Latest book reviews of 1 May 2007
BOOKS REVIEWS BY JOHN ELBURG.
Wilhelminalaan 33John Elburg
7261 BP RUURLO
The Netherlands.
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
Olomouc
Moravian Chess
http://www.moravian-chess.cz
379 pages
Price £24.95
ISBN 978-80-7189-569-5
Jose 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!