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Book Reviews

2nd December 2019

As Christmas thunders ever closer, here are some gift suggestions for those of you who haven’t shouted up the lum to Santa yet.
First up, a trio from New in Chess, all published this year.

FORCING CHESS MOVES by Charles Hertan (432 pp.) is the fourth edition of the award-winning work.

It’s essentially a guide to looking for Big Moves, moves which finish the game. Big Moves can be unusual, weird, surprises, shots, sacs, anything at all in fact, and Hertan’s book is full of them. It’s a sort of Rolls-Royce tactics book, with lots and lots of combinations illustrating how to finish the other guy off – and how to find the moves to do so. His main premise is to try to look at positions through ‘computer eyes’, i.e. to cast aside our innate biases and inhibitions and think outside the human box. It might sound strange, but it can undoubtedly pay dividends.

Besides the examples there are lots of exercises, but it’s far from being just a puzzle book; the author takes great care to get his philosophy across and ensure his readers understand what he’s getting at. I recall hearing lots of good things about this book when it first appeared in 2008 (offhand I can only remember one moaner; some people are never happy), and when you go through it you can see why it was so well received. It is a real eye-opener, full of surprising ideas and often beautiful chess.

***

Davorin Kuljasevic’s BEYOND MATERIAL (336 p.) deals with an often-ignored aspect of the game, especially amongst amateurs, viz. the importance of non-material factors such as time, space and psychology.

His six chapters discuss attachment to and the relative value of material, how time and space can beat material, greed, and the psychology of non-materialism, and encompass things like attacking, sacs, poisoned pawns, risk, space, time, harmony etc. These can often be abstract concepts, and it certainly sounds like heavy-duty stuff, but it makes for an interesting read which, as the author says, will make the reader better understand and look again at the values of the pieces as they fluctuate during a game. There are over a hundred illustrative extracts, all explained not just with moves but, given the subject matter, lots of words. The author’s relaxed, conversational style makes what could be heavy going an enjoyable and thought-provoking read, quite different from more ‘normal’ chess book fare. It’s a super piece of work, and an excellent take on a neglected area of the game. I certainly wouldn’t put it into the hands of a beginner, but for experienced players looking for something a bit different, highly recommended.

***

From the indefatigable Cyrus Lakdawala comes WINNING UGLY IN CHESS (336 pp.), subtitled Playing Badly Is No Excuse for Losing.

This is not a book of perfect games and silky smooth chess; it is full of messy positions, errors, cheapos, oversights, swindles, luck and fluky wins and draws. If this sounds like normal league chess, you’re not wrong, and you’re bound to identify with some of the atrocities the author presents. Been there, done that. Lakdawala looks at topics such as boldness, grabbing material, rational and irrational decisions, traps and messing with the opponent’s mind. His examples are often weird and wonderful, where backs are to the wall and miracles are born of desperation. There is a very nice chapter on the psychology of provocative opening play and its often disorientating effect on the ‘victim’. (Amongst the gems you will find Carlsen-Dreev, 1 Nh3!?. Yes, he won.) Those of us long enough in the tooth to remember the unique genius of Duncan Suttles will have an idea of what to expect.

In many ways, this is a fun book, but, as is often the case, the fun conceals serious points and learning opportunities. The bottom line is that winning is what matters, and a dip into this one could inspire you to score undeserved points or half points, and will remind you that, as the saying goes, it ain’t over till it’s over.

Each of these is produced to NiC’s usual high standards with clear text and diagrams, indexes and (except the last one) bibliographies.

***

Zenón Franco’s PLANNING MOVE BY MOVE (Everyman Chess 2019, 414 pp.) is the author’s attempt to help fill a surprisingly sparse field in chess literature. He divides his book into five large chapters which give you an idea of what exactly it’s about: Typical Structures, Space Advantage, The Manoeuvring Game, Simplification and Attack and Defence. In this way he systematically covers five key areas of the middlegame where players are beset with the question of what to do (and how to do it). Each chapter contains many examples of the topic under discussion, the majority from contemporary practice, but quite rightly also featuring the classics and players such as Lasker, Capablanca, Petrosian and Karpov, in short if you want to learn, why not learn from the best? The examples all feature questions and exercises to involve the reader to the max.

