Chess Books on Grandmasters

Transcription

1 Chess Books on Grandmasters We ve looked at publications for beginners and for tournament players, in previous posts Now for chess books on particular grandmasters, beginning with Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky A Bantam Book (1972) Fischer/Spassky This little paperback on a unique World Chess Championship match is for the common reader (Strange to tell, not all chess books are mostly for the reading: Many are for playing over games or portions of games) Here s the first paragraph on page 128 of Fischer-Spassky: Fischer s victory in the third game was his first victory ever over Spassky It must have had an exhilarating effect on him, especially since he defeated Spassky while playing the Black side, and the game must have depressed the champion Nevertheless, in the fourth game Spassky made what amounted to a comeback a victory instead of a draw but Spassky fell victim to time, as he had before, and, with the clock hands putting pressure on him, he was unable to find the best line, the one that could and should have won for him

2 Three out of the five Amazon customer reviews for this chess book were with 5-stars, and none with less than three stars, yet this publication is not perfect: On page 127, a chess diagram shows two black bishops on the same square color, and that was after one of them had been captured With such a glaring blunder in publication, many chess players might be hesitant to buy an old used copy of this little paperback with $195 on the cover On the other hand, the reading may well be worth it New Chess Book: Karpov: Move by Move Anatoly Karpov defeated three of the world s greatest grandmasters one of them was Spassky in qualifying to challenge Bobby Fischer in 1975 When the world champion rejected the terms officially set forth for the match, Karpov became World Chess Champion by default During the following

3 nine years, however, he proved that he was worthy of the title From the Introduction (Karpov talks about his own style) I had an active positional style I played quite strong endings, so this was my advantage also And then I could defend difficult positions, which is quite seldom in modern chess, and I could resist in positions where other players probably would resign And I was finding interesting ideas how to defend difficult positions, and I could save many games So I never gave up, I was stubborn as a chess player and I tried to defend even very bad positions, and in many cases succeeded Published in September of 2015, it has 288 pages It was ranked by Amazon as follows on Jan 5, 2016:

4 #46 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Chess Kramnik: My Life & games (published in 2000) In 2006, the Russian grandmaster Vladimir Kramnik became the FIDE World Chess Champion by defeating Veselin Topalov in a match of twelve regular-timed games and four rapid tiebreaker games This book appears to have been written by Kramnik himself, although at least one reader suspects that at least some of it was ghost-written Of the nine Amazon reader reviews (as of early Jan 5, 2016), four of them are 5-star, two 4-star, two 3-star, and one 2-

5 star This would suggest that the general reader satisfaction is above average for chess books ### Publisher s chess book review This chess book is balanced in depth and breadth, with lessons on how to checkmate your opponent, gain a material advantage over another beginner, promote a pawn to a queen, pin one of your opponent s pieces, make a knight fork, avoid becoming checkmated, and much more It emphasizes what a beginner most needs to know and understand, as soon as possible Idaho s Backyard Professor of Chess To begin, I have found the Youtube chess videos of Kerry Shirts (AKA the Backyard Professor ) to be delightful entertainment and probably helpful to a number of raw beginners New Chess Book for Beginners The new paperback Beat That Kid in Chess may be the first publication to systematically use the teaching method called nearly-identical positions (PIN) It was also written especially with the early beginner in mind

6 The Art of Chess Combination This highly rated old chess book by Eugene Znosko-Borovsky is hardly a book for beginners The best candidate for buying it or receiving it as a gift that would be a tournament player Be aware that this book uses the old descriptive notation, in contrast to almost all new chess books, which use algebraic notation The following is the cover of a copy of the 1959 paperback: The 1959 paperback, with $145 on the front From page 15 of The Art of Chess Combination: It is unjust, and sometimes very untrue, though it is a common theory, to hold that it is sacrifices which make the beauty of a combination, and that the combination is prettier by the magnitude of the sacrifices In reality, when one* sacrifices a major piece, the risk is but apparent, for it is seldom that there is delay in the result [*surely referring

7 to masters or grandmasters of chess] One compels resignation, surely and precisely, with few variations possible It is possible to imagine a very beautiful combination which involves no sacrifice But all must be subordinated to the essential principle of victory Now for the cover of the June-2010 reprinting of this Dover paperback: How impressive that of the thirteen Amazon customer reviews none are 1-stars or 2-stars! Now consider parts of two Amazon reviews for The Art of Chess Combination: There are a lot of books on attacking chess Start with this CLASSIC (five stars out of five) Znosko-Borovsky is a brilliant chess teacher; this and his How to Play the Chess Endings are his two best works a wonderful, concise introduction to important motifs in attacking (and in some cases, defensive) play The author does a tremendous job of introducing important

