistan and this man surprised the chess world by winning the FIDE world chess  championship of 2004,and this great man explains you in this DVD every thing that you need  to know how to get involved  with the Petroff defence.
Kasimdzhanov discusses here in a small three and a half hour many exciting lines of the Petroff  as1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.c4 Kasimdzhanov – Adams form the 2004 Fide world championship.
Or Kasimdzhanov – Shirov Leon 2005, with the main line 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.c4, and than the author comes with the impressive game where Rustam Kasimdzhanov went for the black side of the board.
There are not always wins and glamour’s with Kasimdzhanov he has not any problems showing losses as his game against
Ivanchuk played at Bologan,Pamplona of the year 2002 nwhich  is a nice example of  Rustam Kasimdzhanov excellent  teaching skills, Kah-zeem-jha-nov explains very honnestly on this DVD that this lost gave him a throughout understanding of the Petroff,yes sometimes you learn more from losing than winning in chess.
He simple says at that moment  he could not find the correct plane but I would not play it a second time against him!
Interesting is also the game Anand – Mamedyarov Benidorm Rapid game  2003,where black went for a useless   pawn on h2 but Anand moved him in no time to a strategically lost.
After Kasimdzhanov this game is very important to every player of the Petroff defence.
Conclusion: A great teacher!



The ABC of the Modern Slav by Andrew Martin on DVD
2007
ChessBase
http://www.chessbase.com

E-Mail info@chessbase.com
Price €29,99
System requirements: Pentium-Processor at 300 Mhz or higher, 64 MB RAM, Windows 98 SE, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Media Player 9.0, DVD drive

International master Andrew Martin provides the black player on this DVD with a complete repertoire line against the Modern Slav that runs after the moves 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6.
As Andrew Martin explains this move once received a question mark from Kortchnoi but opinions change in chess and now it belongs to one of the major lines of the Slav.
What I like from Andrew Martin that he offers a starter of this line with a very good basic of explanations but also the more experienced player shall find something of his use between the lines of this DVD.
The running time of this DVD is four hours and he handles a lot of latest played games as for example the game Van Wely – Kritz, Bundesliga 2006 where the black player went for  the interesting suggestion from the French Grandmaster Etienne Bacrot 5.a4 e6 6.Bg5 a5 and went for a easy draw.
This move is so new that it is not even mentioned in the latest openings books on this line as the impressive reference book on the Slav from Graham Burgess.
Irina Krush went against the Cuban Ian GM Arencibia with  the committal 5.c5 Nbd7 6.Bf4 Nh5 7.Bd2 Nhf6 8.Rc1 but was played of the board in no time.
Interesting to mention is that this set-up of the Slav can also easy be used against first as 1.Nf3,1.c4 etc.
Conclusion: Also highly  recommended for training purposes.


Chess Magazine's



British Chess Magazine No.4
Volume 127
April 2007
Price: £3.70


Ian Rogers starts in this latest April issue with a detailed report from 23 pages on the Morelia/Linares tournament.
While Anand was winning the tournament, Magnus Catlsen was quietly producing one of the greatest results by a 16 year old boy in chess history!
Others contributions are 4NCL –March weekend where John Saunders reports on the British Team Championship season held at Wokefield Park in Berkshire.
Steve Giddins looks back at the Corus B and C groups.
And once again the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall was the prestigious venue for the annual Oxford University versus Cambridge University match.
And not to forget the regular columns as the fantastic contribution David Friedgood on Problem World!
Conclusion: Buy it for the excellent contribution from Ian Rogers!