As the author points out in his introduction, notes which feature prose and few variations are not overly helpful, while the opposite, more common in these computer-assisted days, is also inadequate, thus he ensures that his own annotations are a healthy mix of words and moves. In this respect he succeeds admirably; explaining a complex idea effectively requires simple, lucid prose, and the author does this very well.
If you find yourself wondering what to do (and that’s all of us), then this could be one for you. It’s not a beginner’s text, but for anyone with some knowledge and experience of the game it could prove a helpful and beneficial read.

***

A totally different sort of chess book is EMANUEL LASKER A READER, edited by Taylor Kingston, publ. Russell Enterprises Inc. 2019, 400 pp. This labour of love really is one for chess historians or anyone interested in the great players of the past. The sub-title tells you exactly what to expect (and could probably save me writing any further!): A Compendium of Writings on Chess, Philosophy, Science, Sociology, Mathematics and Other Subjects by the Great World Chess Champion, Scholar and Polymath Emanuel Lasker (1861-1941). Phew! From a purely chess perspective it covers three world championship matches, several tournaments, and annotations galore by Lasker to contemporary games which give a wonderful feeling for both his style of writing and the style of annotation of the time. Many of the literary extracts are printed as facsimiles, which likewise give a neat glimpse into the styles and presentations of the past.

Unlike many great players both past and present who are focused solely on chess, Lasker’s intellect was deep and wide-ranging, and while it is interesting to have a glimpse into some of the other areas which absorbed his attention, there will inevitably be those which some readers will find less than gripping.
Emanuel Lasker A Reader contains a vast amount of material, the bulk of it probably unknown or little-known, and all credit is due to both editor and publisher for collating and bringing it to the public. You could get lost in it for ages, reading it or dipping into it a chapter or section at a time. It is a huge book, overall well produced, but spoilt by the presentation – the small font and tight spacing favoured by Russell Enterprises make for a very dense and unattractive production, not at all easy on the eye. As I typed that, the book happened to be open at pp. 194-5: a solid body of text, broken only by four diagrams, and the moves in bold an unappealing mass of black type. These pages are by no means untypical. Such a wealth of interesting material deserved a little more space and light, in fact a little more TLC. There are extensive indexes and a two-page bibliography.

Ian Marks
December 2019

*****

https://www.chessable.com/reign-supreme-the-kings-indian-attack/course/26170/

If my last two Chessable reviews seemed like hard work - then please read on! This time, I am reviewing a repertoire for White based around the King’s Indian Attack.

I really liked the author’s honesty when describing some lines as objectively level but with plenty of play in the position to enable the stronger player to outplay their opponent. There are several lines which look fine for both sides and the author makes no attempt to convince you that ‘every line leads to advantage’ for White. This opening is based more on plans and understanding than precise calculations or forced variations so the Chessable system really does make it both fun and easy to learn for any player rated 1200 strength upwards. There are 12 chapters in total and it’s all presented in a very easy to digest format.

• Introduction
• 2x vs French
• 3x vs Sicilian
• 3x vs Caro-Kann
• 1x vs e5 and others
• Model games
• Authors games

I found the chapters (and videos) on the vs French lines particularly enjoyable as well as the model games. The only chapter I wasn’t so convinced with was that on 1…e5 and others. The lines given don’t seem to present the same challenges for the Black player – for example 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d3 and no mention of Bologan’s recommended 3…d5! move order here although it is likely to transpose to later lines. This is where the more experienced White player may need to change ideas and look for an alternative against these lines as the KIA doesn’t appear to be effective against 1…e5 or 1..d5, etc. The author needed to include something as it’s a complete repertoire so what he has given does fulfil that task.

The (optional extra) video tutorials are again high quality and total move than 15Hrs instruction. If you have tried the free Chessable books and like the idea of KIA, then I would suggest this one is a great place to start – but be warned - you could get hooked for hours! There are several practical advantages to learning this way including: no need to pack a load of books for a tournament (everything available online in one place); the software saves where you left off in each book including where you last watched a video. This one in particular is not available in traditional book form so there is no alternative to Chessable here.

You may also have heard in the news recently that Magnus Carlsen has invested in Chessable, so this version of online books software is likely to be around for many years to come! Chessable are planning both an iOS and Android App (hopefully with some download / offline functionality) and I noticed Chessable leaflets at the SNCL last weekend, so watch out for this format growing in 2020!

William Hulme
December 2019

*****

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