Chess Reviews: 12

My Great Predecessors
Volume 5: Korchnoi & Karpov
By GM Garry Kasparov
Everyman Chess

Kasparov’s series of books is already very well established and chess fans eagerly await each volume. It feels like a long time since volume 4 appeared (just over a year, in fact) but the quality of the current volume makes the wait worthwhile.

There has been criticism in some quarters regarding how much of the earlier volumes were actually written by Kasparov himself, and how much by participant Dmitry Plisetsky. I feel sure that such comments will fall by the wayside now that Kasparov is dealing with subjects he knows so well. Kasparov’s own personality shines through in this volume more than any other to date.

Volume 5 is unique in that one of the ‘cover stars’ is not a World Champion. Yet Viktor Korchnoi’s place as one of the all-time greats of chess history is so secure that he is treated as if he really did scale the dizzy heights and take the ultimate title. The section on ‘Viktor the Terrible’ takes the reader up to page 206. Everything is there; from Korchnoi’s tough childhood during the 1941 siege of Leningrad (in which his Father and other family members lost their lives), through his almost endless battles through so many -often bitter - Candidates’ cycles, culminating in his three extraordinary matches with Karpov (1974, 1978 and 1981). He ran into Kasparov himself in the next cycle and could never quite match the world’s elite from the mid-1980s onwards. His magnificent run of tournament successes never stopped though and continues to this day. How is it possible that Korchnoi could have defied all logic and the advancing years, to outlast all of his talented contemporaries?

The answer seems to lie in Korchnoi’s astounding energy and drive, his unbelievable will to win and his permanent desire for the struggle.

A special section takes a look at Korchnoi’s extraordinary successes against the King’s Indian Defence, of which he has a very low opinion and a big score against.

The second section of the book takes an in-depth look (just under 270 pages!) at ‘Anatoly the 12th’. It must, in a sense, have been a tough task for Kasparov to write objectively about the man who was his greatest rival over such a long period of time (something Korchnoi never managed to do in his own memoirs). Nevertheless, Kasparov was determined to treat his foe with the same respect as all of the other champions and he succeeds admirably, never stinting in his praise for the ex-champion.

Karpov’s rise to power was extremely swift. He dominated Polugaevsky and Spassky in two famous Candidate’s matches, both of which receive considerable attention in this book. Spassky started the match as favourite but, as Kasparov points out, their respective ELO ratings at the time were more or less equal and Karpov was clearly ascending the heights and meeting Spassky on his way down. For the big match, Karpov worked 10-12 hours a day and his opponent’s preparation was shown to be clearly inferior.

The book is especially strong when covering the infamous 1978 World Championship match, giving equal standing to both sides of the story. Amid the well-known highly controversial elements there was also plenty of excellent chess. By and large, in the earlier part of the match, Korchnoi played the better chess but Karpov was much more practical. This culminated in the 17th game. Korchnoi used up valuable clock time at the start of the game trying to sort out a dispute regarding Dr Zukhar (a member of Karpov’s team who was allegedly hypnotising Korchnoi). Then, having built up a winning position, the tables were turned in severe time-trouble when Karpov produced a surprise checkmate, seemingly from thin air.

Korchnoi - Karpov
World Championship 1978
Game 17

With his flag about to fall, Korchnoi defended against the obvious threat with 39 Ra1?? But was shocked by the rejoinder: 39 …Nf3!+ 0-1

Kasparov quotes the winner:

‘My two knights mated the enemy king in the endgame - such a thing had never before happened in a match for the world championship! After signing the score-sheet, Korchnoi went up to the demonstration board and stared at it for several minutes, as if trying to comprehend what exactly had happened!’

Leading 5-2, with the match all but over, Karpov then lost three games. Kasparov ‘s analysis of the Rook ending from game 31 - Korchnoi’s fifth win - stretches over eight pages and he manages to find some significant improvements over previous analysis.



Korchnoi - Karpov
World Championship 1978
Game 31

It’s impossible to present a summary of Kasparov’s remarkable analysis here; you’ll just have to buy the book to see it! It is extremely unusual for a player to put so much effort into analysing the games of other people; further evidence that this excellent series is very much a labour of love for the author.

Luminaries such as Tal, Botvinnik et al are quoted throughout the book to shed more light on the subjects. Of particular interest are the reminisces of the various members of Karpov’s teams from the 1978 and 1981 title matches. For the latter match, Razuvaev tells how he and Geller were locked in a room and ordered to devise some novelties against the Open Variation of the Lopez after Korchnoi’s sensational victory in game 6. The novelties duly appeared over the board and had a decisive effect on the match (after Karpov had marked time in his White games with two draws in the Italian Game and another with 1 c4, presumably waiting for the analytical efforts to be fine-tuned.)

Karpov - Korchnoi
World Championship Match 1981
Game 14

13 Ne4 was the novelty in question. Korchnoi spent 79 minutes on his reply (13...Be7) but couldn’t solve the problems and went on to lose.

Once Korchnoi has worked out a suitable rejoinder - and drawn with it in game 16 - another strong novelty was produced to win the 18th and final game; 13 a4! (found by Polugaevsky).

Kasparov has written a much better account of Karpov’s life and games than the latter ever managed to do for himself. Now there’s irony for you.

A couple of special sections concentrate on how Karpov was able to play the Queen’s Indian (from both sides of the board) and Grunfeld so well.