8 tactical ideas, such Geometry of the Chessboard, The Knight s Star, and, what I consider to be the most important part of the book, the section on BxKRP+ sacrifices This is the most important work I have used to learn kingside attacking methods, and since reading it during my first year of playing tournament chess in 1996 have only supplemented it with some kingside attacking exercises, but not a tremendous amount With this book, you learn what you need to do, and it sticks Useful book but buy Spielmann instead for a true classic (three stars) This is a quite good minor classic Znosko-Borovsky discusses several themes, such as the standard bishop sacrifice on h7 and combinations against the king in the center A great number of examples are to the point and I was delighted by the examples from Alekhine and [Capablanca] There is clearly something of value for most of us here But, in some cases the connection between examples and examples and text are not very clear There are also a some instances of and white/black wins where the continuation is not too obvious Conclusion Be aware that most chess books are purchased by experienced players, including tournament competitors, and this publication is not for beginners But if you have considerable experience in a chess club or in tournament play, this could be useful ### Three New Chess Books

9 Only one of these is for the beginner who knows the rules but little else Chess Book for the Early Beginner This book uses a new method of chess instruction: nearlyidentical positions (NIP) But you don t really need to know anything about that method It works for you under the surface, training your mind to see possibilities and tactics as they really are, in a given chess position How to Beat Your Dad at Chess Do not confuse this book with Beat That Kid in Chess, which differs greatly from How to Beat Your Dad at Chess (Neither book is actually about how to compete, in the royal game, with someone of a particular age or relationship) Open up this chess book (How to Beat Your Dad at Chess) to a page at random If you re a beginner, you might become frustrated, for algebraic notation abounds, and the tactics will probably be unfamiliar to you; this is not for a raw beginner If you re an experienced competitor in the royal game, however, you may soon become fascinated at the simple explanations of tactics; this book can be a treasure for an intermediate player or even a Class-A or an Expert (rated) tournament player From the Back Cover of this Book

10 How to Beat Your Dad at Chess has the following on the back cover: This is a chess book for everyone, from eight to eighty, beginner to master In a clear, easy-to-follow format it explains how the best way to beat a stronger opponent (be it a friend, clubmate or Dad!) is by cleverly forcing checkmate Delightful and instructive positions from real games are used to show the 50 Deadly Checkmates that chess masters use to win their games One could ask, How deeply was the author, Murray Chandler (a grandmaster), involved in the writing of this paragraph on the back cover? Grandmasters are known to rarely make moves that average tournament players would consider blunders: They carefully examine chess positions, systematically eliminating weak moves from consideration Yet careful examination reveals the following weaknesses in the above promotional paragraph: It s not actually for everyone It could benefit many players between lower-intermediate and expert levels The Introduction illuminates a detail: 47 checkmating strategies rather than 50 deadly checkmates Three patterns are not forced checkmate Most games won between one master and another do not involve one of these checkmating patterns, although some games masters win against lower-rated players probably do involve these patterns Notice the contradiction: Is it really for a master but masters use these checkmates to win their games? If masters already use them, why would they need this book? We need to make a clarification about beginner Many grandmasters have competed against other grandmasters and masters and experts for so long that their memories may have become a bit hazy regarding beginner levels The silly

11 blunders of raw beginners can be repulsive to the highest chess competitors, leaving the grandmasters to group all beginners into one class This may have happened with the paragraph on the back cover of How to Beat Your Dad in Chess, if Mr Chandler actually wrote that paragraph This grandmaster s book is NOT for the early beginner, the novice who knows the rules of the game but nothing about how to win That kind of beginner is better off with Beat That Kid in Chess The back cover would be more accurate with something like the following: This chess book may be of great help to many players with abilities equivalent to the USCF-rated levels of the following: Class-E, Class-D, Class-C, Class-B, Class-A, Expert Some players below and above those levels may also benefit It clearly shows you how to get checkmate in some positions in which some of your pieces are poised to attack your opponent s king These fifty patterns (47 of which are forced checkmates) are easy to follow and highly instructive: delightful combinations from real games That indeed would have been more accurate ### Beginners Book of Chess My new paperback book Beat That Kid in Chess is for the early beginner, the player who knows the rules of chess but almost nothing else about the royal game Chess Books for Beginners one new I ve been promoting my own chess book (for novices) for