There are still plenty of unanswered questions but perhaps these celebratory tomes are not the place to investigate them.

For example, at the height of Karpov’s ‘golden boy’ era, it is clear to see that he was able to achieve key victories against his fellow Soviets just when he needed them most (as against Tal at Bugojno 1980 - the only decisive game they ever had in serious encounters - Spassky in the final round of London 1982 and several others). I’m not a subscriber to Fischer’s theory that every move of every match was fixed but I wonder if various pressures were applied from time to time.

I suspect that there is rather more to be said about the 1981 Merano match too. Korchnoy is adamant that a large amount of skulduggery took place behind the scenes. Kasparov does reveal that even he was asked to provide some analysis to help Karpov during the match; one of a number of such revelations in the book that were new to me (and I have read every relevant book on the 1978 and 1981 matches prior to this).

Naturally, there are lots of featured games that do not feature both K’s trying to wipe each other out. Fischer, Tal, Polugaevsky, Portisch, Gligoric and many other superstars also make appearances of considerable importance.

A future volume is going to cover the massive Kasparov v Karpov World Championship battles and it should be absolutely fascinating.

Meanwhile, I think that volume 5 is the best so far, even surpassing volume 4 (on Fischer).

VERDICT:

In my opinion, the best volume of the series so far. The first-hand insights into some of the biggest clashes of the 1970s make fascinating reading. The illustrative games are excellently chosen and extremely well annotated. The production values are high too; this, like the earlier volumes, is a very handsome red hardback, complete with dust jacket. One of the ‘must-buys’ of the year without any shadow of a doubt.

For details of Everyman chess books, please visit:

http://www.everymanchess.com

Happy reading!
April 2006

Archive: UNCUT! 47

The Sean Marsh Chess Column
UNCUT!
*Column 47*
* *April 2006* *

The Human Touch
Part 1

Dear Readers,

All this talk of global warming and we still manage to get snow in April. It sometimes seems that the more things change, the more they stay as they are. For decades, humans persevered with projects to make computers play chess like humans. (Speaking of which…does anybody know what happened to Botvinnik’s famous long-term project?) It could never happen, of course. How can you create a chess computer that will make terrible blunders due to fatigue, overconfidence are any other of the all-too human characteristics we all share?

It seems that, for better or worse, computers will always lack the human touch.

Every human players blunders. There’s not much we can do to stop it, especially at the height of the battle, when nerves are on edge and judgements go bandy.

The only consolation is that even the very best players are not immune, as the following examples demonstrate…

Kostich - Rubinstein
Carlsbad 1911

The great Rubinstein - a player in one of the ‘great matches that never were’ when he never quite got the World title shot he deserved - is in trouble. He tries to defend by means of tactics. 35 …Ke6 36 Nd4+ Kxe5 37 Nxc2 Rb2 38.Rc5 Kd6 39.Rc8 Kd7 40.Rc3 d4 41.Rc4 d3...winning back the Knight, as planned, and drawing the game. However, 37 Nc6+ would have won the game in elementary fashion.

Ebralidze - Ragozin
USSR Championship 1937

Following a bit of mutual Rook attacking…
39.b3 Be7 40.Rd7 …Black sees a clever way to kick the Rook off the seventh rank.
40 …Rc7 Hoping for 41 Rxc7 Bd6+, winning back the Rook, but overlooking that the Bishop would be pinned out of action! Remarkably, White believed him and retreated with: 41.Rd5 Bf6 42.Nb5 Rc2+ 43.Kg3 a6 44.Rd7+ Ke8
Astonishing that White should blunder into the fork after all:

45.Rc7 Be5+ 0–1
It’s curious how so many of the blunders come in pairs.

Bohm - Korchnoi
Moscow 1975

‘Viktor the Terrible’ played 12 …Ne5, no doubt hoping to infiltrate on c4 at some point. White countered with 13 Qb3 but went on to lose. 13 Bxb6 and 14 f4 would have won a piece in board daylight.

Even Karpov, one of the coolest players at the board, is not immune to the occasional howler.

Christiansen - Karpov
Wijk aan Zee 1993

11...Bd6 12 Qd1! And a piece drops off. 1-0

Look, I’ll make you a deal. Send me some examples of your blunders, dear readers, and I shall present them in a future UNCUT! I know that, as in all best traditions, you’ll want me to show you mine before you show yours, so here we go….

Marsh - Muir
Walsall Kipping 1993

If my first round game with David Norwood hadn’t grabbed the attention of the world’s chess press and ensured my immortality (albeit as ‘N.N.’ on the wrong end of a brilliance) then I suspect this snippet would have enjoyed more prominence. I was on the verge of a good result when I slipped up with…

35 Ra8 Qe1 mate!

Over to you…come on, it’s good to get these things out in the open - send me your blunders NOW!

Sean Marsh
8/04/2006

Chess reviews: 11

Devious Chess
How To Bend The Rules And Win
By FM Amatzia Avni
Batsford Chess

FIDE Master Amatzia Avni is a psychologist whose previous books centre on the psychological aspect of chess.

He starts off the introduction thus:

‘We live in an age where many people are bored with their lives and are looking for change. Some desire to live in another country; others yearn to change their workplace; there are those who would gladly adopt another family or be adopted by one. A poem by the Israeli Yona Wallach expresses the hope that there might exist another kind of sex…
In short, people are averse to routine and search feverishly elsewhere, towards anything or anyone who will inject some excitement into their world.
I wonder: Is there a ‘different’ kind of chess?’

Avni goes on to advocate an unconventional - or devious - approach to chess, based on criteria such as ‘sailing in uncharted waters’, ‘lacking familiar anchors and stratagems‘, ‘materially unbalanced’ et al.

The first eight chapters concentrate on the methods of devious chess, such as ‘Coffeehouse Chess’, ‘Peculiar Moves’ and ‘Twists and Turns’. Then comes an interesting chapter on ‘Confronting Devious Chess’. Perhaps your opponent has read this book and is trying to be just as devious; what can you do? Avni recommends four methods to keep the tricksters at bay: ‘Preventing’, ‘Ignoring’, ‘Simplification’ and ‘Refutation’. However, it is never easy, over the board, knowing which method to apply against a tricky opponent.

The book is rounded off with a selection of complete illustrative games and some further tips on how to become a devious player.

The author has gathered some excellent material to demonstrate his ideas. Lots of the examples really do catch the eye.

From Chapter Four: ‘Not So Elementary, My Dear Watson’

Bogoljubow was not just an overweight clown who lost a couple of world championship matches to Alekhine to help the latter avoid a rematch with Capablanca, but a very fine and distinguished player who knew a thing or two about devious chess.

Bogoljubow - Rellstab 1940
Black needs another move to castle his King into safety. Bogoljubow ensures it will never happen with the remarkable 15 Bg6!! 15 …Nxc4 16 Rxe6+; 15 …Ke7 16 Nxd6 Qxd6 17 Qxd6+ Kxd6 18 Bxf7 Bd5 19 Rad1 ‘and Black is torn apart’. Rellstab tried 15 …hxg6 but didn’t last much longer…16 Nxd6+ Ke7 17 Nxb7 Qc7 18 Qd5 Rh5 19 Qe4 Nc6 20 g4 1-0

In is often easy to get excited towards the end of a game in which one feels everything is going well, as shown in chapter seven: ‘The Trap vs The Blunder Dilemma’

Adorjan v Hubner
Game 9 Candidates’ QF 1980
Adorjan looked set to equalise the score with one game remaining. 62 …Rxh3 is simple and good but Adorjan must have thought that Hubner had blundered into this position, allowing a fatal Rook exchange. However, after 62 …Rc5?? He was shocked to find he had fallen for a stalemate trap after 63 Kxh4 when he has nothing better than to conclude the game with 63 …Rxg5 stalemate.

The next position is very tricky, despite the paucity of material.

Dvoris v Svidler
Russian Championship 1997

How can Black win? With a bit of devious play, of course. He needs a zugzwang and he can only do this by stalemating the King, thus forcing something lese to move. The trick is to advance on the King with Queen, but making sure they are always a Knight’s move away. 61 Kb7 Qd6! 62 Kc8 Qe7! 0-1 White sees what is happening and gives up. The winning technique is shown in the line: 63 Kb8 Qd7 64 Ka8 Qc7 65 Bd5 Qd6 66 Bf7 Qb6 and something finally drops off.

VERDICT:
As ever with this sort of book, the question remains as to whether or not it really will make you think and play differently. I suppose it depends on your capacity to learn and if you can adopt the demonstrated ideas for use in your own games, which will certainly require the loosening of a few of your chess inhibitions. If you play through the examples in this book you will at least get a reasonable idea of the sort of things that are possible. The book could always be used to provide relatively light-hearted chess entertainment.

For details of this and all other Batsford chess books, please visit:

http://www.chrysalisbooks.co.uk/


Happy reading!
March 2006

Archive: UNCUT! 46

The Sean Marsh Chess Column
UNCUT!
*Column 46*
* *March 2006* *

Dear Readers,

You may have noticed as you go through life, that people have a curious habit of perpetually stating the obvious. Meet someone six foot plus and what do they say? ‘You’re very tall’. Come back from the barber and guess what the first thing you hear is? ‘You’ve had your hair cut’. Enter a building dripping wet and trying to place your sodden umbrella somewhere safe and someone is bound to ask, ‘Oh - is it raining?’

Over the last couple of years it has become an equally obvious statement to say ‘The Hawk is getting good.’

The most recent congresses attended by Jonathan ‘The Hawk’ Hawkins have confirmed the truth more than any others…

First, at York, The Hawk swooped and collected a share of second place.

Then he stunned the pack at the Cleveland Congress by sticking his claws into sole first place, with a grading performance of almost 220 - a magnificent achievement!

Not content with this, he went on to a good second place at the Darlington Rapidplay and an even better share of first place at the Doncaster Open.

Here’s a few snippets for you to enjoy….

Two from York….

J. Hawkins v Fitzpatrick

Here The Hawk played 16 h5! and after the further moves …. 16 …Ng5 17.Qg6 Qf6 …he has succeeding in blackmailing Black into accepting a clearly inferior ending. 18.Bxg5 Qxg6 19.hxg6 hxg5 20.Ne4 g4 21.Ke2 Rf5 (Suddenly it is clear - d6 cannot be satisfactorily defended!) 22.Nxd6 1–0 After 22 …Rf6 23 Nf7! Rxg6 24 Rh8+ and 25 Rxa8 White’s game is obviously won.
With a last round victory essential for tournament success, The Hawk duly wheeled out 18 moves of sharp theory and soon reached this position…

J. Hawkins v Maulinn

The Black centre pawns could become menacing but only if White fails to find….
20.f5+! Kh7 21.Rf4! Bxf5 Just three moves out of the book and it’s an easy win for White. Black has to shed material to stave off checkmate. 22.Qxa8 Qc5+ 23.Kh1 Qc2 24.Qxa7 1–0 Total devastation as The Hawk rips his prey to shreds.