12 several weeks now: Beat That Kid in Chess So why would I mention two competing books on the royal game, both of them for beginners? Mine could be the only one ever written that uses a new teaching method called nearly-identical positions Book How to Beat Your Dad at Chess [This] book is mostly for the intermediate player It could easily bewilder a beginner, for the many combinations are multi-move, the puzzles require looking deeply into the positions, with one move following another Beat That Kid in Chess From the front cover, you might think this new chess book is for kids; but open up the paperback Beat That Kid in Chess and you ll see that this is mostly for teenagers and adults, although some older children could benefit It teaches the early beginner how to win a game of chess, and it s crafted especially for the novice who knows how to move the pieces around the board but has not yet learned to win, at least not yet how to win consistently The title was chosen for a marketing angle, yet Beat That Kid in Chess teaches you how to win against an opponent of any age, not just against a child (Don t confuse this publication with How to Beat Your Dad at Chess, which is not for the raw beginner) Here s the table of contents: A few Chess Terms

13 A few Hints for Beginners Chess Notation Introduction to the Lessons Chapter 1: Checkmate Chapter 2: Power Grabbing Chapter 3: Defending the Fort Chapter 4: Tactics in Battle Chapter 5: Remember the Order Chapter 6: The End Game Chapter 7: The Middle Game Chapter 8: The Opening Chapter 9: Simple Exercises Chapter 10: Advanced Exercises General Index Exercise Index This book uses a new method of chess instruction: nearlyidentical positions (NIP) But you don t really need to know anything about that method It works for you under the surface, training your mind to see possibilities and tactics as they really are, in a given chess position The target audience is the chess player who knows the rules, at least most of them, but has little or no idea how to take advantage of the opponent s mistakes and how to avoid making mistakes Millions of persons could fit that description

14 First page of the Introduction in the new book Beat That Kid in Chess Part of an Amazon customer-review: I learned chess as a child, but as someone who hasn t played in over a decade, this is a great refresher I love the way this book is organized: It s starts with a few simple chess terms, progresses to chapter topics that start where most puzzles start-the end, and then ends with simple and advanced exercises, as well as a thorough index

15 Basic Facts Paperback: 194 pages 55 x 04 x 85 inches ISBN-10: ISBN-13: Published Sep 2, 2015, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform Suggested retail price: $1340 (US dollars) Beat That Kid in Chess by Jonathan David Whitcomb When looking for a publication to be given as a gift, be aware of the chess-playing abilities of the person who is to receive the book This is critical in making that choice ### How to Beat Your Dad at Chess

16 Two chess books reviewed: Beat That Kid in Chess (Whitcomb) How to Beat Your Dad at Chess (Chandler) Three Chess Book Reviews Smerdon s Scandinavian Beat That Kid in Chess The Dragon Volume One Giving a Chess Book as a Gift What is the chess-playing skill of the gift recipient, when you re to give a chess book as a gift? That s a big question needing an answer Chess Book for a Teenager If you re looking for a chess book to give to a teenager or if you are the teenager either way, you need to consider the skill level of the reader Fundamental Chess Openings All editions credit authorship to Paul van der Sterren This book was originally published in three volumes in 1988, in the Dutch language The English version was first printed in 2009 by Gambit Publications Fundamental Chess Openings (FCO) is generally not recommended for beginners but for experienced club players and tournament competitors, and that can be important if you re looking for a book to give as a gift

17 Brief Review of the Chess Book FCO covers a wide range of chess openings, similar to Modern Chess Openings (MCO) except that FCO appears much more devoted to explaining the purposes of the various lines, for example (in two different parts of the book): [Queen s Gambit Accepted] Two other moves, 3 e3 and 3 Nc3, were considered less accurate for a very long time because they allow the bold response 3 e5 The position after, say, 3 e3 e5 4 dxe5 Qxd1+ 5 Kxd1 Be6 is indeed fine for Black, but recent practice has shown that White can do much better: 4 Bxc4! exd4 5 exd4 (or 3 Nc3 e5 4 e3! exd4 5 exd4) when the resulting middlegame with an isolated pawn on d4 is perfectly playable for White [Bogo-Indian] This is a very popular variation, illustrative of the fact that the Bogo-Indian is really all about subtle positional judgment Lovers of wild tactical complications will not feel at ease here (at least not in the opening stage of the game) and for this reason many players use the Bogo as an occasional weapon, hoping to unbalance an opponent who they think might feel uncomfortable in this type of purely positional play

18 One Amazon customer reviewer said: FCO is by far the best general chess opening book Reading this book you will get: A historical perspective of chess opening evolution A clear understanding of each opening and variation covered in the book A very nice reading, even it is possible to follow most of the content without a chess board Fundamental Facts 479 pages (although Amazon says 448 ) Paperback, about 10 inches by 7 inches ISBN-13: (English) On Nov 17, 2015, this was ranked #30 best-selling book on Amazon in the sub-category Puzzles & Games > Chess ### Chess Book Review How to Beat Your Dad at Chess It was the best of books; it was the worst of books For

19 average chess beginners or the lower-intermediate-level players, how can this book simultaneously be the best and the worst, this bestseller on the royal game: How to Beat Your Dad at Chess? It s complicated [review of the book How to Beat Your Dad at Chess] Nearly-Identical Positions for Chess Beginners Before September of 2015, very few chess book reviews mentioned the nearly-identical positions (NIP) method of instruction in the royal game Beat That Kid in Chess was then published, perhaps the first chess book every written that systematically uses NIP in helping beginners grasp the essence of simple chess tactics Giving a Chess Book as a Gift What is the chess-playing skill of the gift recipient, when you re to give a chess book as a gift? That s a big question needing an answer New Chess Books Online We ll look at a few of the new chess books available on Amazon Smerdon s Scandinavian (book review) This is not for chess beginners (For the novice, see the next book review below this one) Smerdon s Scandinavian could be very useful to intermediate and advanced players who compete

20 in tournaments The first reader-review on Amazon included this: the 2 Nf6 Scandinavian [also called the Center Counter Defense ] is less solid than the 2 Qxd5 Scandinavian and if White chooses the best line to play, then Black might finally get a draw But before that happens, a lot is still to be played for: often there occur variations that are good for White but are so much easier to play for Black So these good for White variation might be hard to play correctly for White and thus give Black a practical chance for everybody who is not a titled played or who is not playing a titled player I wouldn t play it against [grandmasters] or even [international masters] Would this chess book be reasonable as a gift? The recipient would need to be a tournament player and one who might use this particular opening system This publication, however, is not for a novice (See Beat That Kid in Chess, below)

21 Smerdon s Scandinavian (for intermediate or advanced players) Paperback 496 pages $2559 (Amazon, Nov 9, 2015 price) ISBN-13: Published November 7, 2015 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Beat That Kid in Chess (book review) This new book is best suited for the beginner who already knows how to move the pieces around but would like to win some chess games It could be a great book for such a player The following is part of what s on the back cover of Beat That Kid in Chess:

22 After the lessons in the first eight chapters, you can see your progress in simple exercises and then in the moreadvanced exercises, as you become ready Checkmate, pin, knight fork those are demonstrated and explained, but how much more is given to you in this chess book for early beginners! Even if you have never won a game before, you can learn how to win, even with only this book Beat That Kid in Chess (exceptional for beginners) The reading level is most appropriate for teenagers and adults, although some older children would have no problem understanding it The concepts taught are given simply This is easy to understand, and could be a perfect gift for a chess beginner Paperback 194 pages $1340 (Amazon, Nov 9, 2015 price) ISBN-13: Published September 2, 2015 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

23 The Dragon, Volume One (by Gawain Jones) Like Smerdon s Scandinavian, this is a specialized chess opening book, appropriate for some intermediate and advanced competitors but not for beginners From the Amazon page, we read (in part): The Dragon is one of the most thrilling chess openings and a favorite of attacking players But can this sharp and provocative system still be played in the modern era? GM [Grandmaster] Gawain Jones says Yes! The Dragon Volume One (for tournament players) This could be a good gift of a chess book, if the recipient is a tournament player who likes to play the Sicilian Defense with the black pieces It s definitely not for the novice player The reading level (stated on Amazon) says 5 and up,

24 but surely very few small children would benefit much from this book Paperback 320 pages $2219 (Amazon, Nov 9, 2015 price) ISBN-13: Published November 7, 2015 ### Chess book for the beginner What other book for beginners uses the Nearly-Identical- Positions method of chess instruction (NIP)? This is the natural way, the easier way, the new way, to lead you to notice important details in each position on the board New Book Titles on Chess (brief reviews) Let s begin with two chess books that have already been published and then look at two that are coming out in the next few months or so Gift of a new chess book From numerous studies, chess playing has been found to be beneficial for children in school