The final round of the Cleveland Congress had a dramatic finish. So far, he had scored:
Round 1: Hawkins-Kinney 1-0
Round 2: Hawkins-Shaw 1-0
Round 3: Hutchinson-Hawkins 0-1
Round 4: Addison-Hawkins ½-½

J. Hawkins v R. Coathup

This doesn’t look too bad at all for Black but now White steps up the pace…
23.Nf5!? Tricky stuff. Black needs to be careful about the in on the d-file; eg. 23 …Qxe3+? 24 Nxe3 and he loses material. 23 …Qc7 24.Ne7+ Kg7 25.Nd5! Now Nb6 is coming, enforcing the pin once more. 25 … Qa5 26.b4 Qb5 27.a4 Qc6 Apparently Black offered a draw here but needless to say The Hawk spotted the winning idea some moves ago.

28.Nb6! Absolutely fatal for Black. 28 …Bxh2+ 29.Kxh2 Qc7+ 30.g3 Bxa4 31.Nxa4 1–0

The Hawk’s best single result came in a key encounter on his way to success at Doncaster, against a very strong International Master.

J. Hawkins v IM R. Palliser

After 21 moves of a typically lively Modern Benoni, White refuses to take the bait with 22 Bxh6? Bxh6 23 Qxh6 Nc2 and instead ensures a Knight fork is never available on his Rooks.
22 Ra7 Ne5 23 Bxh6 and he now considered it safe to do so, despite the activity of the Black Knights. 23 …Nc4 24 Qf4 Note the annoying attack on f7, which ensures White of an advantage. After a few more moves, The Hawk spotted a tactical way to wrap things up.

White’s advantage is beyond doubt, but not many players would find (and the confidence to play) the bombshell: 30 Nxb5!

The ideas include:

Deflecting the Queen from protecting the Bishop (30 …Qxb5 31 Bxd4 and the dark squares are gone)
Destroying the Queenside pawn constellation (Bxc4 could happen in some lines).
Winning the d6 pawn (if Black plays 30 …Bxf6 31 Qxf6 Rf8 allowing 32 Nxd6)

Black tried 30 …Be3 but after 31 f4 his position is beyond repair, so...1-0


The message is clear – beware of The Hawk!

Sean Marsh
5/03/2006

Chess Reviews: 10

Why Lasker Matters
By GM Andrew Soltis
Batsford Books

Historical chess books are much rarer than opening tomes and are less appealing to the general readership.

It’s often seen as far more fun to get stuck into another volume about the Sicilian Defence than a tournament book or a biography. However, every now and then a risk is taken and we are able to delve into the past and read about the great players of times gone by.

One of the many good things about the recent series of Kasparov books (‘My Great Predecessors’) is the way in which they re-examined the games of the great masters and fuelled a desire for more knowledge of the old champions.

World Champion from 1894 to 1921 - the longest reign of any world champion to date (indeed, Fischer (three years), Karpov (10 years) and Kasparov (15 years) combined only just beat his tenure by one year) - Emanuel Lasker is certainly a worthy subject for a book and a fresh look at his games is long overdue.

‘Why Lasker Matters’ sets out with the task of revealing ‘…for the first time the winning formula behind Lasker’s phenomenal achievements. With over 100 annotated games, he analyses the tricks, traps and techniques behind Lasker’s winning moves, and makes Lasker’s methods accessible to today’s players.’

A short introduction sets the scene and reveals how Lasker’s chess life started in the Berlin chess cafes and how he entered one of the minor sections of the German Congress at Breslau 1889 ‘…and to my surprise won first prize! So began my chess career.’

The book is very similar in style to ‘Bobby Fischer Rediscovered’ also by Soltis. Each game is well-annotated over three to four pages and there is a good mix of variations and verbal comments.

Some of the games should be familiar to readers, such as the classic encounter against Pillsbury (St. Petersburg 1895/6)…

17 …Rxc3! 18 fxe6 Ra3!! and amazingly the other Rook was sacrificed on a3 later in the game!
v Capablanca (St. Petersburg 1914)

Lasker played the shocking 12 f5!

v Ilyin-Genevky (Moscow 1925)

Lasker went in for the unlikely looking sequence 13…Qxa2 14 Ra1 Qxb2 15 Rfb1 Qxb1+ 16 Rxb1.

The annotations by Soltis make very interesting reading and draw on lots of different sources so there is a good balance of views.

There are also some lesser-known games from exhibitions and simultaneous displays. It is good to see some attention given to the story of The Rice Gambit. Isaac Leopold Rice was a rich chess enthusiast who was fascinated by one of his own ideas in the King’s Gambit. He sponsored events aimed at testing the variation, featuring big-name players including Lasker.

The inaugural moves are:
1 e4 e5 2 f4 exf4 3 Nf3 g5 4 h4 g4 5 Ne5 Nf6 6 Bc4 d5 7 exd5 Bd6 8 0-0

Black can take the Knight but White is hoping that 9 Re1 will start a strong attack.
Unfortunately, the variation wasn’t particularly good but none of the players - thankful for the funds - really wanted to let on. Soltis quotes Lasker from a book devoted to the gambit: ‘Let us admit, which is most probably true, that the gambit will not yield to the first player as high a percentage of wins as the Ruy Lopez or the Queen’s Pawn; but let us therefore not sacrifice the beauty hidden in the gambit…White is not lost!’ A game is given from a match with Chigorin in 1903, which Lasker won but he lost the match (+1, 3, -2).

Some of Lasker’s cunning is revealed in his choice of opening variations. For example, against Janowski - a dangerous attacker who loathed endgames - the choice of the Exchange Variation of the Ruy Lopez was an excellent one as an ending is almost inevitable. I was surprised to read that Lasker had played 500 practice games with this variation against Duz-Khotimirsky but it certainly explains how he had such a good feel for the positions it produced.

I would have preferred more biographical material. Some detail is given of his great and often bitter rivalry with Dr Tarrasch and there is an attempt - ultimately unsuccessful - to unravel the controversy of the 1910 title match with Schlecter, in which the 10th and final game was played at as if both players needed to win. The controversy surrounds whether or not there was a clause in the contract stating that Schlecter, who led by one point with one game to play, actually had to win the match by two clear points. If not, his method of play in the game seems somewhat odd for a player who was strong enough to play successfully for a draw. If the clause existed then why should Lasker play so hard for a decisive result? Possibly because it would have been a little bit embarrassing to lose a match but still keep the title. It seems that this is one chess puzzle that will never be solved.

There is a lot more that could have been said about the relationship between Lasker and his immediate successor, Capablanca. Lasker lost to the latter in a curious title match in 1921 that still has plenty of unanswered questions but the whole match is scarcely mentioned in the book. Lasker went on to finish above the Cuban in several major tournaments after their match, most famously at New York in 1924 and the dynamic between the two players appears complex and worthy of further study.

However, this is probably more to do with the symptoms of a greedy reader. After all, the book fills 320 pages so it is easy to see that the page count would have been impractical if more detail was included of Lasker’s life.

VERDICT: For the full Lasker experience, you will definitely need supplementary biographical material. However, if you are new to Lasker’s great battles or you wish to immerse yourself in a bygone chess age with the help of some well-annotated games then this book will definitely appeal to you. Following on from last year’s book on Najdorf, this volume continues the mini-trend of dusting off the old games of the greats. More like these please, Batsford!

For details of this and all other Batsford chess books, please visit:

http://www.chrysalisbooks.co.uk/


Happy reading!
March 2006

Chess Reviews: 9

Play The Nimzo-Indian
By IM Edward Dearing

What to play against 1 d4? It’s a great problem in chess. Most players are more comfortable against 1 e4 and are delighted to wheel out their pet defence, whether it is a solid French or a razor-sharp Sicilian Dragon.

Facing 1 d4 is a different matter. I know a lot of club players who would rather die than reply 1 …d5 and end up in one of the classical lines of the Queen’s Gambit Declined. Most players have a spell with the King’s Indian but give it up once the theory explosion becomes too hard to master. Relying on gimmicky gambits such as the Budapest and Albin is all very well for the occasional game but nobody would really recommend using them as a permanent weapon.

So - what to play? Well, why not turn the question around and ask 1 d4 players what they find the toughest nut to crack. I feel sure that most will nominate the Nimzo-Indian as the culprit if they were to give an honest answer. Such is its strength that a lot of White players prefer to avoid it completely with 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 rather than allow 3 Nc3 Bb4

It doesn’t really matter who your chess hero is, the chances are that the Nimzo-Indian occupies a prominent place in their opening repertoire. Fischer, Karpov, Korchnoy, Tal, Short and many other great players all use(d) it the highest of levels (only Kasparov seemed to struggle with it, losing famous games to Psakhis, Beliavsky, Ivan Sokolov and Kramnik) so clearly it can be adopted by players of all different styles.

Edward Dearing’s latest book provides a full Black repertoire against all of White’s ways to combat the Nimzo-Indian.

I wonder if the author is tempted to avoid reading reviews of his books these days. His recent book on the Dragon - one of his specialist subjects - was ripped to absolute shreds in a recent hack review by GM Tiviakov, fuelled by some comments of a rather personal nature. I must admit that I haven’t seen the Dragon book in question; despite the vitriolic review I still feel confident that it would be well worth getting if you are a Dragon player and remain (as most people, I suspect) completely in the dark as to why Tiviakov should feel the need to take out his hatchet .

I mention this matter because if you read the review in question you may be reluctant to give Edward Dearing’s books a try but that would be a big mistake.

Fortunately Dearing was bold enough to publish a reply and to carry on writing books and on the evidence of ‘Play The Nimzo-Indian’ he really should make sure he writes a lot more of them.
Time to take a look at some of the suggested variations…

The Classical Variation, 4 Qc2, is all the rage at the moment and Black definitely needs something reliable in reply. 4 …d5 5 cxd5 Qxd5 6 Nf3 Qf5!

...is given in the book (Romanishin’s line).
Of course White can swap Queens and double Black’s pawns with 7 Qxf5 exf5 and gaining a 2-0 central majority to boot. Nevertheless, the f5 pawn keeps White’s e3-e4 push at bay for some time and the very fact that the position has become quite unbalanced may make some White players feel a little less comfortable as 4 Qc2 aims at controlling the game from the early stages onwards.

One feature of this book that I really like is the way the author goes into some depth with his concluding notes to each game. There is a lot of reading to be done - which is a very good thing in my opinion - and the reader will gain a much greater understanding by studying such conclusions and absorbing the information provided.

The Rubinstein Variation, 4 e3, takes up the largest chunk of the book and given its long-term popularity this is perfectly understandable. Black needs a main line against 4 e3 otherwise he cannot play the Nimzo-Indian.

Dearing proposes meeting it with the trendy 4 …b6 but following 5 Ne2 he prefers the unusual 5 …c5 to the more common moves.

This Romanishin-Psakhis System may look a little bit odd at first glance as after 6 a3 the Bishop doesn’t chop off on c3 - the standard reaction in the vast majority of Nimzo-Indian lines - but prefers to keep the tension with the surprising 6 …Ba5!?

Given that the Ne2 is somewhat clumsily placed (at least, according to the Bf1 it is) White can fianchetto after 7 g3 but once Black plays …Ba6 at the appropriate time it is easy to see that there is already some pressure building up on White’s Queenside.

This is all very intriguing stuff and I’m sure that not many people will have studied this line in depth and it could make an excellent practical choice.

All of the other White tries are given excellent coverage too. I was pleased to see that the section on the Saemisch - on old favourite of mine - is covered so well and that instead of just quoting Karpov’s classic White-square plan and leaving it there, the author takes into the most recent attempts by GM Aleksandrov to keep White’s hopes alive.

VERDICT: An extremely well written book. The Nimzo-Indian has been a major, well-respected opening for many decades so cannot be mastered overnight. However, with some serious homework and the determination to try it out over the board, I am certain that it would be a very valuable addition to the repertoire of any player. Playing over the 50 illustrative games and following the advice given in this book would provide an excellent springboard to success against 1d4.

Dealing With D4 Deviations
By FM John Cox

Preparing the Nimzo-Indian to combat 1 d4 players is, of course, only half of the battle. The number of White players choosing to opt out of the main lines with 2 c4 and head instead for one the Queen’s pawn system has never been larger. It is always tempting to try and by-pass long lines of theory and head for positions that a player knows well and feels confident that the opponent does not.

Cox starts off with an excellent and thought-provoking introduction, making it clear that we all feel pretty much the same when facing such ‘annoying’ systems and how we should adapt our thinking to enable us to fight against them more successfully. Most of all, he recommends staying out of the opponent’s garden, a theme which runs through the book.

The recent brevity Wells - Shirov (a terrible rout for the latter) is clear evidence that such openings as the Trompowsky simply cannot be taken too lightly by any class of player. Cox deals with the Trompowsky in the very first chapter, which is evidence enough of its importance.
The main line given against it here is 1 d4 Nf6 2 Bg5 e6 3 e4 h6 4 Bxf6 Qxf6 5 Nc3 d6 6 Qd2 c6 which gives Black a very flexible set up.

The very basic idea behind 6 …c6 is to be able to play 7 …e5 without allowing a hassling Nd5. After the further moves 7 f4 e5 8 dxe5 dxe5 9 f5, Cox isn’t afraid to contradict both Hodgson and Wells (two of the biggest experts in the Trompowsky) in condemning the move as ‘grotesque’ and going on to quote most of the game T. Thoralsson - H. Stefanson (Reykjavik 2004) as evidence.

Chapters are then given to show how to counter the usual d-pawn suspects including the Torre, Colle, London and Veresov systems.

Some of these openings gather real cult followings. In his preamble to the section on the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit he notes that:

‘The BDG is one of those things you have to be practical about. There’s no doubt that it is objectively weak, and that 4 …exf3 is the best move. However, for some reason the BDG attracts the most fanatical followers of any opening, bar none. If you’ve ever felt that wounded tigresses can be a little overprotective of their cubs, hop over to one of the numerous BDG websites and venture the view that you’ve always wondered whether perhaps the gambit is unsound and that maybe the Catalan is a better bet for long-term pressure.’

Continuing the theme of not setting foot in the opponent’s garden, Cox advocates a very early …e5 instead of taking all the pawns on offer. Spoiling White’s fun is definitely the order of the day.
One example: 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nc3 d5 3 e4 Nxe4 4 Nxe4 dxe4 5 f3 e5! And White is apparently struggling already.

For instance: 6 Be3 exd4 7 Bxd4 Nc6 8 Be3 Qxd1+ 9 Rxd1 Nb4 and I can’t imagine who would rather be White in this position, even though the game is only nine moves old.

A bonus comes at the end of the book when the author details a method of play against the Anti-Benoni lines. These occur after 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 c5 when White can try to spoil Black’s intention of steering towards a sharp game by plumping for one of 4 Nc3, 4 e3 or 4 g3. There are some obvious transpositions to take into account here, especially to the English Opening and Nimzo-Indian and for that reason a lot of other books trend not to give them any coverage at all but merely refer the reader to another book. Cox takes that approach for a Nimzo transposition but covers the other lines well. After 4 e3 he recommends heading for a safe Tarrasch variation in which Black has avoided the main theoretical debates and against the other lines he likes an early …Bb4+ often followed by a quick …Qb6.

VERDICT: Careful study of this book will definitely gain you points at the board. There is no doubt whatsoever that you cannot get through your chess life without meeting these ‘annoying’ d-pawn systems on a regular basis. It’s about time that Black players started to have their share of the fun in these openings and this excellent book will show you how.

For details of Everyman chess books, please visit:
http://www.everymanchess.com/


Happy reading!
February 2006

Chess Reviews: 8

Sean Marsh
Book Reviews
No. 8

The Bb5 Sicilian
by IM Richard Palliser
Everyman Chess

There was a time, back in the 1980s, when it was virtually pointless keeping a main-line Sicilian in your repertoire. This was because the amount of work necessary to maintain it wasn’t really worth the effort, as all 1 e4 players seemed to aim to swing the game quickly into lines they knew a lot better. Namely: 2 c3, 2/3 f4 and 3 Bb5(+). Honestly, you couldn’t move for these variations! Along came the famous John Nunn book, ‘Beating the Sicilian’ and suddenly everyone started taking the bull by the horns again and the main lines regained their popularity. Everyone was happy!

Now, 20 years on, the Grand Prix Attack and 2 c3 are a lot rarer but the Bb5(+) circle has turned again. A lot of 1e4 players are happy to vary between this and the main lines and it would be foolish indeed to play the Sicilian without having something prepared for both eventualities.

IM Richard Palliser opines that the current popularity of 2 …Nc6 3 Bb5 is due to the tremendous strides made in the theory of the Sveshnikov Variation, honed into such a formidable weapon by the likes of Kramnik and Leko. Many players simply don’t want to enter the complications and/or don’t have a spare lifetime to devote to analysis.

One only has to look at the bibliography of a Palliser book to see how much investigative effort he packs into every work. In this case, sources are identified all the way from a slim 1976 monograph up to Mega Database 2005. The reader can be assured that this not a written-in-a-weekend hack job!

The first half the book deals with Bb5+ in response to 2 …d6 by Black. Defending as Black is not an easy task, made more complicated by the different options available to White. For example, the first player can chose the type of game he prefers, whether it is one of the gambit lines and the good old Maroczy Bind.

Black can certainly suffer in this sharp gambit line: 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 Bb5+ Bd7 4 Bxd7+ Qxd7 5 0-0 Nc6 6 c3 Nf6 7 d4 Nxe4 8 d5

The good news for Black is that the latest games and analysis suggest the Maroczy Bind isn’t the problem it was once thought to be.

In one of many well chosen illustrative games, the author details a method of play devised by Ivanchuk…

11 …d5! and Black is fine (if he knows the correct continuations!).

2...Nc6 3 Bb5 is considered in the second half of the book. At the moment this branch is the most popular as many players head for the Grandmasterly Sveshnikov.

Black has a plethora of third move options and all are given excellent coverage. The minor options are: 3 … Na5, 3 …e5, 3 …Qc7 and 3 …Qb6. Black normally plumps for either 3 …e6, 3 …Nf6 or 3 …g6.

Each one has its merits but 3 …g6 seems to have emerged as the current main line. White has the usual choice between keeping things quiet and early aggression.

1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 g6 4 0-0 Bg7 5 Re1 e5 6 b4!?

…catches the eye as a fun way to set the opponent problems.

VERDICT: Richard Palliser has been steadily building up a deserved reputation as an extremely diligent author of high quality chess books. This current work lucidly distils a massive body of over 40,000 games into what could well be a definitive volume for some years to come. There’s plenty of explanatory notes (another Palliser trademark) and I believe players on both sides of the Sicilian will find much of interest.

Play 1...b6
A Dynamic and Hypermodern Opening System for Black
GM Christian Bauer
Everyman Chess

Playing a universal opening system carries obvious advantages. Using one with so little theory could increase the advantage, especially at club-chess level, when throwing the opponent back on his own resources can often be an excellent way to harvest some relatively easy points. To this end, 1 …g6 has always retained a certain degree of popularity yet very few have been tempted its Queenside cousin.

Christian Bauer addresses this topic in his introduction and gives the three main reasons why the idea has never really caught on.

1) Black is still several moves from castling, whereas after 1 …g6 and 2 …Bg7 space is already being cleared for 0-0

2) A Kingside fianchetto is often augmented by the …c7-c5 break, melting the long diagonal. With the Bishop on b7, the corresponding break would by …f7-f5, which is understandably seen as a riskier lunge.

3) The Queenside fianchetto could be seen as more of a luxury than an essential part of Black’s opening plan, so shouldn’t he be getting on with something more constructive so early in the game?

The counter-argument relies heavily on the flexibility Black maintains. Over the first few moves he will be able to gather various pieces of information, derived from White’s moves, as to how the first player intends to set up his position. Black can then react in the most suitable manner.

The author goes on to say that 1 …b6 would make a useful ‘alternative weapon’ and this is probably the best way to look at it. At the right time, against the right opponent, I suspect the lines given could be very dangerous indeed.

So on to the contents. Can the Grandmaster convince us that 1 …b6 is viable against all of the main opening moves in 224 pages?

The main test must surely be 1 e4. Then 1 …b6 at least finds itself with a name: Owen’s Defence. This has always been frowned upon, but I wonder how many 1 e4 players actually have a decent line prepared against it. Not many, I suspect; most will probably trot out a standard line based on e4, d4, Nf3, Bd3 and c3. There are some very murky lines at Black’s disposal.

Adopting a Hippopotamus is becoming trendy and there is also the interesting try championed by Blatny…

1 e4 b6 2 d4 Bb7 3 Bd3 Nf6 4 Qe2 Nc6 5 c3 e5!?

…when it’s hard to imagine many White players having much experience of the ensuing complications.

Lines after 1 d4 which don’t transpose to 1 e4 tend to be less critical. Attempts by White to head for recognisable Queen’s Indian position meet with the early …f5 spanner, which is fine if Black feels at home in the Dutch Defence. More popular tries by White to blow Black out of the water can begin with either 1 d4 or 1 c4 and take place under the banner of ‘The English Defence’. White can erect a massive centre but how far will Black go in order to smash it to pieces?

1 d4 b6 2 c4 e6 3 e4 Bb7 4 Bd3 f5

…leads to mayhem and you’d definitely need to put some serious time into your investigations before trying it (for either colour). Black does have the more sober options 4 …Nc6 and 4 …Bb4+ to choose from but White will obviously be able to maintain a spatial advantage. Not everybody will be comfortable on the Black side of these sort of positions but free spirits will revel in them.

It is against the committal 1 c4 that 1...b6 seems to be soundest. Anyone happy with the English Defence solely as a method against the English Opening will not really need to update their copy of Daniel King’s earlier book on the subject, because the analysis given there is still perfectly valid.

The final section covers 1 Nf3 b6. One potential problem for the second player could arise if White chooses to refuse all provocation and stick with the King’s Indian Attack; Black often needs to expand quickly on the Queenside and achieving …b5 is going to cost an expensive looking tempo. Nevertheless, there are other ways to play and once again the Hippo raises it’s not inconsiderable head.

VERDICT: Traditionalists keep away! There is nothing for you here. However, free sprits and chess buccaneers will find a gold mine of swashbuckling ideas. Don’t assume that such rare lines can be played without suitable preparation though; the sharper options need to be examined in detail otherwise after just 15 moves you’ll be wishing you were a traditionalist with a fireproof QGD line after all. The author makes no promises but repeatedly shows his willingness to play 1 …b6 against strong players - including Khalifman!

Starting Out: King’s Indian Attack
By GM John Emms
Everyman Chess

The KIA was the recommendation given by Emms to combat the French Defence in his excellent ‘Attacking with 1 e4’ back in 2001. In local chess the line has been popular for some time but there are very few players who use the KIA as their main White repertoire weapon. One of the biggest problems facing White is how to deal with the line made popular by John Watson’s French books…

This line causes major headaches for White. Black intends to pile up too much pressure on e5 for White ever to establish his spearhead pawn there. Emms recommends a slight switch in strategy; playing an early Nh4 and playing for f4-f5.

The book covers all of Black’s replies, spanning from Sicilian and Caro-Kann systems to the Queenside openings the second player may try and steer lines into. A rude shock awaits Dutch addicts. 1 Nf3 f5 2 d3! is proving to be a fearsome weapon, as famously demonstrated by Magnus Carlsen when he crushed Dolmatov in 2004.

As usual with the excellent ‘Starting Out’ series, the book features many instructive notes, tips and warnings. Emms is one of the best common sense chess writers around and his explanations are always interesting and instructive.

VERDICT: Players with limited study time dream of finding a universal, low-maintenance opening. The King’s Indian Attack certainly fits the bill and this book does a great job in presenting enough information to enable you to take it up with confidence.

Starting Out: The Sicilian Dragon
By IM Andrew Martin
Everyman Chess

The Sicilian Dragon is one of the most complicated openings in the whole world of chess. I was intrigued to see how anybody could condense the subject into just over 200 pages. I suspect that Andrew Martin’s legendary no-nonsense approach led top him being singled out to tackle such a tough project.

A good introduction takes the reader through the basics via several instructive games. The first one is the classic Fischer-Larsen encounter from the 1958 Interzonal and Martin makes the pertinent comment that ‘Today even Fischer would find life a great deal more complicated against a Dragon specialist’. This is not knocking the 11th World Champion, merely pointing out that theory has advanced so much over the decades that it is no longer enough to ‘pry open the KR file, sac, sac…mate!’

The critical test of the Dragon remains the Yugoslav Attack and it is no suppose that the coverage of this dangerous system takes up over 120 pages. Martin highlights the difficulty he faces as he starts off the section with, ‘Ha, ha, Starting Out: The Yugoslav Attack! The best chess joke of the year as it’s an almost impossible brief…’

The Chinese Dragon is recommended and the older Soltis Variation, confirmed as sound when Kasparov famously adopted against Anand in their 1995 title match, still holds well, with the proviso that you need to do a lot of work to be able to go into such critical lines.

The Chinese Dragon, characterised by the cunning 10 …Rb8, is looking like a good try
Naturally, there are other variations apart from the Yugoslav you need to know something about before you can expect success with the Dragon.

The once-feared Levenfish Attack can now be met soundly be any of 6 …Bg7, 6 …Nc6 or 6 …Nbd7, providing Black knows what he is doing.

Black seems to be comfortable against the Classical Variation and most of the other early deviations but Martin highlights the modern system with 6 Bc4 as one needing careful attention.
VERDICT: This book will certainly get you up and running, but mastering the Dragon can be a full time occupation and you will definitely need additional, deeper material to enable you to play it at a decent level. Nevertheless, the author makes no claims for completeness and happily admits to the limitations of the chosen format. If you are thinking of adopting the Dragon then this is the obvious place to start but if you are already a regular exponent then I don’t think you really need this book.

For details of Everyman chess books, please visit:
http://www.everymanchess.com/


Happy reading!
January 2006